This story by Sherman Alexie highlights the difficulty tribal Native-Americans have assimilating into American society. A Spokane Indian recalls his breakup with a white kindergarten teacher he loved. Their relationship was one of constant fights and arguments, often over his excessive drinking. Tortured by violent dreams, he returned to the community of the reservation. After several idle months he once again finds work in the outside world, where a call from his ex-girlfriend suggests they still have feelings for one another but are too afraid to pursue them. Themes include community vs. isolation, prejudice, alcohol abuse, love and hatred. More…
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Axolotl
Julio Cortázar gives away the plot of this story in the first paragraph: There was a time when I thought a great deal about the axolotls… Now I am an axolotl. The rest of the story talks about this Kafkaesque transformation, which is partial and may have only occurred in the protagonist’s mind. He (the axolotl part) sits in an aquarium tank watching himself (the unchanged part) looking in from the other side. Considering his life from this perspective seemingly builds the man’s self-esteem, and he no longer feels the need to return. Themes: loneliness, alienation, obsession, connection, enlightenment, inertia. More…
Old Man at the Bridge
Although a war story, the major theme of this vignette by Ernest Hemingway is not the physical horrors of armed conflict, but rather the psychological impact on the lives of those caught up in its wake. An old man has dedicated his life to caring for several pets. Forced to set them free and flee, he now fears for their safety and sits alone on a bridge, having lost the drive to go on. The narrator, a soldier focused on this duty, reluctantly leaves him to his fate. Other themes include alienation, anxiety, guilt and despair, resignation, duty vs. compassion. More…
The Sacrificial Egg
The major theme of this story by Chinua Achebe is culture clash, as reflected in the changes forced on the Ibo (Igbo) people of South-Eastern Nigeria as they reconciled their traditional values and beliefs with the effects of Westernization under British colonial rule. One of the biggest changes observed by the narrator is the move from a village-based to an urbanized society, which resulted in a resurgence of smallpox. We also learn how some people, including the narrator, try to minimize such conflicts by maintaining a foot in both cultural camps. Other themes include colonialism, tradition, superstition, compromise. More…
Click-Clack the Rattlebag
This short campfire-style horror story by Neil Gaiman sucks you in (no disrespect to Click-Clacks intended) and then at the very end surprises. A young man is spending time with his girlfriend’s much younger brother. The boy asks for a bed-time story that is “a little bit” scary. In describing what he means by this the boy tells the man about Click-Clacks, “the best monsters ever”, that come from the dark when you don’t pay attention. We are left wondering how the narrator is still around to tell the tale. Themes include fear, awareness, manipulation, the power of storytelling. More…