The Slump

The Slump: Short story by John UpdikeIn this story by John Updike, a professional baseball player tries to analyze why he is no longer hitting the ball as well as he used to. He was recruited for his batting, and is worried about losing his position on the team. He identifies that the problem is psychological (in the batting cage I own the place) and concludes that he has lost his passion for the game because it has no meaning for him anymore. Themes include self-knowledge, pressure to succeed (dread), liberation, the fleeting nature of fame, frustration, futility, shame, existentialism.

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Flowers and Freckle Cream

Flowers and Freckle Cream: Short story by Elizabeth EllisThe protagonist in this story by Elizabeth Ellis is a twelve-year-old girl. Although set in the American backwoods around seventy years ago, hundreds of millions of men, women and children today share her desire to change their complexion or body shape to one considered more attractive by their peers. Major themes of the story are being comfortable with how you look and, as symbolized by the flowers, beauty comes in many shapes and forms. Minor themes are thoughtlessness (the mother’s comment ”You can’t make a silk purse out of a sow’s ear.”) and the wisdom that comes with advancing age.

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The Gold-legged Frog

The Gold-legged Frog: Short story by Lao KhamhomIn this touching story by Lao Khamhom, a Thai farmer must leave his dying son in the hands of faith-healers and herbalists to grovel in front of local officials for a meagre government handout. He gets the money but, contrary to what other villagers say, it’s not his lucky day. Major themes are the harshness of nature on farming communities and the abuse of power by the Thai authorities of the day (the late 1950s) in dealing with them. Other themes include family, poverty, suffering, helplessness, survival, superstition, social class, and “luck”.

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The Boarded Window

The Boarded Window: Short story by Ambrose BierceIn this short gothic horror story from Ambrose Bierce, a boarded window symbolizes a grieving and possibly PTSD affected man’s desire to shut himself off from the outside world. Murlock shows no signs of traditional mourning over his wife’s passing, so his decision to live as he does could well result from a sense of shame and/or guilt over his part in her death. As we have only his version of the night’s events, it could even be that (with or without a panther) his wild shot was the reason for her throat wound! Themes: isolation, death, shame/guilt, loneliness.

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The Minority Report

The Minority Report: Short story by Philip DickPhilip Dick’s The Minority Report is a dystopian adventure story set in a society that takes policing a step even further than the infamous “Thought Police” in George Orwell’s Nineteen Eighty-Four. Its premise is that the authorities have found a way to identify a crime and imprison the would-be perpetrator before he or she even thinks of committing it. Their methods in doing this are disturbing to say the least. Themes: (general) free will vs. fate, injustice, trust vs. paranoia, self-fulfilling prophesy, extrajudicial murder; (for the “precogs”) violation of human rights, enslavement, degradation.

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Karma

Karma: Short story by Khushwant SinghSir Mohan Lal, the pretentious high-ranking Indian official in this story by Khushwant Singh, is caught between two cultures. After rejecting his heritage and aspiring to identify with the British ruling class, he cannot escape his “Indian-ness”. His self-important behaviour is contrasted with that of his wife, who he treats with disdain but passively accepts her lot. Ironically, his humiliating treatment on a train (being unceremoniously thrown out of his first class carriage by two drunken British soldiers) highlights the dark side of the world he aspires to. Themes include identity, cultural alienation, social class, colonialism, narcissism, prejudice, humiliation.

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A Sound of Thunder

A Sound of Thunder: Short story by Ray BradburyWhat is the most dangerous thing about time travel? According to this story by Ray Bradbury, it is doing some small thing that may change the future. Five men travel back in time to hunt a T-Rex. One of them panics when he sees the monster and steps off a specially prepared path. Because of this, they return to a very different world. The last thing the clumsy hunter hears is a sound of thunder. Themes include arrogance, cowardice, the dangers of technology, connections between past and present, democracy vs. dictatorship, the ethics of game hunting.

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