The titular Monster in this story by Catherine Lim is an old, rickety, bug-infested bed, treasured by a frail woman in her seventies and despised by her daughter-in-law. Set in highly competitive Singapore, the other monster in the house is generational conflict arising from a fundamental cultural change: a growing lack of respect, understanding and compassion for the aged. Ironically, when the daughter-in-law is finally in a position to destroy the much-hated bed, she learns it may be worth a lot of money! Themes include generational conflict, cultural change (less respect for the aged), sentimentality, materialism, social class. More…
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The Snows of Kilimanjaro
The major themes of this stream of conscience narrative by Ernest Hemingway are death, and regret for one’s life choices and things left undone. A bitter, failed writer lies dying in a safari camp on the plains below Mt Kilimanjaro. While cruelly taunting his wife, he evaluates his life through a series of flashbacks. Having lived an adventurous, hedonistic life including loving and leaving many women, each with more money than the last, he has a lot to reflect upon. Minor themes introduced through the flashbacks include post-war (WW1) trauma, loss, loneliness, misogyny and redemption. More…
After Twenty Years
This story by O. Henry shows how keeping a promise to a friend can sometimes have adverse consequences. Two boyhood friends lose touch after one of them decided to “go West” to make his fortune. When he left, the two made a solemn promise to meet again outside their favorite New York restaurant in twenty years. Both kept the promise, and it is likely that after the meeting both regretted the way it went. Themes include friendship, honor (keeping one’s word), loyalty vs. duty, time and change, crime and justice. More…
A Vermont Tale
In this story by Mark Helprin, two children from a distressed marriage are sent to live for a period on their grandparents’ idyllic Vermont farm. One night, they are frightened by the call of two Arctic loons. To calm them and perhaps provide hope about their parents, the grandfather tells a tale about two loons. The story is an allegory of his marriage, with themes of love, infidelity, separation, despair and reunion. Unfortunately, we learn later that the story’s “happily ever after” ending does not match reality. Themes of the frame story include natural beauty, childhood innocence, appearance vs. reality. More…
Sonny’s Blues
The major theme of this rather intense story from James Baldwin is that for many people, life involves a constant cycle of suffering. (I was aware that this was only a moment, that the world waited outside, as hungry as a tiger, and that trouble stretched above us, longer than the sky.) The plot explores the adult relationship between an African-American teacher and Sonny, his musically gifted estranged brother, after Sonny’s arrest and imprisonment for drug trafficking. Other themes include race and racism, substance abuse, alienation, reconciliation, family/brotherly love, and the inspirational and healing power of music. More…