For me, the major theme of this Rabindranath Tagore story is the insensitivity towards others under India’s caste system. An inexperienced postal officer from a big city is sent to work in a remote rural village. He lives a lonely, isolated life because class differences and immaturity make it difficult for him to integrate into the local community. His only companion is his housekeeper, a young orphaned girl. The two develop a strong bond, which leaves the devoted girl shattered with her callous treatment when he decides to leave. Other themes: natural beauty, alienation, loneliness, memories, family, companionship, guilt. More…
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The Machine That Won the War
This story by Isaac Asimov remains relevant today as technology plays an increasing role in controlling everything from military applications to crucial infrastructure. An inter-planetary war has been won, Earth is safe, and three men bask in the glory. Ironically, it wasn’t won by a machine or any of the three ‘experts’. It was won either by chance or because of problems experienced by the enemy. Pointedly, no thought is given to the rights and wrongs of the war, or the suffering on both sides. Themes include war, hubris, the fallibility of machine and human decision-making, chance. More…
Mrs. Bathurst
A major theme of this enigmatic story by Rudyard Kipling is the potential destructive power of love. Interestingly, we never meet the two central characters: Mrs. Bathurst, a New Zealand hotel keeper renowned for her kindness to needy sailors, and “Click” Vickery, a naval warrant officer who once had a serious affair with her. Vickery becomes so obsessed with a cinematograph clip in a traveling circus showing Mrs. Bathurst in London that he deserts his ship and follows the circus to the next town. Other themes include alienation, chance and accident, ambiguity, passion, death and guilt. More…
A Way of Talking
The major theme of this story from Patricia Grace is casual racism: the habit of using a racial descriptor (in this case the terms Maori and Pakeha) in a way that infers all members of an ethnic or cultural group share the same characteristics. Set in New Zealand, an indigenous university student visiting her home town for her sister’s wedding teaches the older girl a new “way of talking” when confronted with discriminatory or racist language. Other themes: cultural and individual identity; education as a force for social change; the courage to speak out, even if standing alone. More…
The Turning
This story from Tim Winton includes themes of alcohol abuse, domestic violence, child neglect, shame, friendship and faith. A mother of two whose hard-drinking husband is increasingly violent towards her becomes close friends with a “Ken-and-Barbie” like new couple in town. When the couple share a story of how religious faith helped turn their lives around, she rejects the notion as not for her. Later, the impulsive purchase of a novelty “snow dome” featuring a hunky-looking Jesus walking on water not only provides amusement, but also becomes the catalyst for an epiphany as she endures a brutal marital rape.