This story by science-fiction writer Kurt Vonnegut is about a future world in which the government tries to make everyone equal. The strong must carry heavy weights, the beautiful must wear masks, and the clever are subjected to distracting sounds to stop them thinking clearly. As is usual in totalitarian worlds, those in power are excused from all this… especially the Handicapper General and her “H-G” men. A powerful, gifted fourteen-year-old boy tries to change things as his parents watch on in confusion. Themes: control (forced conformity through oppression and violence), identity (equality vs. individuality), rebellion, media power. More…
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Shooting an Elephant
This story by Eric Arthur Blair (aka George Orwell) is a narrative essay in which the thesis is the wrongs of British Imperialism. A young officer in the British Colonial Police in the early 1920’s describes an experience with an elephant that had killed a villager. He tells how he felt pressured into shooting the animal, even though he knew this to be unnecessary. His fellow Europeans had mixed opinions but fortunately, none of them guessed the real reason for the shooting. Themes include culture clash, prejudice, the need to maintain authority, and moral conscience vs. pride/”face”. More…
The Sparrows
In this story by K. A. Abbas, an Indian man embittered by being forced to follow tradition and enter into a loveless marriage spends thirty years taking revenge on his family and society. He savagely beats his wife and sons, badly mistreats his farm animals, and is abusive to fellow villagers. As the story begins, his wife has left and he is alone in the world. In his misery, he finds solace and redemption through a family of sparrows nesting in the thatched roof of his hut. Themes include tradition, forbidden love, bitterness, revenge, cruelty, alienation and loneliness, connection, redemption. More…
The Giving Tree
This short children’s story by Shel Silverstein is about a boy who is friends with a tree. He plays under it when he is young, and re-visits it throughout his life. The tree keeps on giving to the boy until it has nothing left to give. The boy does not give anything back to the tree or even say thank you. Readers are left wondering if the closing line And the tree was happy. could possibly be true. If you think of the story as an allegory about a mother’s unconditional love, you will know the answer. More…
The Portrait of a Lady
Published in 1948, Khushwant Singh’s moving tribute to his grandmother was the first story of his long and distinguished writing career. The story spans a period of twenty years, from Singh’s earliest memories of the “so terribly old but always beautiful” woman, to her peaceful passing in almost surreal circumstances. He recalls their close friendship during his early schooling, the “turning point” when they moved to live with his parents in the city, and their growing estrangement as Western influences and higher education demands came between them. Themes: grandmother-grandson relationship (love, devotion), generation gap (education, culture), piety, change. More…