This story by Ella Leffland contrasts the way the protagonist, a widow in her late fifties, handles life’s challenges with the approaches taken by her dignified, “old-fashioned” aunt and an eccentric, sometimes mentally unstable friend of her aunt who has appointed himself her “protector”. Unable to cope with noisy neighbors and daily problems following the death of her aunt and long-time companion, the woman suffers a nervous breakdown. After an argument with her “protector”, she falls prey to a vicious serial killer. Themes include alienation and isolation, eccentricity, judgement, passivity vs. assertiveness, rudeness vs. civility, fear, violence. More…
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Where I’m Calling From
This Raymond Carver story describes how a friendship that develops between two strangers attending an alcohol drying-out retreat puts both on the road to recovery. The story’s message is that while acceptance that you have an alcohol problem is an important first step, true recovery begins when you acknowledge the damage it has caused to the lives of yourself and your loved ones, and are prepared to face up to your demons. The story also recognizes that, post-recovery, there is a high likelihood of a relapse. Themes: substance abuse, alienation, loneliness and the need for human connection, self-awareness, fear, hope.
Gooseberries
For me, the major theme of this philosophical story by Anton Chekhov (the nature of happiness) is conveyed through the symbolization of the plateful of gooseberries. This can be expressed in two seemingly conflicting idioms: one man’s (Ivan’s brother’s) sweet taste of success can leave a sour taste in someone else’s mouth. Put Chekhov’s way, complete happiness shouldn’t exist because it requires contributing to and/or being indifferent to the suffering of others; true fulfillment in life only comes from doing good. Other themes: obsession, greed, ego, class, isolation, mortality, city vs. country life, the beauty of nature. More…
Beware of the Dog
This story by Roald Dahl opens with a World War 2 fighter pilot trying to get his badly damaged plane back to England. As he muses about how stoically he will tell his ground crew that he has lost a leg, he is forced to bail out. He wakes up, his injuries already treated, in hospital. He is initially relieved to learn that he had landed in Brighton. However, over the next twenty-four hours, he gradually realizes that something is wrong. Themes: war casualties, courage, determination, deception (looks can be deceiving), duty.. More…
The Harvest
This is one of a series of stories by Tomás Rivera about Mexican-American seasonal farm workers. The harvest is over and, as a group is looking forward to returning to their home base in Texas, they begin to wonder about the unusual behaviour of one of their older members. The single man with no family walks alone into the fields each afternoon, and refuses to allow anyone to follow. Rumors circulate among younger workers that he either is hiding his wages somewhere, or has found buried treasure. Themes include materialism, ritual, spiritual connection to nature and the land. More…