Baby H.P.

Baby H.P.: Short story by Juan José ArreolaThis satirical “story” by Juan José Arreola is in the form of an advertisement targeting 1940s housewives. It promotes a light metal exoskeleton which, when attached to a child’s body by means of comfortable belts, bracelets, rings, and brooches, transforms the energy of its movements into stored electricity. The story can be looked at on several levels: as a critique of the emerging consumer society (increasing use of household gadgets); as an attack on commercialism (impacting children’s lives for profit); and as a warning of the potential dehumanizing effects of technology. Themes include absurdity, consumerism, child exploitation, misuse of technology.

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Railroad Standard Time

Railroad Standard Time: Short story by Frank ChinMajor themes of this semi-autobiographical story by Frank Chin are time (symbolized by an inherited pocket watch that keeps Railroad Standard Time), the clash between traditional Chinese and ‘modern’ American culture, and the need to move away from long-held stereotypes of Chinese-American men and women. Ironically for a story that focuses on time, the plot does not proceed linearly. As the narrator drives to and from his mother’s funeral, the story moves from memories of the past to the present and then back again, with the watch providing a connection between them. Other themes: nostalgia, family, cultural heritage, identity, masculinity.

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This Blessed House

This Blessed House: Short story by Jhumpa LahiriThe major theme of this Jhumpa Lahiri story is the personality clashes that can arise in hasty or arranged marriages. Sanjeev is a conservative, up-and-coming corporate engineer. “Twinkle”, his free-spirited, scatty wife is completing her master’s thesis in poetry. They have known each other for only four months, and both are used to getting their own way. A battle of wills arises over the fate of several Christian items left by the former occupants of their new house. The key questions: Who will win, and will the marriage survive? Other themes: love, cultural adjustment (male dominance vs. shared decision-making), understanding/tolerance.

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Cap O’ Rushes

Cap O' Rushes: English folktale from Joseph JacobsSome people liken the beginning of this folktale to Shakespeare’s King Lear. A rich man asks his daughters how much they love him. One answers in a way he does not understand. He mistakenly thinks she doesn’t love him and throws her out of the house. She makes a cloak out of rushes to hide her fine clothes and finds a job cooking and cleaning. That is, of course, until she meets her true love at a ball and turns her bad luck into a ‘happily-ever-after’ ending. Sadly, this sweet-sounding tale may have a more sinister underlying theme.

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One Day

One Day: Short story by Bjørnstjerne BjørnsonIn this story by Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, a timid Norwegian teenager becomes infatuated with an older villager whose voice moves her to tears at a choral performance. In his absence overseas, she is wooed by and finally marries a handsome sea captain. Within five years, she has two children and lives in fear of her dominating, hard drinking husband’s homecomings. She is enlivened when her teenage idol returns and is a regular visitor. They become close, but her hopes are crushed when, on a special outing together, he reveals his true self. Themes include unrequited love, obsession, loveless marriage, alcoholism, heartache.

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The Whimper of Whipped Dogs

The Whimper of Whipped Dogs: Short story by Harlan Ellison This horror story from Harlan Ellison uses magical realism to explain a crime: the 1964 murder of Kitty Genovese. Newspapers at the time (incorrectly) reported that 38 people, none of whom did anything to help, witnessed her stabbing. Here, a witness to a particularly brutal murder senses an evil presence. She later learns that it was a form of black mass, and joins the demonic cult as a means of survival. Themes include negative aspects of city life (competitive pressure, lack of connection, loneliness), behavioral effects of city life (depression, insensitivity, anger, rudeness, aggression, violence), supernatural (demonic) forces, and cultism.

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Six Feet of the Country

Six Feet of the Country: Short story by Nadine GordimerThis early apartheid-era story by Nadine Gordimer highlights the white South African bureaucracy’s callousness and cultural insensitivity towards other races. While city-dwelling whites live in fear, the unnamed protagonist and his wife peacefully co-exist with their black farm workers on a small property just out of town. When the visiting brother of one of their workers dies, the authorities take the body away for autopsy. After paying £20 to have it returned for burial, they find a different body in the coffin. Major themes: racism and inequality (even in death!), change.

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Barcelona

Barcelona: Short story by Alice AdamsThis story by Alice Adams deals with themes of fear, preparedness, pride, gender expectations and poverty. As a wealthy-looking American couple walk through the darkened streets of Barcelona, a thief grabs the woman’s purse and flees. The husband gives chase and recovers it, but appears strangely disappointed when his wife tells him that she always carries her money in her pocket and the bag contains nothing of value. The wife reflects on how men are always “chasing something” to prove their self-worth, and feels sorry for the plight of the poor who must steal to do so.

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