Soldier’s Home

Soldier's Home: Short story by Ernest HemingwayThis story by Ernest Hemingway about an American soldier’s difficulty “fitting in” after returning from World War 1 is a wonderful example of the author’s Iceberg Theory, with much of the protagonist’s background hidden from readers. Upon return, the soldier finds himself alienated from his culture, community, friends, and family. He falls into depression and lethargy, obsessed with watching local girls go by, but avoiding contact with them. This may be due to an earlier failed relationship, or his distaste for his pious, controlling mother. Themes include PTSD, alienation, cultural and social change, fear of involvement and commitment.

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The Prince Who Wasn’t Hungry

The Prince Who Wasn’t Hungry: Short story by Carolyn Sherwin BaileyThe message of this story by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey can be found in the very first line: Once upon a time there was a little Prince who had very little to do, and so he thought a great deal about eating. As he grew up, the whole palace had to work hard to meet his demand for increasingly rare dishes. Nothing satisfied him, and eventually he stopped eating. In frustration, he set out alone one day to find the best food in the world. He discovered that it isn’t the food that counts, but what you do to earn it.

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The Greatest Gift

The Greatest Gift: Short story by Philip Van Doren SternThis story by Philip Van Doren Stern was the inspiration for the classic Christmas movie It’s a Wonderful Life. A depressed man standing on a bridge contemplating suicide confides to a stranger who joins him that he wishes he had never been born. His wish is mysteriously granted and he learns that, without his existence, his loved ones and the whole community would have suffered greatly. As he begs to be returned to his old self, he learns that God’s greatest gift of all is the gift of life. The major theme: every life has meaning and value.

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The Address

The Address: Short story by Marga MincoMajor themes of this story by Marga Minco are trust, betrayal, connection, and letting go. A young Jewish woman, the only member of her family to survive World War 2, visits a ‘friend’ of her mother’s with whom she had entrusted family valuables for safekeeping during the war. Her purpose is to ‘see, touch and remember’ the items, and perhaps to reclaim some to decorate her small rented room. The woman initially rebuffs her, and when she later returns and is admitted by the woman’s daughter, she sees her family’s prize possessions displayed and in daily use around the house.

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Snowstorm

Snowstorm: Short story by Bruna Dantas LobatoThis story by Bruna Dantas Lobato describes the experiences of a Brazilian college student studying in Vermont after a snowstorm. The focus of the story is the girl’s relationship with her anxious mother, with whom she speaks daily over Skype. The girl has remained in her dorm over the winter break and as expected, her mother issues warnings about every possible danger, fuelled by media reports and watching horror movies. The girl is equally concerned for her mother, who appears to be having more difficulty coping with the separation than she is. Themes include mother-daughter connection, separation anxiety, isolation and loneliness.

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Wakefield

Wakefield: Short story by Nathaniel HawthorneThis Nathaniel Hawthorne story opens with a newspaper account of a man who ‘disappeared’ after telling his wife he was going on a week’s holiday, stalked her for twenty years, and then returned home as if nothing had happened. The narrator speculates that the man’s ‘holiday’ may have been a cruel joke to see how his wife would cope without him, and that he gradually became so enamoured with the isolated, clandestine existence that he found it difficult to return home to his former life. Themes include singularity, alienation and isolation, resilience (the wife’s life goes on), obsession, insignificance.

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The Shadowy Third

The Shadowy Third: Short story by Ellen GlasgowThis psychological ghost story by Ellen Glasgow combines themes of the supernatural, crime (murder) and justice (revenge). A young nurse besotted by a popular doctor is assigned as night-nurse to his ailing wife. The woman, who is recovering from the death of her young daughter from a previous marriage, is suffering “hallucinations” that the girl is still alive. When the nurse claims that she, too, can see the spectral child, the mother confides that her husband killed her. The woman dies soon afterwards and, when the doctor claims her multi-million dollar estate, justice is served in an unexpected manner.

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The Lottery

The Lottery: Short story by Marjorie BarnardThis story by Marjorie Barnard is set in 1930s Sydney. On the protagonist’s way home from work, friends draw his attention to a newspaper report that his wife has won first prize in a lottery. His initial reaction is to wonder “Why didn’t she contact him at work? and Where did she get the money? He later reflects on how great his wife and married life are, albeit in terms of gender norms of the day. When he gets home, his wife’s reaction to the win is not what he had expected. Themes include patriarchy, gender roles, complacency, alienation, rebellion.

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