Quick Reads

The Story of an Hour

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The Story of an Hour: Short story by Kate Chopin Kate Chopin’s The Story of an Hour received a mixed reaction when first published. Released into a male dominated world, the story supports equality for women. The idea that a wife could feel free, free, free and have a look of triumph in her eyes after hearing about her husband’s death was unheard of. It is fortunate that Chopin decided to end the story with Louise dying from joy that kills. One critic has suggested that it would never have been published if she had lived happily ever after. Themes include identity, marriage (oppression vs. love), personal freedom, and grief.

The Dinner Party

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The Dinner Party: Short story by Mona Gardner The theme of Mona Gardner’s The Dinner Party is gender stereotyping. The story is a satire of attitudes towards women in upper class colonial England. It begins with a debate over dinner between an army officer and young girl. The officer argues that men are better than women at staying calm during a crisis. The host’s wife proves him wrong by demonstrating nerves of steel when the guests are threatened by a deadly visitor. Although one of the other guests foreshadows the looming danger, the full extent of the woman’s courage is not evident until the final paragraph.

The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God

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The Bus Driver Who Wanted To Be God: Short story by Etgar Keret In this Etgar Keret story, a bus driver cares more about social justice than kindness. This may explain why he didn’t get the job he really wanted – to be God. The driver’s attitude suddenly changes when he has an epiphany moment witnessing the misery of Eddie, the world’s nicest loser, who is running late for an important date. Eddie believes that he has found true love in ‘Happiness’, the world’s sweetest girl. Unfortunately, Happiness proves to be a little too sweet. She is planning to stand Eddie up rather than hurt his feelings by admitting she already has a boyfriend.

The Butler

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The Butler: Short story by Roald Dahl This story by Roald Dahl is about a newly rich man who tries to buy his way up the social ladder. He employs an expensive butler and French chef and hosts many lavish dinner parties. To impress his guests, he buys some of the world’s best wines and learns a lot about them. What he doesn’t learn about are the things that should and shouldn’t be served with fine wine and how to enjoy it. The butler takes advantage of this, and in so doing puts an end to the rich man’s high society hopes.

The House on Mango Street / Those Who Don’t / Alicia and I Talking…

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The House on Mango Street: Short stories by Sandra Cisneros Today we have three short vignettes from Sandra Cisneros’s House on Mango Street. Each deals with an aspect of “place”. The protagonist’s Mexican-American family moves to a new neighborhood. Although far from perfect, their small house is special because they own it. It lies in a Hispanic part of town that most outsiders consider dangerous. However, the only time they feel scared is if they drive through “another color’s” neighborhood. A year later, the protagonist reflects on why the house (of which she is ashamed) doesn’t yet feel like home. Themes: childhood, family, shame, belonging, house vs. home.

The Homecoming (A Puja Story)

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The Homecoming (A Puja Story): Short story by Banaphool Sometimes the twist in a story is not immediately evident to readers from other cultures. In this story by Banaphool, an Indian insurance agent returning home from an unsuccessful sales trip encounters four strangers in his train compartment. He does his best to sell them a policy until a fifth with a “trunked head” emerges from a top bunk. He then realizes his fellow passengers are important Hindu gods traveling to the upcoming Durga Puja festival. Despite this, he is still able to make a sale. Themes include resilience, embarrassment, persistence, success.

Earthmen Bearing Gifts

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Earthmen Bearing Gifts: Short story by Fredric Brown In this sardonic science-fiction story by Fredrick Brown, the people of Mars are looking forward to their first visit from Earth. The planets have planned an exchange of gifts. Each civilization is more advanced in an important area of science. Martians have mastered the para-psychological sciences and can teach Earthmen how to avoid crime and war. The Earth is ahead in technology and the physical sciences. This could help the Martians restore their dying planet. Earth’s first “gift”, delivered in an unmanned spacecraft, is not what the Martians expected. Themes include scientific progress, communication and cooperation, trust, betrayal.

The Feather Pillow

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The Feather Pillow: Short story by Horacio Quiroga In this story by Horacio Quiroga a healthy young woman slowly wastes away and dies over the three months following her wedding. Her husband’s impassive manner, coupled with spending her days alone in his cavernous, unwelcoming house, destroy her childhood fancies of married life. Her fate is sealed when she decides to cast a veil over her former dreams and live like a sleeping beauty in the hostile house. Later, we learn that it is not their house that is hostile, but her feather pillow. Themes include innocence, love and marriage, isolation and loneliness, disillusionment, depression and death.