Tennessee’s Partner

Tennessee's Partner: Short story by Bret HarteBret Harte’s Tennessee’s Partner is said to be one of America’s first ‘bromance’ stories. Set in an isolated mining town during the California Gold Rush, two men sharing a cabin have a friendship so strong that it survives when one of them (Tennessee) runs away with his partner’s new bride and returns after she leaves him for someone else. Unfortunately, the townspeople become tired of Tennessee’s mischief and begin to suspect him of theft. A purported armed robbery, frontier justice and a hanging separate the two friends. But not for long! Themes: friendship, loyalty, crime and punishment, justice.

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The Lumber Room

The Lumber Room: Short story by H. H. Munro (Saki)This humorous story by Saki describes a clever but mischievous boy’s efforts to explore the wonders of his house’s off-limits-to-children lumber-room. [Not to be confused with planks of wood, the word “lumber” here is a British term for miscellaneous stored articles.] In disgrace for putting a frog in his breakfast bowl, the boy devises an elaborate plan to distract his strict aunt while in the forbidden room. His day gets even better when the suspicious woman falls into a rain-water tank and he tricks her into giving him cause to leave her there. Themes: mischief, curiosity, imagination, oppression, defiance

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Usher II

Usher II: Short story by Ray BradburyFirst published in 1950 as Carnival of Madness, this story by Ray Bradbury is also included in his anthologies The Martian Chronicles and The Illustrated Man. A wealthy book-lover, angry about destruction of his extensive library because of fantasy and horror story censorship on Earth, builds a look-alike version of Edgar Allan Poe’s House of Usher on Mars. He invites prominent book-banners to a party at the house, where they meet different Poe-inspired ends. Themes include censorship vs. personal freedom, the importance of speculative fiction, the danger of excess political correctness, zealotry (in this case, taking a protest too far!)

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A Cup of Tea

A Cup of Tea: Short story by Katherine MansfieldAlthough written in a lighthearted tone, this innocently titled story from Katherine Mansfield deals with some big issues. Its major theme is the materialism, hypocrisy and vanity of the British upper class. The desire for a “cup of tea” symbolizes the one similarity (womanhood) between a young beggar and middle-aged socialite. One is poor, desperate and astonishingly pretty; the other rich, entitled and not exactly beautiful. The socialite’s reason for wanting to help the girl was to show how compassionate she is. However, she soon realizes this may highlight a less favorable difference between them. Other themes: appearance, jealousy, insecurity.

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Sardarji

Sardarji: Short story by K. A. AbbasThis story by K. A. Abbas uses satire and irony to highlight the madness and futility of the religious riots that killed and displaced millions during the 1947 Partition of India. The Delhi-bred Muslim protagonist not only vilifies Hindus and Sikhs, but also looks down on the crude rustic Punjabi practitioners of his own faith. Like most bigots, he advances no reason for his hatred other than that the three groups have different accents, appearances and customs. Fate plays a cruel trick as an angry mob comes for him. Themes include religious and racial intolerance, fear, violence, sacrifice.

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Lullaby

Lullaby: Short story by Leslie Marmon SilkoAlthough this story by Leslie Marmon Silko takes place over a single evening, some of the events described span three generations. An aging Native American woman searching for her alcoholic husband reminisces about her life. Although her childhood memories are pleasant, her adult memories are full of loss and tragedy. Her husband has been exploited by a “white rancher” and, having lost at least three children to natural causes and one to war, her last two were removed by “white doctors”. Themes: memories, tradition and change, language barriers, racism, oppression and exploitation, motherhood, death and loss.

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The Chrysanthemums

The Chrysanthemums: Short story by John SteinbeckIn this seemingly straightforward story by John Steinbeck, chrysanthemum-growing Elisa’s character can be interpreted in several, often contradictory, ways. Is she “strong and happy” as her husband says, or weak and disillusioned with her life? Does she crave companionship, intimacy and perhaps a child, or freedom? Is her fascination with chrysanthemums because of a special connection with nature, or because they represent the only joy in her life? Whatever the answers, after a smooth-talking tinker raises her self-esteem and then shatters it, Elisa’s tears signify her realization that nothing will change. Themes: isolation, loneliness, aesthetics, lack of fulfillment, betrayal.

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Diary of a Madman

Diary of a Madman: Short story by Guy de MaupassantAlthough not one of Guy de Maupassant’s best known works, this is still a fascinating read. The madman (and in this case thrill killer) is a highly respected magistrate who sentences an innocent man to death for one of his own gruesome murders. Later, he gets an additional thrill from witnessing the poor man’s execution. The motif here is that even seemingly incorruptible members of society can descend into madness and commit the most heinous of crimes. Themes: madness, false impressions, society’s fascination with killing (especially as part of war), the undiscovered madmen among us.

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