The Water-Faucet Vision

The Water-Faucet Vision: Short story by Gish JenIn this humorous story by Gish Jen, a Chinese-American woman whose mother recently passed away reflects on a brief period in her childhood when her mother somehow fell out of their bedroom window. At the time of the fall she was a fifth grader in a Catholic school, obsessed with the idea of becoming a martyr and performing miracles. When her precious comfort beads fall through a drainage grate in the road, she wakes to a “vision” telling her how to recover them. Themes include religious belief, marital conflict, family, friendship, loss.

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The Underground Gardens

The Underground Gardens: Short story by T. C. BoyleThis story by T. C. Boyle is a fictional account of the founding of California’s Forestiere Underground Gardens by an Italian immigrant in the early 1900s. The immigrant is initially disheartened to find that 70 acres of land he bought by mail order is too dry and hard to farm. He survives by working as a day laborer on other farms and, spurred on by a love interest, hand digs a subterranean mansion in his spare time. When the woman rejects him, he keeps on digging. Themes include faith in oneself, self-sufficiency, infatuation, appearance, perseverance, vision.

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Africans

Africans: Short story by Sheila KohlerSaid to be an allegory of power relations between individuals in a colonial setting, the major themes of this story by Sheila Kohler are oppression and betrayal. An Afrikaner betrays his family through a combination of physical assaults, homosexual encounters, and inappropriate touching of his son’s classmates. His wife betrays him with an overseas affair, and her son and his classmates by not reporting his paedophilic tendencies to the police. Lastly, the wife’s “loyal” African servant since childhood betrays her in a moment of need. Other themes include family, gender roles, sexuality, domestic violence, fear, loyalty vs. duty.

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Menagerie, a Child’s Fable

Menagerie, a Child’s Fable: Short story by Charles JohnsonLike George Orwell’s Animal Farm, Charles Johnson’s confronting allegorical fable about animals left to fend for themselves in a locked pet shop is not for children. Some see the story as a religious allegory for the consequences (chaos and hell fire) of losing faith in God (Tilford) and listening to the devil (the monkey). Another interpretation is as a political allegory for the anarchy that can arise after a breakdown of authority and the rule of law, much like modern day (2024) Haiti. Themes include oppression, freedom and democracy, pluralism vs. racism, lawlessness and power (greed, violence, murder and rape).

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The Mesmerizer

The Mesmerizer: Short story by Mark TwainIn this story taken from the Autobiography of Mark Twain, the author reminisces about a childhood prank that still haunts him in adult life. When a traveling mesmerizer (hypnotist) came to town, young Twain volunteered as a subject to show off before the public … and make the people laugh and shout and admire. His performance was so convincing that he fooled everyone in town. Later in life he comes to regret the deception, but learns that it can sometimes prove very difficult to undo a lie. Themes include showmanship, deception, the temporary nature of fame, cruelty, gullibility.

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Black Is My Favorite Color

Black Is My Favorite Color: Short story by Bernard MalamudIn this cynical take on 1960s race relations by Bernard Malamud, a Jewish-American shopkeeper turns the traditional racial discrimination debate on its head. Claiming to be open-minded and desirous of not only integrating with his local African-American community but also marrying into it, he finds himself shunned, vilified, beaten and rejected for his efforts. Some reviewers suggest that he has brought these problems upon himself by trying to be “too kind” and unintentionally coming across as privileged and condescending towards those he tries to help. Themes include racial inequality, racial and religious discrimination, interracial relationships, violence.

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The Sailor-Boy’s Tale

The Sailor-Boy’s Tale: Short story by Isak DinesenTold in the form of a fairy-tale, this story by Isak Dinesen (aka Karen Blixon) includes the rather unusual suggestion that manhood comes with killing someone, kissing a girl and accepting one’s destiny. A young sailor is hurrying to visit a girl who the previous night had promised him his first kiss. After accidentally killing an aggressive Russian sailor who tries to delay him he flees, gets his kiss, and is saved from an angry mob by a grateful shape-shifter returning a good deed. Themes include innocence, romance, coming of age, destiny, karma (good deeds returned), the supernatural.

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At the Jim Bridger

At the Jim Bridger: Short story by Ron CarlsonIn this story by Ron Carlson, a man regrets having used a censored version of a story about how he saved the life of a hiker to seduce a woman. The hiker was suffering from hypothermia and, trapped in a small tent during a blizzard, the only way to warm him up was to lay naked together in the same sleeping bag. Nature took its course and, although the hiker either isn’t bothered by what happened or doesn’t remember, the protagonist has trouble coming to terms with it. Themes include marriage/relationships, male bonding, fatherhood, betrayal, guilt.

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