In this story by Oscar Wilde, two old college friends discuss a mysterious woman one of them had fallen in love with. The relationship ended when she refused to reveal the secret behind her apparent paranoia about being contacted at home and a clandestine visit to a boarding house. The major themes of the story are love and trust, as evidenced by the narrator’s initial comment: women are meant to be loved, not be understood and his friend’s retort: I cannot love where I cannot trust. Other themes include the allure of mystery, obsession, insecurity, jealousy, privacy, escape. More…
Category Archives: Short Stories
In the Kindergarten
In this story by Ha Jin, a Chinese kindergarten student (Shaona) comes up with an unusual response to her teacher’s lies about herbs their class has been collecting. Major themes are (for Shaona) loneliness, uncertainty, alienation, adaption (for Shen) poverty, hunger, deception, betrayal. Shen may be a symbol of the Chinese authorities, her ‘poverty’ being a metaphor for greed. With no respect for the rules, she accumulates wealth (purslanes) through corruption and the toil of her charges. Shaona identifies several of Shen’s character traits, and puts two of them (bribery and deceit) to use in dealing with the class bully. More…
The Celebrated Jumping Frog
The humorous frame story of this unlikely tale by Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) satirizes the way late nineteenth-century American “Easterners” looked down on their supposedly less sophisticated Western compatriots. In the inner story, a man named Jim loves gambling so much that he will bet on almost anything. He finds a frog he believes can leap further than any other in Calaveras County, and learns an expensive lesson when a passing stranger bets against his frog and wins easily. Themes include regional stereotypes, storytelling (tall-tales), gambling consequences (there’s no such thing as a sure bet), trickery and deception. More…
The Intoxicated Years
This story by Mariana Enriquez is set during one of Argentina’s worst economic crises. As their parents struggle for economic survival and fight their own demons, three late-teenaged girls are given almost total freedom. With no respect for adults or their conventional peers, the thoroughly dislikeable trio pursue a hedonistic, drug and alcohol fueled lifestyle. The socially detached girls pledge a bond of “sisterhood”. When a punk rocker causes one of them to distance herself, the others exact violent retribution. Themes include alienation, social isolation, alternative culture, drug dealing and abuse, betrayal, revenge. More…
The 13-Carat Diamond
Khin Mya (aka Khin Myo Chit) is one of a small number of recognized Burmese (now Myanmars) authors who wrote in English as well as their native tongue. The story takes place during World War II at the time the Japanese occupied Burma. It tells of the humorous experiences of a young couple who are finding it hard to make ends meet. The woman fails at running a market stall, and comes up with a plan to become rich overnight. All she has to do is find someone with a 13-carat diamond they are willing sell. More…
The Loaded Dog
This is one of the best-known stories by Australian poet and writer, Henry Lawson. It takes place in the late 1800s and involves three men and their big, lovable retriever pup. The men are working together digging for gold and like to go fishing in their free time. When the fish stop biting, they decide to catch them by making a bomb and exploding it in the water. The pup picks up the bomb, accidentally lights the fuse as he runs past the campfire, and has great fun chasing the men around the gold fields trying to give it back. More…
Slowly, Slowly in the Wind
In this story by Patricia Highsmith, doctors warn “Skip” Skipperton, a notoriously bad-tempered business executive, to slow down or risk early death. His answer is to buy Coldstream Heights, a small but comfortable farm. Skip’s only problem is that the titular “stream” is a few meters inside a neighbor’s property, which the owner won’t sell or lease at any price. Not used to being refused, Skip is enraged. When his beloved daughter elopes with the neighbor’s son, he kills the old man. Unfortunately for Skip, the murder is exposed by a children’s Halloween prank. Themes: anger, narcissism, pride, revenge, justice. More…
Talpa
The major themes of this story by Juan Rulfo, which some see as a religious allegory, are faith, conspiracy to cause death, suffering, betrayal, adultery and remorse. The wife and brother of a man dying slowly from a painful, weeping skin condition agree to take him on a pilgrimage to a famous religious shrine. They are in an adulterous relationship and, knowing the trip will kill him, hope to be together sooner. The man begs to return several times during the increasingly painful journey, but the pitiless couple drive him on. When he eventually does die, they return home disappointed. More…
Overcoat
The major theme of this story by Ghulam Abbas is how people judge others by their appearance. A clearly impoverished man uses an overcoat, scarf and cane to create the persona of a well-to-do dandy. He enjoys a leisurely stroll through the streets of Lahore, and is welcomed in shops he could not otherwise enter. Importantly, the reader is also taken in by the guise until it is stripped away as his clothes are removed in hospital. Other themes include loneliness, social class, the human desire to “fit in” and be treated with respect, the unpredictability of life and death. More…
Naga
In this story by R. K. Narayan, a widowed Indian snake charmer trains a monkey for his young son so the two can work together entertaining people in the streets. All goes well until the father runs away with a strumpet in a blue sari, taking the monkey with him. Left alone with the snake, which has grown too old to perform, the boy misses the monkey more than his father. He reluctantly keeps the snake after realizing it can’t survive in the wild, and looks for another kind of work. Themes include poverty, selfishness, abandonment, independence, loyalty, compassion. More…
The Possibility of Evil
The major theme of this Shirley Jackson story is that appearances can be misleading. A secondary theme, which is particularly relevant these days, is ‘fake news’. Miss Strangeworth, who possibly suffers from OCD, believes that her letters, although based purely on suspicion, are for the good of the community. Her objective may be noble, but many of the thoughts expressed are evil. The story’s message is two-fold: 1) we must be constantly on guard against the “possibility of evil”; and 2) evil is sometimes committed under the guise of seemingly good causes. Other themes: heritage, haughtiness, alienation, community, revenge. More…
The New Dress
Virginia Woolf’s middle-aged, lower middle-class protagonist has gone to great lengths to have the perfect dress made for an upper middle-class party. The moment she arrives, she sees that the dress is “not right”. Highly embarrassed, she imagines everyone is mocking her. At first, she blames her situation on her working class upbringing and fantasizes about what might have been if her family had been wealthy. Then, in a moment of introspection, she remembers the good times in her life, commits to a plan for self-improvement, and leaves the party early. Themes: insecurity, self-consciousness, class, poverty, alienation, self-discovery. More…
My Kinsman, Major Molineux
This Nathaniel Hawthorne story is set in the unsettling times shortly before the American Revolution. A naïve eighteen-year-old man travels from the countryside to an unnamed town seeking promised favors from Major Molineux, a distant relative and officer in the British army. Whenever he enquires about the Major’s address, he is met with either scorn or an evasive answer. He learns why when his tarred-and-feathered kinsman is led past him in a street parade. Fortunately, thanks to a kind stranger, there is still a possible future for him in the town. Themes: hope, political unrest, disorder, loss of innocence, compassion. More…
The Weight of a Gun
In this emotionally charged story by Samrat Upadhyay, a divorced woman tries desperately to prevent her schizophrenic adult son from self-harming or harming others. When she discovers that he has bought a gun and possibly joined Maoist rebels, she seeks help from his father. In the process, she befriends his pregnant, emotionally overwrought new wife who is being shunned by her family. As soon as the baby is born, the new wife does a runner and the husband follows, “temporarily” leaving the baby in her care. Themes include motherhood and motherly love, mental illness, loneliness and isolation, insensitivity, anxiety, superstition. More…
Marigolds
In Eugenia Collier’s Marigolds the protagonist comes of age (or in her words loses her innocence) when caught in a senseless act of destruction. Angry about her father’s shame over not being able to find work, she lashes out at the garden of a neighbor who is trying to bring beauty and happiness into her life by growing marigolds. Ironically, the neighbor and her disabled son are even more destitute than the protagonist’s family. Themes: childhood memories, poverty, shame, envy, impulsiveness, empathy, guilt and possibly racism (the resentful references to “white folks” and comments about Miss Lottie’s “Indian-like” features). More…
How Much Land Does a Man Need?
In this Leo Tolstoy story, a Russian peasant thinks to himself: Our only trouble is that we haven’t enough land. If I had a lot of land, I shouldn’t fear the Devil himself! The Devil ‘overhears’ this and puts him to the test. The more land the man gets, the more he thinks he needs. He hears of a place where for almost nothing you can buy all the land you can walk around in a day. In rushing to encircle as much land as possible, he learns the answer to the titular question. Themes: class, exploitation, temptaion, envy, avarice. More…
Wasps’ Nest
Today we are featuring a story from the great Agatha Christie. Unusually for a detective story, it involves an investigation into a murder that is yet to be committed. Hercule Poirot makes a surprise visit to an old friend and asks him to help prevent the murder. When told that the plot involves a friend of the man who has reason to hate him, he refuses to believe Poirot. Thanks to some very unlikely coincidences and skills learned from a grateful pickpocket, Poirot prevents both the murder and a suicide. Themes: friendship, rivalry, hatred, revenge, redemption, xenophobia. More…
The Distance of the Moon
This Italo Calvino story is a set in the imaginary past when the moon came close enough to earth each month for people to climb onto it. For some reason, this could only be done by ladder from a boat. The plot involves a love triangle within a group of people who regularly sail out to collect ‘moon-milk’. At the center of the triangle is the captain’s wife, who becomes stranded on the moon as it moves permanently away. The captain seems pleased to be rid of her, but not so the protagonist. This is magical realism at its best. More…
The Jungle
The “jungle” in this story by Elizabeth Bowen is a sealed-off area of woods overgrown with tussocks of bramble (blackberry bush) near an English boarding school. It becomes a secret haven for a lonely student, a fifteen-year-old girl who has difficulty maintaining friendships with others in her class. Things change when she breaks tradition and bonds with a girl in another class. The relationship has its ups and downs, largely because of her new friend’s assertiveness, and culminates in an implied sexual awakening in the jungle. Themes include alienation, teenage relationships, social class, escape, sexuality. More…
May Day Eve
The major theme of this story by Nick Joaquin is that happy marriages don’t happen by magic; they require a foundation of mutual respect and constant effort on both sides. A wealthy, controlling man marries a beautiful, feisty, free-spirited woman. Set in late 1800s Philippines under Spanish (Catholic) rule, there is no way out as things go wrong. The woman likens their marriage to living in hell. Her resulting bitterness prompts the vindictive man to label her a witch. After her death, he breaks into tears when thinking about what might have been. Other themes: superstition, compatibility, aging, death, regret. More…
The Life You Save May Be Your Own
In this Flannery O’Connor story a cynical, manipulative, one-armed drifter is given a chance at redemption (settling down to a “better” life) by an equally manipulative mother desperate to secure a future for her mentally handicapped daughter. Rather than the daughter, the man only has eyes for the family’s “barn-find” automobile. Immediately after their wedding, he leaves the girl to an uncertain future at a roadside diner and drives on alone. Perhaps out of guilt, he unsuccessfully tries to absolve himself from the moral consequences of his actions by doing a good deed. Themes: disability, devotion, desperation, deception, redemption, independence. More…
The Homemaker / Gharwali
In this story by Ismat Chughtai, an orphan growing up on the streets learns that her body is her only asset. Alluring and without shame, she is known for providing sex for money, on credit, or as charity. Things change when a friend suggests that a respectable shopkeeper employ her as a housemaid. He refuses because of her reputation, but she is so taken by what she sees after visiting his house that she stays despite his protests and takes over the household. Themes include promiscuity, reputation, hypocrisy, desire, marriage, patriarchy, jealousy, the importance of “belonging”. More…
Gusev
This Anton Chekhov story contrasts the attitudes towards social injustice of two Russian soldiers returning home by ship after serving in the Far East. Both are dying of tuberculosis, and neither survives the voyage. One (Gusev) is an uneducated, superstitious peasant who passively accepts his lot. The other (Pavel Ivanovich) is a bitter, fallen intellectual who looks down on “lesser” men and claims to actively oppose the Russian social system. Themes include social class, passivity vs. activism, memory and imagination, loneliness and alienation, the inconsequence of human suffering and death in the context of the glory of nature. More…
Babylon Revisited
The protagonist in this bittersweet story from F. Scott Fitzgerald is in the process of rebuilding his life after losing everything in the aftermath of the 1929 stock market cash. Along with many other Americans caught up in the hedonistic 1920s Paris lifestyle, he had partied hard and drank to excess. When his wife died as he was recovering in a sanitarium, he was forced to give up custody of his then seven-year-old daughter. Two years later, he is determined to win her back. Themes: alcohol abuse and reform, wealth and poverty, fatherly love, self-discipline, alienation, guilt and regret, hope. More…
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven
This story by Sherman Alexie highlights the difficulty tribal Native-Americans have assimilating into American society. A Spokane Indian recalls his breakup with a white kindergarten teacher he loved. Their relationship was one of constant fights and arguments, often over his excessive drinking. Tortured by violent dreams, he returned to the community of the reservation. After several idle months he once again finds work in the outside world, where a call from his ex-girlfriend suggests they still have feelings for one another but are too afraid to pursue them. Themes include community vs. isolation, prejudice, alcohol abuse, love and hatred. More…
Axolotl
Julio Cortázar gives away the plot of this story in the first paragraph: There was a time when I thought a great deal about the axolotls… Now I am an axolotl. The rest of the story talks about this Kafkaesque transformation, which is partial and may have only occurred in the protagonist’s mind. He (the axolotl part) sits in an aquarium tank watching himself (the unchanged part) looking in from the other side. Considering his life from this perspective seemingly builds the man’s self-esteem, and he no longer feels the need to return. Themes: loneliness, alienation, obsession, connection, enlightenment, inertia. More…
Beyond the Wall of Sleep
In this story by H. P. Lovecraft, a psychiatric hospital intern discovers that beyond the wall of sleep we exist as a brother of light able to traverse multiple planes and universes. Intrigued by a dying dullard’s dreams about things he couldn’t possibly have experienced or imagined, he uses a telepathic device to read the man’s mind. As the patient dies, he catches a glimpse of these other worlds and meets the man’s majestic other self. The story raises an interesting question: Which of the two states is the true reality? Themes include dreams, alternative reality, death, the supernatural. More…
Greasy Lake
This coming of age story from T. C. Boyle is about three nineteen-year-old boys who think it is “good to be bad”. It begins on a lighthearted note. The boys try to look and act tough, but cruise the streets in their parents’ station wagons and get their highs from sniffing glue. One night, an innocent prank goes terribly wrong. A case of mistaken identity results in a stranger being beaten unconscious, an attempted rape, discovery of a dead body, and the trashing of a family car. The events prove the danger of pretending to be someone you are not. More…
The Dog of Tithwal
This story from Saadat Hasan Manto takes place during the first Indo-Pakistan (Kashmir) War, which commenced just two months after the 1947 formation of the two countries. The war was a form of “Mexican standoff”. This is reflected in the plot, where soldiers break their boredom with occasional shots towards the enemy camp that have no chance of hitting anyone. The treatment and killing of Jhun Jhun for “refusing” to take sides is symbolic of the suffering of civilians caught up in the conflict. Themes: natural peace and harmony vs. mankind’s propensity for violence, futility, innocence, distrust, cruelty, human suffering. More…
Servant Girl
In this story by Estrella Alfon, a hard working Filipino servant girl works for a mistress who is a heavy drinker and often verbally and physically abusive. She rejects a local man who says he loves her, and is infatuated with an “angelic” cochero who once helped her after a fall. After a particularly brutal beating, she runs away to look for the cochero, who she fantasizes is in love with her. She finds him, but he doesn’t remember her. Seeing things more clearly, she returns home. Themes include social class, innocence, workplace abuse, humiliation, perseverance, fantasy, violence, enlightenment. More…
The Swimmer
John Cheever’s The Swimmer satirizes New York high society through a quirky mix of realism and surrealism. Neddy Merrill is arrogant, pretentious and narcissistic. His attempt to become recognized as a legendary adventurer by “swimming” home from a party through a summer storm symbolizes risk-taking that may have led to the loss of his wealth, respect, family and health. Along the way, he encounters others in the community: the principled Hallorens who stand up for their beliefs; the down-to-earth Biswangers he has socially shunned for not “belonging to his set”; and the loving mistress he has cruelly cast aside. More…
The Things They Carried
The strength of this Vietnam War memoir by Tim O’Brien is the matter-of-fact way the life of the soldiers (“grunts”) is portrayed. Although the military and survival equipment carried by the men is listed, the major theme of the story is the emotional burdens they carried – both those the men brought to the war, and those they took on during its course. First Lieutenant Jimmy Cross learns an important lesson: in order to do your duty and survive the war, you need to find a way to let go of these. Other themes: war, love, individual and collective responsibility. More…
Christmas Storms and Sunshine
This tale by Elizabeth Gaskell uses Christmas as a backdrop to deliver a touching message about rivalry, jealousy, forgiveness and being a good neighbor. Two men living in the same rooming house work for rival newspapers. The papers support opposing political views, and are openly critical of each other. Loyalty to their employers has resulted in a rift between the two men; loyalty to their husbands, coupled with petty jealousies, has resulted in hatred between their wives. A hungry cat, seriously ill child, Christmas carolers, and a plate of homemade sausages bring everybody together. More…
Amnesty
In this story by Jose Dalisay Jr., a chance encounter on a bus contrasts the directions taken by two student revolutionaries during the Philippine’s Marcos dictatorship. One stayed true to the cause and has just been released from prison under a general amnesty declared by the incoming government. After six years in jail, she appears physically broken but emotionally strong. The other chose “survival”, privately supporting the cause but publically embracing and prospering under the corrupt system. He fears for his comfortable lifestyle. Themes include oppression, courage and remaining true to a cause, sacrifice, hypocrisy, guilt and regret, hope. More…
The Shawl / Rosa
Today we are featuring two award-winning stories from Cynthia Ozick. The first, The Shawl, is set in Second World War Poland and deals with the horrors of the holocaust as experienced a young mother (Rosa), her infant child (Magda), and fourteen-year-old-niece (Stella). The second story, Rosa, is a sequel to the first. Set in the USA over thirty years later, it demonstrates the devastating long-term effects of the women’s war-time experiences. More…
Victoria and Her Kimono
This story by M. Shanmughalingam is in two parts. The first is a humorous description of pre-World War 2 goings-on at one of Kuala Lumpur’s most prestigious secondary schools. Told from the point of view of an “old school” disciplinarian English teacher, it has a Monty Python-like ring to it. The second deals with the brutality and privation associated with Japanese occupation and how, thanks to a home-made kimono and a few words of Japanese, the Tigress of Asia (the teacher’s wife) saves his life. Themes include colonialism, the power of language, suffering, courage, resilience. More…
In the Withaak’s Shade
Like a number of Herman Bosman‘s Oom Schalk Lourens stories, In the Withaak’s Shade is a satire of the life of Bushveld Afrikaners embellished in the form of a “tall tale”. It tells of a farmer’s unlikely encounter with a leopard as he was lying down under a withaak tree while busily searching for some lost cattle. Several of Bosman’s common themes (storytelling and the indolence, independence and mateship of the Boer landowners) are obvious. Two others (the mass hysteria that follows the reported sighting, and destruction of wildlife) are not. More…
Sweat
At its simplest, this story by Zora Neale Hurston is about a cheating, abusive husband who got what was coming to him. Everyone in Delia’s poor black community seems to know about her brutal mistreatment at the hands of husband Sykes. However, nobody offers to help. She finally reaches breaking point, and threatens to go to the “white folks” if he touches her again. Sykes wants Delia’s house and devises a plan to kill her but, in an ironic twist, she manages to turn the tables. Themes: oppression, good vs. evil, hard work vs. laziness, domestic abuse, adultery, courage, greed. More…
A Joke
In this story by Anton Chekhov, a young man plays a trick on a terrified lady-friend by whispering a ghostly I love you as they speed down a mountain on a toboggan. Unsure of what she heard, the woman asks the man to repeat the ride over and over. Each time they do so, he whispers the same words. Soon it becomes an obsession and every day she wants to go up the mountain to listen for the words. Her reaction when she thinks she has the answer is a surprise. Themes include fear, innocence, playful deception, confusion, obsession, regret. More…
Bloodchild
Octavia Butler described this as her “pregnant man” story. A colony of humans fleeing some kind of trouble takes shelter on a planet inhabited by giant, insect-like beings. The insects (Tlics) develop a symbiotic relationship with the humans (Terrans). In exchange for protection, adolescent boys are allocated to Tlic families, where they must incubate a Tlic mother’s eggs. The eggs are implanted in their abdomen, necessitating a rather gruesome but usually successful delivery process. Understandably, the Terran protagonist who has just reached maturity is having second thoughts about this. Themes: exploitation vs. interdependence, gender roles, fear, sacrifice vs. jealousy, love. More…
Three Thanksgivings
In this story by Charlotte Gilman, a widow faces pressure from three sides. Her married children want her to come and live with them, and the man who holds a mortgage over her large family home wants to marry her. She doesn’t want to move or remarry, doesn’t have the means to repay the mortgage, and has three Thanksgivings to make a decision or find the money. In helping five hundred other women, she builds a new life and solves the problem. Themes include gender expectations, financial independence, self-sufficiency, entrepreneurship, community.
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Eleonora
In this atypical Edgar Allan Poe story there is madness, but not the destructive kind; death, but not the gruesome kind; and a spirit, but not a frightening one. Also unusual is Poe’s extensive use of poetic prose. His description of the idyllic valley may be an allusion to the Garden of Eden, leaving readers to wonder if the couple’s incestuous lovemaking beneath the serpent-like trees was the “apple” that destroyed their paradise. Themes: the beauty of nature, innocence, passion, love, death, moving on. Poe’s message: true love endures; despite the loss of a loved one, life must go on. More…
The Khaki Coat
This story by Nhat Tien is a satirical criticism of the heavily regulated early days of the Vietnamese socialist government. The lack of social equality and opportunity is reflected in the life of a girl who supports her younger siblings by hawking items she digs up in graveyards. She is arrested when a widow recognizes the fashionable khaki coat her husband was buried in. However, she is soon free again after arguing in court that her actions were consistent with Communist ideology. Themes include social equality and opportunity, family, poverty, survival, superstition.
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Residents and Transients
The protagonist in this Bobbie Ann Mason story is at a crossroads. Having returned to temporarily live on her parent’s Kentucky farm after they moved to Florida, she hates the idea of going back to suburban living. Her salesman husband has a new post and is away looking at houses in a nearby city, and in his absence she has been having an affair with a local man. She is caught between two places and two men. Her cats may prove the deciding factor. Themes: change (past vs. present), city vs. country living, rootedness vs mobilty, uncertainty, choices and consequences. More…
The Treasure in the Forest
In this adventure story by H. G. Wells, two men arriving by canoe on a deserted Borneo island have killed another to get their hands on a map. As well as including some strange symbols and unintelligible Chinese writing, the map shows the location of a buried treasure. When the men reach the spot, they are delighted to find the treasure intact. As they carry some of it away, they learn to their cost the meaning of the symbols on the map, and why its owner was smiling as they killed him. Themes include greed, crime and punishment, karma. More…
Bullet in the Brain
This Tobias Wolff story features a protagonist who is so unlikable that it seems a relief when a bank robber silences him. Sarcastic to the point of being obnoxious, Anders provides some humorous moments (Love the comment about The Killers!) before getting the richly deserved Bullet in the Brain. Unlike Bierce’s Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge, where the protagonist enjoys an uplifting moment-of-death experience, Anders re-lives a childhood baseball game. The highlights of his life were the simple pleasures of youth (such as enjoying the musical quality of a strange accent), before losing his innocence to conceit, disillusionment and cynicism. More…
The Man Who Loved Flowers
In this story from Stephen King, people are cheered by the sight of a well-dressed young man walking down a New York City street one spring evening. He has the appearance of a man in love, which is confirmed when he buys a bouquet of flowers for his girlfriend Norma. The twist comes when he hands the flowers to a young woman and savagely beats her to death when she says her name is not Norma. Norma is long dead, but the obsessed former admirer is still looking for her. Themes include appearance vs. reality, love, obsession, denial, madness, murder. More…
Midsummer
This story by Manuel E. Arguilla describes an innocent but sexually charged encounter between a Filipino man and woman on a hot midsummer day. The man, who is driving a bullock cart along an isolated stretch of road, notices a young, surprisingly sweet and fresh woman on her way to collect water. He stops and follows her up a dry gorge to a well, where he watches her draw water. After she leaves and later returns for more water, they strike up a conversation. Themes include sexuality, physical attraction, shyness and respect. More…
The Tractor and the Corn Goddess
Renowned Indian writer Mulk Raj Anand was well known for his socialist views. These come to the fore in this tongue-in cheek story about a landowner’s progressive son who returns from overseas with such revolutionary ideas as turning his farm into a villager-owned co-operative and importing a tractor to improve the lives of workers. The focus of the story is the tractor, and the landowner’s ingenious method of overcoming the villagers’ fears and indignation associated with the tractor’s “rape” of their Corn Goddess. Themes: social conscience, change, religious and cultural differences, suspicion, pride. More…
The Princess of Nebraska
In this story by Yiyun Li, a pregnant Chinese graduate student has traveled from Nebraska to Chicago for an abortion. The father, a former “dan” actor, is still in China and not returning messages. Accompanying her is a Chinese activist, who was the dan actor’s boyfriend before fleeing the country. Both are still in love with the actor, and the activist would prefer she keep the baby to lure him to America. In the closing paragraph, her resolve appears to weaken as the baby begins to move. Themes include repression vs. freedom, loneliness, sexuality, identity, choice vs. consequences. More…