This story by Ernest Hemingway is aptly set at a railway junction. A couple waiting for a train have an important decision to make that will determine the direction of their lives. Unfortunately, they have reached a point in their relationship where they find it hard to open up and talk about their feelings. Although the man says he will leave it up to the woman, he puts subtle pressure on her to choose his way. Themes: perspective (male vs. female views on pregnancy and abortion), choices and consequences (freedom vs. family), language and communication (disconnection), dependence and control. More…
Rules of the Game
The title of this story by Amy Tan refers to both the game of chess and the game of life. A Chinese-American mother’s term for one important rule is the art of invisible strength (self-control). The story deals with a number of themes: poverty, respect (for parents, others and one’s cultural heritage), pride vs. humility, passion and dedication, and mother/daughter relationships. At the end of the story, both fail in exercising the art of invisible strength. The mother’s understandable pride leads to bragging; the daughter’s response is rudeness and running away. Whose wind (willpower) will blow the strongest? More…
A Work of Art
In this Anton Chekhov story the mother of a man too poor to pay for treatment sends his doctor a gift in gratitude for saving his life. There is only one problem: the gift, an antique bronze candelabra, features statuettes of two naked women in a not safe for work or home pose. The doctor passes it on as an unwelcome gift to his lawyer, who in turn donates it at a benefit for an aspiring comic actor. Unfortunately for the doctor, the actor decides to sell it. Themes include gratitude, perception (the subjectivity of art appreciation), morality, appearance, coincidence. More…
The Lagoon
The major message of this acclaimed story from Joseph Conrad is that you can’t escape reality: there is no place where death is forgotten — where death is unknown. Arsat, a powerful warrior, risks all for the love of a royal slave girl. While making their escape, he abandons his devoted brother as he is being attacked by pursuers. Some time later, the woman dies of fever in their lagoon-side jungle hideaway. Experiencing remorse over both deaths, he decides that the only path to redemption is (some would say unjustified) retribution. Themes: brotherly love, romantic obsession, courage, betrayal, guilt, isolation, death. More…
Breakfast at Tiffany’s
Set in the early 1940s, this story by Truman Capote explores the relationship between a budding writer and his downstairs neighbour, mysterious New York café society girl Holly (Holiday) Golightly. Holly lives by socializing with, and seeking a husband from among, wealthy men who take her to clubs and restaurants and give her money and expensive gifts. Unfortunately, a side hustle with a jailed mob boss forces a hasty exit from the country, after which she is not seen again. Themes include freedom, independence and privacy, sexuality, manipulation, yearning for wealth, love and happiness.