Youth

Youth: Short story by Joseph ConradThis story from Joseph Conrad is more than a survival tale about an unseaworthy ship beset by bad luck. Central themes are youthful exuberance bordering on recklessness, regret for its passing, and the romance of the sea. The explosion that sinks the vessel marks a turning point for a young ship’s officer. Up until then, his enthusiasm had been fueled by a youthful desire to experience the wonders of the East. He discovers a new side of himself (leadership ability) when he temporarily takes command of the crew’s evacuation to the lifeboats. Other themes: courage, duty, misfortune, survival, self-discovery, pride.

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Yellow Moepels

Yellow Moepels: Short story by Herman BosmanIn this story by Herman Bosman, a young a young farmer riding off to fight the British during the short First Boer War promises the girl he is engaged to that he will be home when the moepel fruit are ripe (yellow). The girl visits a native witch-doctor who tells her the same thing. We learned earlier in the story that witch-doctors can only tell you the things that don’t matter in your life. There is something more important in the girl’s future that the witch-doctor neglected to divulge. Themes: love, superstition, war, “bravery”, memory, racism.

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The Lighthouse

The Lighthouse: Short story by H. E. BatesIn this story by H. E. Bates a man recovering from a troubled marriage begins a passionate affair with a lonely woman working at a beach-side café. The climax is his sense of confusion, anger, and betrayal when, having lied and told her he is single, he learns she is also married. Her husband works away from home and returns on weekends. For her, the relationship with the man appears primarily sexual. She presses him to remain her mid-week lover, and he could well be too weak-willed to refuse. Themes include isolation, loneliness, insecurity, sexuality, deception, jealousy.

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A Worn Path

A Worn Path: Short story by Eudora WeltyIn this Eudora Welty story, an aged woman makes a long, dangerous trek through the Mississippi woods. Its power lies in the vivid descriptions of nature and the various obstacles she encounters. Once in town, she struggles to remember the purpose of the journey. Although we learn later that she has come for the regular medicine needed by her ailing grandson, many readers question if the boy still lives. Her confusion suggests that such visits may simply be a way of handling the grief (or guilt) associated with his death. Themes: nature, old age, perseverance, duty, poverty, dignity, racism, redemption.

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Naming the Names

Naming the Names: Short story by Anne DevlinSet during the Irish Troubles, the major themes of his story by Anne Devlin are love, loyalty and betrayal. Other themes include identity, the cyclical nature of violence, urban change/devastation, taking responsibility for one’s actions, and the humanization of terrorism. The plot is non-linear, with regular flashbacks to earlier times. An insecure woman who has been indoctrinated in the Republican cause since childhood joins the IRA. She plays a minor role until a decision is made to target a prominent British official, and finds herself perfectly placed to lure his son (who is also her lover!) into a deadly trap.

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The Tiger

The Tiger: Short story by S. RajaratnamIn this moving tale by S. Rajaratnam, a pregnant Malay villager bathing in a river notices a tiger watching her from tall grass near the riverbank. Initially too scared to move, she is surprised as the tiger takes less and less interest in her. Eventually able to swim away, she immediately tells fellow villagers about the encounter. She feels uneasy when a party of men set out to shoot the apparently harmless animal, and is horrified by what they find after killing it. Themes include: fear, connection, compassion, bloodlust, motherhood, conservation (co-existence with vs. destruction/exploitation of nature).

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The Price of Eggs in China

The Price of Eggs in China: Short story by Don LeeMajor themes of this story by Don Lee are love, art and rivalry. Set in California, a Japanese-American furniture artisan is caught-up in rivalry between his girlfriend and a female customer. Both women are poets. Although once good friends, they fell-out after their first books got very different reviews. The girlfriend, whose work was rated poorly, believes the other woman is trying to ruin her life. Things take a dark turn when she reports receiving threatening phone calls. Readers are left wondering whether these are real, or contrived to destroy her rival. Other themes include self-image, insecurity, paranoia, and sacrifice.

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The Night Face Up

The Night Face Up: Short story by Julio CortázarIn this story by Julio Cortázar, a man hospitalized after a motorcycle accident drifts in and out between the “present” and a “dream” in which he is a member of an ancient tribe being hunted by Aztec warriors for sacrifice. As he struggles to stay awake in his hospital ward, his dream-self is captured, imprisoned, and carried up the temple steps for execution. At the moment of death, he recalls a dream about riding through an astonishing city on an enormous metal insect that whirred away between his legs. Themes include time and space (parallel worlds), existence, dreams vs. reality.

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