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 Snake and the Mirror
On the surface, this story by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer is a humorous tale about a tense encounter between a young doctor and a cobra that becomes taken with its own beauty. Looking more deeply, it is unclear which “snake” the title refers to. The doctor is a vain, devious man who fusses over his appearance and plans to marry a wealthy, fat woman doctor who won’t cause problems if he makes some silly mistake (i.e. cheats on her). He turns to God when in trouble, but quickly forgets Him when it passes. Themes include vanity, fear, the transience of life. More…
The White Horses of Vienna
This story from Kay Boyle reflects the rise of Austrian Nazism in the early 1930s. Its main characters are an injured doctor (and Nazi sympathizer), his anti-Semitic wife, and a Jewish locum sent to work with them. The story neither condemns nor condones Nazism. A puppet show alludes to the injured doctor’s political ideals; a tale about Vienna’s famed Lipizzaner horses is a metaphor for the fall of the Austrian Empire and the dire economic circumstances that will soon encourage the government to welcome Hitler’s armies. Themes include isolation and natural beauty, family, racism, fascism, activism vs. acceptance. More…
The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind
This Ray Bradbury story is thought to be an allegory of the nuclear arms race that took place during the “Cold War” between the United States and Russia. The “Mandarins” who began the Cold War were Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin. One wonders if the first Mandarin’s daughter alludes to Truman’s wife Bess, who he claims to have consulted before every important decision. Moreover, Bess is known to have made changes to his famous speech outlining the Truman Doctrine, which started it all. Themes include rivalry, paranoia, wisdom, the futility of confrontation and escalation vs. the benefits of cooperation. More…
Weight
In this story by John Edgar Wideman, a writer calls his mother and reads her a draft of a story he has written. It opens with the metaphor My mother is a weightlifter, and goes on to admire the way she has shouldered so many burdens throughout her life. She is not impressed. Two days later, she dies. As he reflects on the call he realizes it wasn’t the story that upset her, but his opening words: This is about a man scared he won’t survive his mother’s passing. Themes include motherhood, love, racial inequality, suffering, strength, dependence, grief, fear. More…