The legendary Encyclopedia in this story by Danilo Kiš records minute details of the lives of all people not famous enough to have a published biography. Readers encounter two sets of themes: those related to the book, and those arising from the protagonist’s dream about her father’s entry in the book. For the book we have egalitarianism (equality in eternity), individuality (each person is a star unto himself) and singularity (nothing in the history of mankind is ever repeated). For the protagonist’s dream, which ends with a supernatural twist, we have memories, love, aging, and coming to terms with death. More…
The Enormous Radio
Like many John Cheever stories, the major themes of The Enormous Radio are appearances vs. reality and the myth of urban bliss. Other themes include eavesdropping, obsession, secrecy, smugness, self-delusion and hypocrisy. A seemingly contented couple’s life changes when a malfunctioning radio begins to pick up conversations from people in surrounding apartments. The woman becomes obsessed with listening in and, after learning her neighbors’ secrets about affairs, marital and financial problems, etc., begins to look down on them. This feeling of superiority is soon dashed when her husband points out some unsavory aspects of her own past. More…
The Law of Life
Jack London‘s The Law of Life tells of the life and impending death of Koskoosh, an old Inuit who was once chief of his tribe but is left by them to die in the snow. Some critics suggest that although Koskoosh is the protagonist, the real hero of the story is an old moose that was too weak to keep up with its herd. Can you see why? Major themes: the inevitability of death (the law of life), survival of the individual (man vs. nature), survival of the tribe (expendability of the old and weak), tradition, courage, acceptance. More…
Molly Whuppie
This Scottish folktale is one of those rare stories where the character who successfully defeats a giant is a girl. As often happens in folktales, Molly achieves this through gruesome actions. First, she tricks the giant into killing his three innocent daughters. Later, she tricks him into severely beating has kind wife, who had helped when Molly and her sisters needed food. As a reward, the girls marry into the family of a cowardly king who is happy to send Molly into danger three more times to satisfy his greed. There don’t seem to be any true heroes here. More…
The End of the Party
Although the 9-year-old twins in this Graham Greene story look the same, they have very different psychological dispositions. The first-born (Peter) is self-confident and has a special connection with his brother. The younger (Francis) has an anxiety disorder that results in unreasoning fear, particularly of the dark. Peter feels what Francis feels, and is fiercely protective of him. Despite their best efforts to avoid it, the two attend a birthday party that will include a game of hide-and-seek in the dark. During the game, a thoughtless act by Peter has tragic results. Themes: innocence, brotherhood, connection, fear, adult insensitivity, death. More…