Set during World War 1, the major theme of his story by Ernest Hemingway is courage: courage to face an enemy in war, and courage to try to rebuild one’s life after being badly injured or suffering a major setback. A wounded American, thought to be Hemingway’s alter ego Nick Adams, visits a Milan hospital every day for exercises to rehabilitate a wounded knee. He shares his fears about returning to the front, and his relationship and experiences with five Italian soldiers undergoing treatment. Other themes: dealing with disability and loss, fear of death, camaraderie, dignity vs. bravado, alienation, loneliness. More…
The Romance of a Busy Broker
This title of this humorous but unlikely story by William Porter (aka O. Henry) might be a clever play on words. The setting is the office of Harvey Maxwell, a busy New York stockbroker, over the space of a single morning. When Harvey sits down at his desk, it is as if he changes from a man into a machine. He puts everything else out of his mind. It is a bad day on the stock market and, when things get quieter at lunchtime, he realizes that he has forgotten something more important than making money. More…
Yellow Fish
On the surface, this story by C. S. Lakshimi (aka Ambai) is about a grieving mother who arranges the rescue of a discarded fish dying on the shore because its struggles remind her of those of her premature baby Jalaja before she died. The story also reflects the cycle of life (the vibrant colors and frenetic activity associated with return of the fishing fleet), death (Jalaja’s passing and the yellow fish flapping on the sand) and rebirth (the fish’s return to the sea). Themes include loss, grief, insensitivity, maternalism, the cycle of life. 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…
The House Opposite
In this story by R. K. Narayan, an Indian “hermit” is both offended and titillated by the activities of a prostitute living opposite. His initial reaction is to label her a “monstrous” devil. However, imagining what she does night after night excites him to the point of obsession. There is a double irony here. The hermit, who has supposedly given up all pleasures, is consumed by desire. The prostitute, who regards him as a saint, respectfully seeks his blessing. It is not until this request that the hermit recognizes the woman’s humanity. Themes include spirituality, desire, self-righteousness, judging others, humanity. More…