This story from Edwidge Danticat highlights the plight of refugees the world over who have been (and unfortunately still are) forced to flee their countries for speaking up about illegitimate and/or oppressive governments. The tragic, haunting tale comprises alternating journal entries by a student activist forced to flee Haiti by sea during the notorious Duvalier regime of the late 1950s, and the young woman he leaves behind. As his boat leaks, the girl’s family suffers and Haiti bleeds. Ironically, life on the boat proves almost as savage as on land. Themes: totalitarianism (violence, injustice, human rights abuse), love, sacrifice, death. More…
Snow
On the surface, Anne Beattie’s Snow is a simple story about a woman’s recollections of a romantic winter in the snow-covered countryside. She doesn’t appear to be speaking directly to the man, so one wonders if she might be writing him a letter, looking at his photograph, or simply re-living events in her mind. The major theme of the story is nostalgia and the nature of memory. She recalls the good times they had together and a bitter-sweet return visit after their parting, but suggests that the man may remember the winter differently. Other themes: storytelling, love, loss. More…
The Swimmer
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…
Christmas Not Just Once a Year
This farcical comedy by Heinrich Böll can be looked at from two perspectives. The first is as a Christmas satire. After years of austere Christmases during World War II, the wife of a German businessman becomes hysterical when the tree for the traditional lavish family Christmas of 1946 is taken down. To prevent her being institutionalized, her family agree to re-celebrate Christmas Eve every day of the year. They go to ridiculous lengths to do this, destroying family unity in the process. Themes: family, tradition, mental illness, alienation, dehumanization, commercialization and loss of the spiritual meaning of Christmas, facing reality. More…
The Miracle of Purun Bhagat
This story from Rudyard Kipling’s Second Jungle Book is about a high-ranking, British educated, Indian government official who gives up everything he owns and begins a new life as a wandering holy-man. He experiences earthly peace in a mountainside shrine high above a small village, and reverence and permanent peace under a tree on the opposite side of the valley. The story shows how sometimes the Hindu concept of acceptance of one’s fate needs to be countered with an authoritative (Western-style) call to action. Themes: Western vs Hindu values, search for enlightenment, human-animal bonding, spiritualism, faith. More…