Although Washington Irving’s Rip Van Winkle is widely considered one of the first American short stories, it was inspired by a German folktale. In order to escape the wrath of his shrewish wife, a lazy but lovable man goes hunting in the Catskill Mountains. He has an adventure involving some odd-looking men, a keg of strange liquor, and a very long night’s sleep. He doesn’t bring back any game but, like his country, returns to a peace and freedom never experienced before. Themes include storytelling, tyranny (his wife/England) vs. independence, indolence and passivity, marital conflict, progress, the supernatural. 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…
The Golden Windows
This story by Laura E. Richards is about a poor farm boy who, at the end of most working days, would sit on top of a hill and look at a far-away house that appeared to have golden windows. As he did so, he wished that he could live in a wonderful house like that. One day he sets out to find the house. When he gets there, he is disappointed to learn that the house doesn’t have golden windows. A little girl takes him to the top of her hill and shows him the real house with golden windows. More…
Big Blonde
This rather depressing story from Dorothy Parker exposes the different socioeconomic standing and sexual standards applicable to men and women in 1920s America. The protagonist (Hazel) falls from being a popular plus-size model to a depressed middle-aged alcoholic. The cause of her decline lies in extreme moods that sour relationships with her husband and the other hard-drinking men in her life. Forced into a demeaning series of casual affairs with married men who pay her keep in expectation of sexual services, she sees only one pathway to lasting peace. Themes: body image, vulnerability, sexual exploitation, loss of identity/self-esteem, depression, alcoholism. More…
The Magic Barrel
In this humorous story from Bernard Malamud a rabbinical student, a matchmaker, and an errant young woman with “desperately innocent” eyes are all potential winners. The story is as much about the young, introverted rabbi-to-be’s spiritual emptiness as it is his desire to find a wife. His first meeting with a potential match reveals an embarrassing truth: he can’t explain the reason for his calling. He feels a need to re-invent himself, and finds a path to possible redemption in the photograph of a woman whose face carries an “impression of evil”. Themes: tradition, materialism, loneliness, identity, religion, love, redemption. More…