In this H. G. Wells classic, a Victorian era scientist who invents a time machine and travels over 800,000 years into the future finds a disintegrating world. Mankind has devolved into two species: the care-free, childlike Eloi (descendants of the elite) who live above ground in crumbling cities, and the aggressive, ape-like Morlocks (descendants of the working class) who live in perpetual darkness underground. He soon learns the gruesome secret of their co-existence. Themes include time travel, technology and “progress”, inequality and social class (the capitalist divide), the decline of humanity, love and kindness, entropy and decay. More…
The Chaser
On the surface, John Collier’s The Chaser is a light-hearted story about a young man looking to buy a love potion to enchant the woman of his dreams. However, in the old man’s final words Au revoir (goodbye until we meet again), we realize that the story may be the rising action in a longer plot. A major theme is manipulation. Alan is being as cruelly manipulated as he hopes to manipulate Diana. Other themes: true love vs. obsessive desire, equality vs. servility in relationships, morality (lack of respect for and destruction of Diana’s identity, murder as a solution). More…
How I Contemplated the World from the Detroit House of Correction and Began My Life Over Again
The experimental style of this Joyce Carol Oates story takes a little getting used to. In the form of a disorganized set of notes for an English writing assignment, a sixteen-year-old girl reviews the events that landed her in government care. Starved of affection by her wealthy parents, her acts of rebellion escalate from shoplifting to running away from home and falling under the spell of a prostitute and her Svengali-like, drug-addicted pimp. Sadly, the House of Correction isn’t the sanctuary she thought it would be. Themes parental neglect, rebellion, human trafficking, drug use, class and racial conflict. More…
The Egg
Andy Weir’s The Egg is so thought provoking that I have re-read it several times over the years. The story comprises a conversation between “god” and a dead man about the meaning and purpose of life (to grow his soul through new experiences), and his place in the universe. Other themes (equality, consideration for others, and empathy) are nicely summed up in the paragraph: Every time you victimized someone, you were victimizing yourself. Every act of kindness you’ve done, you’ve done to yourself. Every happy and sad moment ever experienced by any human was, or will be, experienced by you. More…
The Fly
Katherine Mansfield‘s The Fly is about death, grief and aging. Two old men handle their sons’ wartime deaths differently. Six years have passed. Mr Woodifield, in poor health physically and mentally, has come to terms with the loss of his son. “The boss”, healthy and successful, still grieves… but not for his son. He laments the sacrifices he made in preparing the boy to take over his business, and shows his true character by torturing a fly. This leaves him feeling wretched and frightened. Could the fly’s struggles have reminded him that even the strongest (himself included) eventually die? More…