This satirical “story” by Juan José Arreola is in the form of an advertisement targeting 1940s housewives. It promotes a light metal exoskeleton which, when attached to a child’s body by means of comfortable belts, bracelets, rings, and brooches, transforms the energy of its movements into stored electricity. The story can be looked at on several levels: as a critique of the emerging consumer society (increasing use of household gadgets); as an attack on commercialism (impacting children’s lives for profit); and as a warning of the potential dehumanizing effects of technology. Themes include absurdity, consumerism, child exploitation, misuse of technology. More…
Rip Van Winkle
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 Artist / Painter
With over 100 to choose from, it was hard to decide where to start with the short stories of Bengali writer Rabindranath Tagore. In recognition of his mastery of so many fields, we have chosen this lesser-known story written in 1929. This was a year after Tagore took up painting (at age sixty-seven!) and went on to re-shape the Indian art world. The themes of the story reflect Tagore’s life: embrace your passions, and don’t let the criticism of others (such as the ‘connoisseurs’ who laughed at Rangalal) or worship of money (as demonstrated by Govinda) stand in your way. More…
The Verb to Kill
In this story by Luisa Valenzuela, a pubescent girl in an isolated seaside community spends a lot of time fantasizing with her sister over the imaginary depraved, murderous activities of a seemingly harmless recluse living nearby. The additional conjugations of “to kill” at the end of the story suggest the girls may have taken matters into their own hands. A major theme is the danger of judging someone based on their looks or eccentric behaviour. Other themes include gender inequality and violence in society, imagination, egocentrism, paranoia, dehumanization (of both the man and their “friend” Pocha), superstition. More…
The Purloined Letter
Edgar Allan Poe is famous for his horror stories. However, only about fifteen of his sixty or so stories are of this kind.He is also widely recognized as the “father” of modern detective fiction thanks to his three tales featuring the Chevalier [Sir] Auguste Dupin. In a manner later emulated by the likes of Sherlock Holmes and Hercule Poirot, Dupin succeeds where eminent policemen fail… in this case, simply by recognizing that the best place to hide something important is in plain sight. Themes: blackmail, political manipulation, deception, linear (scientific) vs. lateral thinking. More…