Anita Roy’s Cooking Time is about Mandy, a teenage girl living in a future dystopian world. An environmental disaster has destroyed all agricultural production. Everything is controlled by a huge company that makes the world’s only source of food… a processed product sold in squeeze packs. The story introduces some powerful themes inside an entertaining backstory built around the Masterchef TV show. Mandy rises above her poor background, surprising everyone by qualifying for the competition. In this version, contestants travel back in time to catch/gather and cook their meals. Mandy has an ulterior motive: to try to change the future! More…
Harrison Bergeron
This story by science-fiction writer Kurt Vonnegut is about a future world in which the government tries to make everyone equal. The strong must carry heavy weights, the beautiful must wear masks, and the clever are subjected to distracting sounds to stop them thinking clearly. As is usual in totalitarian worlds, those in power are excused from all this… especially the Handicapper General and her “H-G” men. A powerful, gifted fourteen-year-old boy tries to change things as his parents watch on in confusion. Themes: control (forced conformity through oppression and violence), identity (equality vs. individuality), rebellion, media power. 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 Fir Tree
This story by the Danish poet and writer Hans Christian Andersen is about a tree that grows up never being satisfied with its life. There is only one day in the tree’s life (a Christmas Eve) that it feels truly happy. After Christmas, people throw it into a dark attic. While waiting for what comes next, the tree realizes there were many other good things in its life that should have been enjoyed. It is excited when finally brought out into the sun, only to meet a sad end that will make you never want a real Christmas tree again. More…
Why I Live at the P.O.
The major themes in Eudora Welty’s comical account of a family squabble are jealousy and sibling rivalry. When a prodigal daughter returns with a two-year-old child in tow the petulant narrator, who has remained at home, is far from welcoming. The story is a dramatic monologue told five days after the events. We only see one very biased side of what happened and, as the narrator is trying to justify her move to the “P.O.”, it is almost impossible to form an opinion as to the accuracy of her account. Other themes: family, isolation, denial, acceptance, pride, independence. More…