Featured Stories

Immigration Blues

Immigration Blues: Short story by Bienvenido Santos This story by Bienvenido Santos deals with the plight of a Filipino woman wanting to make a future in the United States. Without a permanent visa, her only hope is to gain residence through marriage. Her sister learns of a retired Filipino widower with U.S. Citizenship. In a humorous visit laced with dramatic irony, the two women are initially too embarrassed to raise the topic of marriage. When the old man finally understands their purpose, he thanks God for allowing lightning to strike him twice. Themes include immigration, cultural isolation, hope, fear, pride, the emptiness of growing old alone.

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The Ghost upon the Rail

The Ghost upon the Rail: Short story by John LangThis supposedly true story by John Lang is set in the early 1800s. John Fisher had come to Australia as a convict. He worked hard, won his freedom and became rich. One day a neighbor tells everyone that Fisher has returned to England. A year later, he says that Fisher has written asking him to sell all he owns and send the money to him. According to this version, at about the same time three men (one a policeman) are returning home late one night. Sitting on a rail beside the road is Fisher’s ghost. This spoils the neighbor’s plan.

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In the Penal Colony

In the Penal Colony: Novelette by Franz KafkaThis Franz Kafka story is a study on what can happen when you put a psychopath in charge of a process (or country) in which they have unfettered power and can make decisions over life and death with impunity. The story deals with some heavy themes: justice, due process, capital punishment, torture, sadistic voyeurism, and the difficulty of institutional change (even if for the good!). Central to all this is the “machine”, which seems to know that its time has come and chooses to self-destruct along with the only person left who cares about it.

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A Hunger Artist

A Hunger Artist: Short story by Franz KafkaThemes of Franz Kafka’s A Hunger Artist include alienation and isolation, spiritual emptiness, art, voyeurism, exploitation, change and suffering. The unnamed artist does not hunger for food, but rather artistic recognition and spiritual fulfillment. When, as often happens, public tastes change, he has outlived his usefulness and is quickly forgotten. The story has variously been described as an allegory of the suffering of artists for the sake of their art, a metaphorical representation of the life of Jesus, and a reflection of the tortured final years of Kafka’s own life as an alienated artist dying from tuberculosis.

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Kissy Face

Kissy Face: Short story by Nancy Jean NorthcuttOn the surface, this story by Nancy Jean Northcutt for Highlights Magazine is a simple tale about a young boy who doesn’t like being kissed. Like most good stories, it also raises some interesting questions. First, how much of James’s problem with being kissed is because of the hurtful teasing by best friend Ben? Additionally, although James is happy to see the extra attention being given to his new brother now, will he feel the same about this continuing into the future? Finally, how will he handle the extra responsibilities normally expected of the oldest child in a family?

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The Treasure of Lemon Brown

The Treasure of Lemon Brown: Short story by Walter Dean MyersThe ‘Treasure’ in this Walter Dean Myers story comprises press clippings and an old harmonica that Lemon Brown gave his son before he went off to war. Their value lies in the memories they represent. Meeting Lemon teaches protagonist Greg about the human side of homelessness, and that not all match the stereotype of being dirty, lazy or crazy. He also learns to be more appreciative of his father’s efforts to build a career after having to leave school at thirteen. We are left wondering if it will also result in Greg trying harder at math. Themes: father-son relationships, homelessness.

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The Patient Cat

The Patient Cat: Short story by Laura E. RichardsThis short fable by Laura E. Richards teaches a lesson about patience. The cat showed patience in waiting for the bird to lay all of its eggs, and then waiting until the eggs had hatched. It also showed patience in not pouncing as soon as the chicks were born, but leaving them until they started to get fat. There was a point shortly after this where the cat should have enjoyed its meal. This leads to the moral of the story: being patient is a good thing, but it is equally important to know the right time to act.

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How Muster-Master Stoneman Earned his Breakfast

How Muster-Master Stoneman Earned his Breakfast: Short story by Price Warung (aka William Astley)This story by Price Warung (aka William Astley) is one of a series dealing with Australia’s early days as a penal colony. Set in the late 1830s, its major theme is the cruel and inhuman treatment of convicts who challenged the system. The story is critical of both the system itself, which in many cases turned petty thieves into hardened criminals, and the brutality of the officers who administered it. A feature of the story is Warung’s extensive use of satire (from the title to terms like “the mild discipline” (of) “a genial and loving motherland”) in highlighting these points.

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