The First Seven Years

The First Seven Years: Short story by Bernard MalamudThe major theme of this story from Bernard Malamud, with its allusion to the biblical tale of Jacob and Rebecca, is materialism vs. spiritualism. An aging, ailing shoemaker is excited to identify a potential suitor with good financial prospects for his nineteen-year-old daughter. His dreams are shattered when the girl, an avid reader of the classics, rejects the man as being a materialist with “no soul”. He later experiences an epiphany upon learning that she already shares a romantic interest… with his equally sensitive but poorly educated, much older workshop assistant. Other themes: insensitivity, independence, self-learning, worldliness vs. love.

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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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Diary of a Madman

Diary (Memoirs) of a Madman: Short story by Nikolai GogolThis humorous story from Nikolai Gogol charts the descent of a government clerk into insanity. He dismisses his supervisor’s concerns about strange behavior as jealousy, becomes infatuated with his Department Head’s daughter, stalks the poor girl after overhearing a conversation between two dogs, reads their (the dogs’) letters, and finally suffers delusions of grandeur, believing himself to be the King of Spain. In the process, the story satirizes Russia’s bureaucratic wastefulness and obsession with titles and social status. The major theme is, of course, madness. Other themes: purposeless work, alienation, envy, wounded pride, class and (in the asylum) cruelty, suffering.

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Snow

Snow: Short story by Ann BeattieOn the surface, Anne Beattie’s Snow is a simple story about a woman’s recollections of a romantic winter in the snow-covered countryside. She doesn’t appear to be speaking directly to the man, so one wonders if she might be writing him a letter, looking at his photograph, or simply re-living events in her mind. The major theme of the story is nostalgia and the nature of memory. She recalls the good times they had together and a bitter-sweet return visit after their parting, but suggests that the man may remember the winter differently. Other themes: storytelling, love, loss.

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All Over the World

All Over the World: Short story by Vicente Rivera Jr.This story by Vicente Rivera Jr. is set in Intramuros, the walled city within Manilla, shortly before the Japanese invasion of World War 2. It deals with an often-overlooked aspect of forced evacuation during war: the severing of personal relationships as families flee a conflict. A budding friendship between a protective young man and lonely eleven-year-old girl is put on hold as they go their separate ways. The friendship is clearly important to both, and their parting is especially bitter as neither has a chance to say goodbye. Themes include loneliness, friendship, war, displacement, regret.

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He-y, Come On Ou-t!

He-y, Come On Out!: Short story by Shinichi HoshiIn this parable by Shinichi Hoshi, a landslide opens up a seemingly bottomless hole in the ground. A businessman obtains the rights to fill the hole. He gets permission to dispose of toxic waste, and soon hazardous materials from nuclear power plants and contagious disease experiments are being poured into the hole along with domestic waste and classified government documents from a nearby city. The city and ocean are cleaner, and even the sky seems clearer than before. That is until a workman atop a tall city building hears a voice from above shouting: He-y, come on ou-t!

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An Unsound Sleep

An Unsound Sleep: Short story by Nhat TienThis story by Nhat Tien is set during the Vietnamese Buddhist Crisis of 1963. An old man’s contented existence is shattered when his only daughter is involved in, and subsequently jailed for, anti-government activities. Rather than focus on the violence of the revolt and ensuing CIA backed coup, the story contrasts the idealistic expectations of the daughter and her revolutionary boyfriend with what comes after. When released from prison the couple find that, although Buddhists have gained religious freedom, little else has changed. Themes include family, poverty, freedom, idealism, sacrifice, futility, alcohol abuse.

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The Memsahib of Mandla

The Memsahib of Mandla: Short story by Khushwant SinghIn this story by Khushwant Singh, nature and the ghost of a woman who founded an Indian missionary school combine to drive a British man and his family from a forest officer’s rest house. The rest house was the woman’s home before it was appropriated by the government, and hasn’t been lived in since she died. In addition to being insensitive and chauvinistic, the husband typifies the stereotype of arrogant, self-serving British officials during the Raj. He decides to shoot the ghost, but things don’t turn out as planned. Themes include colonialism, humanitarianism, loyalty, fear, justice, the supernatural.

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The Distance of the Moon

The Distance of the Moon: Short story by Italo CalvinoThis Italo Calvino story is a set in the imaginary past when the moon came close enough to earth each month for people to climb onto it. For some reason, this could only be done by ladder from a boat. The plot involves a love triangle within a group of people who regularly sail out to collect ‘moon-milk’. At the center of the triangle is the captain’s wife, who becomes stranded on the moon as it moves permanently away. The captain seems pleased to be rid of her, but not so the protagonist. This is magical realism at its best.

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Pigeon Feathers

Pigeon Feathers: Short story by John UpdikeJohn Updike’s Pigeon Feathers is a web of conflicts and satire. The central conflict is thirteen-year-old David’s crisis of faith, which he ultimately resolves through an epiphany born out of bloody violence. David’s questioning leads to conflict with the family church minister, who dismisses his concerns by inanely equating Heaven to the “goodness” of Abraham Lincoln. Unresolved conflicts include country vs. city living, and the organic (the land has a soul) vs. chemical (the earth is nothing but chemicals) farming debate between David’s parents. Themes: environmentalism, aging and death, family, isolation, spirituality, science vs. religion, the wonder of nature, faith.

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