Featured Stories

A Great Day

A Great Day: Short story by Frank SargesonAn unusual aspect of this story from Frank Sargeson is that it is largely made up of superficial conversations between two ‘friends’ out in a boat for a morning fishing trip. Readers are given sufficient clues to piece together the men’s backgrounds and the major issues between them. However, they must make their own judgements about the grim climax. An important question in assessing Fred’s character is the timing of his plan. Was it a callous, premeditated decision made before the “Great Day”, or a spur of the moment, opportunistic idea? Themes: envy, jealousy, class, self-esteem, masculinity.

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First Confession

First Confession: Short story by Frank O'ConnorAlthough the plot of this Frank O’Connor story deals with an important milestone in the Catholic faith, the points made are equally relevant to several other religions. The story satirizes the instilling of fear (of punishment/Hell) as the reason for taking the Eucharist as opposed to celebrating God’s love. A young boy’s intolerance over his country grandmother’s unusual habits results in violent fantasies. A priest’s double standards in scolding the boy’s sister for hitting him and “rewarding” the boy for confessing these murderous thoughts sends them both a confusing message. Themes include innocence, morality, guilt, indoctrination, intimidation, fear, hypocrisy.

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Boys and Girls

Boys and Girls: Short story by Alice MunroThe major themes of this story by Alice Munro are coming of age and gender roles. Set on a Canadian fox farm, a young tomboy prefers to spend her time outdoors with her father rather than indoors helping her mother. When she overhears her mother talking about how happy she will be when the girl is older and can help more around the house, she feels betrayed. Her outlook slowly changes as she gets older, culminating in a rebellious act that her father dismisses with the words She’s only a girl. Other themes: family relationships, loss of innocence, self-awareness.

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Parker’s Back

Parker's Back: Short story by Flannery O'ConnorLike many Flannery O’Connor stories, the main theme of Parker’s Back is man’s struggle against religion. The main character here is a simple minded, poorly educated farm worker. He is selfish, doesn’t believe in God, and says he hates his wife. His one love is tattoos, which he believes express his manhood. Through his last tattoo, he finds grace. Unfortunately, his fundamentalist wife spoils the experience. In doing so, she may well have ruined both of their lives. Other themes: identity, connection (with the tattooed man), dissatisfaction, alcoholism, religious awakening, grace, religious bigotry.

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Children of the Corn

Children of the Corn: Short story by Stephen KingCombine a boy with his throat cut who runs out onto a country road, a seemingly deserted town where the only community building still in use is a desecrated church, a hoard of murderous children, and a mysterious presence living in the surrounding cornfields, and you have a typical Stephen King horror/thriller. You get the feeling that King deliberately set out to make sure that readers wouldn’t be too upset when the main characters (a bickering couple driving through the American Midwest) meet their inevitable gruesome end. Themes: cultism, exploited religion, human sacrifice, the supernatural.

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MS. Found in a Bottle

MS. Found in a Bottle: Short story by Edgar Allan PoeThis story by Edgar Allan Poe is an MS. (manuscript) found in a bottle tossed into the ocean by a dying man. After outlining his once rational, skeptical outlook on life, he relates the story of how, after a series of misadventures at sea, he found himself on a huge ghost galleon speeding under full sail towards the South pole. He walks around the ship unseen by its crew of infirm old men, who become increasingly excited as they approach their doom. Themes include the power of nature, fear, exploration, rational thinking vs. the supernatural, compulsion to document the unexplainable.

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A Snake in the Grass

A Snake in the Grass: Short story by R. K. NarayanIn this story by R. K. Narayan, a passing cyclist alerts a family to a deadly cobra he saw slithering into their overgrown garden. After speaking angrily to their servant about his neglect and an unhelpful interruption by neighbors, the family undertakes a frantic search. The garden and lawn are trimmed to the ground, but there is no sign of the snake. Finally, the servant appears carrying a sealed water-pot in which he claims to have trapped it. Questions emerge when, shortly after he takes it away, “another” cobra appears. Themes include responsibility, fear, community, tradition, deception

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Grandfather’s Story

Grandfather’s Story: Short story by Catherine LimThis two-part story by Catherine Lim begins with the background of the narrator’s grandparents. We learn that the grandfather, unable to live with his wife who cruelly exploited bondmaids (female slaves) in growing a successful garment business, found lifetime love with another woman. In the second part of the story, the grandfather relates a folktale-like account of how the fates of all three were predestined a thousand years previously when the Almighty passed judgement on a Chinese farmer, his good-hearted but naïve wife, and a cruel, mercenary nun. Themes include love, cruelty, slavery, greed, fate, rebirth and karmic justice.

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