Featured Stories

Ruthless

Ruthless: Flash story by William C. de MilleThe protagonist in this story by William C. de Mille is a narcissistic businessman. One of its themes is excessive materialism. The man is so obsessed with his possessions, including small items such as a bottle of Bourbon, that he would kill to prevent other people from having them. The major themes are vengeance and justice. The man’s wife points out that his actions in trying to take revenge on those who drank some of his liquor the previous winter go beyond justice: the law doesn’t punish burglary by death; so what right have you? In the end, justice prevails.

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Such Interesting Neighbors

Such Interesting Neighbors: Short story by Jack FinneyIn this story by Jack Finney, a man notices some unusual things about his new neighbors. Individually these mean little until the husband relates a science-fiction story he claims to have written. The story envisages a dystopian future where most people struggle to make a living and face the virtual certainty of death and destruction through war. The result is mass emigration to the past thanks to television’s modern replacement… personal time machines. Could the story be true, and the young couple two of these time-traveling refugees? Themes include societal collapse, nostalgia, escapism, integration, time-travel.

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Désirée’s Baby

Desiree's Baby: Short story by Kate ChopinKate Chopin’s Désirée’s Baby Kate Chopin’s Désirée’s Baby reflects the culture of America’s ‘Deep South’ in the mid-1800s. The name Désirée originates from the French word for desire. Armand Aubigny, a young plantation owner who is proud, bigoted and harsh on his slaves, marries the orphaned Désirée for her beauty. He is not concerned about her unknown background until she has a mixed-race baby. His reaction causes Désirée to run from the house and flee with the baby into the bayou. Some weeks later, Armand uncovers an even more devastating secret. Themes (see below) include love, impulsiveness, racism, elitism, shame and/or vindictiveness, and identity.

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The Way Up to Heaven

The Way Up to Heaven: Short story by Roald DahlThis story by Roald Dahl is about a wealthy couple. Mrs Foster is a devoted wife who has a phobia about being late. Mr Foster is a dominating husband and likes to play cruel jokes on his wife by trying to make her late. In the end, Mrs Foster has the last laugh as her husband finds his way UP to Heaven. I love the irony in the way Mrs Foster ends her weekly letters to her husband from Paris: Now be sure to take your meals regularly, dear, although this is something I’m afraid you may not be doing…

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A Ride Out of Phrao

A Ride Out of Phrao: Short story by Dina NayeriIn this story by Dina Nayeri a willful, “middle-aged” Iranian-American woman whose life has fallen apart in the United States joins the Peace Corps and is posted to a small village in Northern Thailand. After exploring some of her experiences settling in, the story moves to a visit by her estranged daughter. The mother is a shameless liar and had even lied about the accommodation they would be sharing… a steamy hut with a squat toilet! Needless to say, the visit doesn’t last long. Themes include community life, culture clash, isolation, social conventions, mother-daughter relationships, identity, truthfulness, resistance, perseverance.

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The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones

The Awful Fate of Melpomenus Jones: Short story by Stephen Leacock This story by Stephen Leacock takes a sarcastic look at the themes of shyness and polite social conventions. Many readers mistakenly associate Melpomenus’s refusal to give a false reason to leave the house with his being a clergyman. Not so! In the introduction we are told the young curate was too modest (shy) to tell a lie. His downfall is because of shyness, not honesty. However, the absurd outcome is as much the over-polite hosts’ fault as it is Melpomenus’s. If anyone was responsible for his spirit rushing from the house like a hunted cat, it was them.

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The Egg

The Egg: Short story by Sherwood AndersonThis dark comedy from Sherwood Anderson follows a contented farmhand and his ambitious wife who, after starting a family, decide to pursue the American Dream. In their first venture, a chicken farm, everything that can go wrong does go wrong. More troubles follow when they move closer to town and open a diner. The stressed husband tries to help business by being someone he is not (an entertainer), and ends up “with egg on his face”. The egg, which usually symbolizes the cycle of life, is for them a symbol of the cycle of poverty. Other themes: death, isolation, hope.

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The Eyes Have It

The Eyes Have It: Short story by Philip DickThis story by Philip Dick takes a satirical look at the clichéd use of English idioms in popular fiction. Best known as a science fiction writer, Dick makes his point through the eyes of a man who believes he has stumbled upon an invasion of Earth by alien lifeforms that are so highly developed they can shed body parts at will. His story could cause major problems if more people were aware of it. In an age where it takes very little to set off a conspiracy theory, many people could ‘lose their mind’ wondering if it is true.

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