The Company of Wolves

The Company of Wolves: Short story by Angela CarterThe early part of Angela Carter’s Company of Wolves comprises background and several anecdotes which build anticipation and atmosphere. The main story, which doesn’t start until one-third of the way through the text, is an adult-oriented adaption of Charles Perrault’s Little Red Riding Hood. Carter reinforces Perrault’s original theme through eroticism. The addition of the wolf choir outside the cabin (“Who has come to sing us carols, she said.” “Those are the voices of my brothers, darling; I love the company of wolves.”) reflects the feminist view (and Carter’s?) that all men have an innate desire to deflower young women.

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Pomegranate Seed

Pomegranate Seed: Short story by Edith WhartonIn this suspenseful mystery by Edith Wharton, a young woman marries a recently widowed man who admits to having been intensely in love with his deceased wife of twelve years. Everything seems perfect until a series of strange letters arrive, addressed to the husband in obviously feminine handwriting. The letters deeply disturb the husband, who refuses to disclose the sender or the contents. When the husband disappears and the secret of the letters is revealed, it appears that his dead wife may have won a ghostly contest. Themes: love, family, jealousy, honesty and mutual trust in marriage, alienation, he supernatural.

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The Devil and Daniel Webster

The Devil and Daniel Webster: Short story by Stephen BenétIn this American tall tale by Stephen Benét a hapless farmer sells his soul to the devil in exchange for seven years of good luck. When the time comes to “pay up”, he asks Daniel Webster, famed lawyer, orator and all around good guy, to help him get out of the deal. After attempts at compromise fail, Webster insists on a trial according to American law. Although the devil whips up a stacked judge and jury comprised of dead scoundrels, Daniel’s speech about American values wins the day.. Themes include patriotism, temptation, good vs. evil, “neighborliness” (helping others), and righteousness.

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The Prince Who Wasn’t Hungry

The Prince Who Wasn’t Hungry: Short story by Carolyn Sherwin BaileyThe message of this story by Carolyn Sherwin Bailey can be found in the very first line: Once upon a time there was a little Prince who had very little to do, and so he thought a great deal about eating. As he grew up, the whole palace had to work hard to meet his demand for increasingly rare dishes. Nothing satisfied him, and eventually he stopped eating. In frustration, he set out alone one day to find the best food in the world. He discovered that it isn’t the food that counts, but what you do to earn it.

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Defender of the Faith

Defender of the Faith: Short story by Philip RothThis story by Philip Roth raises questions about the conflict between integrity and loyalty to one’s community group. A Jewish-American army sergeant returning from the European battlefields towards the end of World War 2 is assigned to a training unit in which there is an entitled Jewish recruit. The recruit exploits their common heritage, scheming, lying and manipulating the sergeant to receive special treatment. When the self-serving recruit goes behind the sergeant’s back to avoid serving in the Pacific, he is quickly put in his place. Themes include identity, integrity, “Jewishness”, antisemitism, manipulation.

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The Love Potion

The Love Potion: Short story by Herman BosmanA major theme of this Herman Bosman story is the importance of tradition, myth and storytelling in the lives of Boer settlers. The narrator begins by asserting that everyone in the Marico knows that juba-berry juice can make a woman fall in love with a man. He then relates a tongue-in-cheek story of how he once “helped” a shy policeman use the juice to win a girl’s heart. The ambiguous ending leaves it unclear whether the potion really worked. Other themes: love, fear of rejection, superstition/magic vs. reality, morality (lack of respect for the girl and her right to decide).

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Neighbour Rosicky

Neighbour Rosicky: Short story by Willa CatherThis heart-warming story from Willa Cather exemplifies all that is said to be good about life in rural America. Anton Rosicky followed other impoverished Czech immigrants seeking a better life overseas. Assisted by small acts of kindness along the way, he reaches America where he acquires a modest farm and raises a large, contented family. This is quite a long story with many themes: love, family values, neighborliness, doing what’s right vs. chasing money, city vs. country living, connection, hard work, contentment, reminiscing and (with a grandchild on the way as Anton dies) the cycle of life.

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My Friend Luke

My Friend Luke: Short story by Fernando SorrentinoFernando Sorrentino’s diminutive “friend” Luke is a man of extremes. For the most part he is introverted, considerate and submissive. However, but put Luke on a bus and he becomes assertive, rude and manipulative. The catalyst for this changed behaviour is the tolerance of the other bus passengers, built up over years of coping with a crowded public transport system. The story is a metaphor for the desire of all people living subservient, unsatisfying, exploited lives to lash out and assert their individuality. Themes: lack of fulfilment, loneliness, exploitation, frustration, rebellion.

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The Hell Screen

The Hell Screen: Short story by Ryunosuke AkutagawaIn Ryūnosuke Akutagawa‘s re-working of this 13th century Japanese tale, a cold-hearted, conceited artist considered to be “the greatest in the land” insists upon personally experiencing the scenes he creates. When commissioned to paint a folding screen with a scene from Hell, he is able to complete all but the central image of a beautiful woman burning alive in a nobleman’s carriage. He asks for help from his Feudal Lord, who agrees to stage the event for him. As the artist watches, his emotions range from horror to ecstasy. Themes: hubris, inhumanity, obsession, inspiration in art, innocence, perception of truth.

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Dr Heidegger’s Experiment

Dr Heidegger’s Experiment: Short story by Nathaniel HawthorneIn this story from Nathaniel Hawthorne, an ageing scientist invites four elderly friends to participate in an experiment ostensibly designed to test the efficacy of the waters of the fabled fountain of youth. The inclusion of several supernatural elements clouds whether the effect of the water was real, imagined or faked by substituting alcohol. However, as each friend had a major character flaw in their youth, it is likely that the experiment had a different thesis, which is supported by their behavior after drinking. Themes: ageing, failing to learn from past mistakes, obsession with youthfulness and appearance, the supernatural.

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