This extract from Carlos Bulosan’s semi-autobiographical novel America Is in the Heart relates how, as a young man, he immigrated to America to start a new life. Upon arrival, he falls victim of a Filipino scammer and earns just $13 for three months’ work in an Alaskan canning factory. Later, he witnesses violence and death in a “Filipino” dance hall, and experiences camaraderie, friendship, and a racist gang attack on an apple farm. He must have asked himself several times: “Why Had I Left Home?” Themes include expectations vs. reality, exploitation, friendship, violence, racism, resilience, perseverance. More…
The Jogi’s Punishment
The moral of this Indian folktale appears to be that evil will always receive the punishment it deserves. We have a famed holy man who turns out to be not very holy after all, a selfish, gullible rajah who wants to keep the holy man’s talents and blessings all for himself, and an overly curious princess who disobeys her father’s order not to leave the palace grounds. We aren’t told much about the “gallant young prince of Dilaram” but he, too, must have done something wrong to be punished with the disobedient princess as a wife. More…
Sometimes a Dream Needs a Push
There are two “dreams” in this inspirational story by W. D. Myers. The first is a father’s dream that his son follow in his footsteps and become a competitive basketball player; the second is the boy’s dream to be able to overcome his disability and return to the game. The “pushes” come when the boy is invited to join a wheelchair team, and the father overcomes his feelings of guilt and decides to help the team. Themes: guilt, courage, maintaining a positive attitude, family, father-son bonding, team spirit, how trying and doing one’s best is more important than winning. More…
The Fall of the House of Usher
This Edgar Allan Poe story is a masterpiece of the Gothic Horror genre. A man visits a childhood friend in his crumbling family mansion to help him cope with an acute attack of depression. An interdependent relationship exists between the friend, his twin sister and the house (some say a shared soul), which ends in the downfall of all three. The story’s most remarkable feature is the almost total lack of physical action. The feeling of terror and impending doom develops solely from Poe’s descriptions of setting, characters, and atmosphere. Themes: isolation, friendship, fear, madness, the supernatural. More…
The Laughing Man
This J. D. Salinger story describes the relationship between members of a boy’s club (the Comanches), their youth leader (the Chief), and the imaginary hero of stories told by the Chief (The Laughing Man). One of the major themes is escape from reality through stories. In this context, the Laughing Man symbolizes the imaginary hero in all of us. Another important theme is change. Breaking up with girlfriend Mary results in the Chief “killing off” the Laughing Man, signalling to the boys that childhood pleasures (and life) don’t last forever. Other themes: appearance vs. ability, friendship, death, loss of innocence. More…