Featured Stories

Lullaby

Lullaby: Short story by Leslie Marmon SilkoAlthough this story by Leslie Marmon Silko takes place over a single evening, some of the events described span three generations. An aging Native American woman searching for her alcoholic husband reminisces about her life. Although her childhood memories are pleasant, her adult memories are full of loss and tragedy. Her husband has been exploited by a “white rancher” and, having lost at least three children to natural causes and one to war, her last two were removed by “white doctors”. Themes: memories, tradition and change, language barriers, racism, oppression and exploitation, motherhood, death and loss.

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Kabuliwallah

Kabuliwallah: Short story by Rabindranath TagoreIf you are a parent, this touching story by Rabindranath Tagore may well bring a tear to your eye. One of Tagore’s most popular stories, it describes an unlikely friendship between the precocious five-year-old daughter of a middle-class Bengali writer and an Afghani fruit-seller (Kabuliwallah). When the Kabuliwallah visits on the girl’s wedding day after an eight-year stint in prison, she barely acknowledges him. On learning why the fruit-seller had spent so much time with his daughter, the writer and Kabuliwallah form an instant bond. Themes: childhood innocence, friendship, growing up, change, class, prejudice, fatherly love.

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The Snake and the Mirror

The Snake and the Mirror: Short story by Vaikom Muhammad BasheerOn the surface, this story by Vaikom Muhammad Basheer is a humorous tale about a tense encounter between a young doctor and a cobra that becomes taken with its own beauty. Looking more deeply, it is unclear which “snake” the title refers to. The doctor is a vain, devious man who fusses over his appearance and plans to marry a wealthy, fat woman doctor who won’t cause problems if he makes some silly mistake (i.e. cheats on her). He turns to God when in trouble, but quickly forgets Him when it passes. Themes include vanity, fear, the transience of life.

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A Haunted House

A Haunted House: Short story by Virginia WoolfIf you read Virginia Woolf‘s A Haunted House expecting it to be a horror story, you will come away disappointed. Rather than scary, the best word I can think of to describe it is bittersweet. Sweet because two ghosts are still very much in love after hundreds of years; sad because the ghostly couple appear to be anxiously searching for something. Although the central theme of the story is the immortality of love, it also carries the message that life is short, and we should treasure each moment with those we love. Other themes include loss, time, memories, the supernatural.

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The Woman Who Came at Six O’Clock

The Woman Who Came at Six O'Clock: Short story by Gabriel Garcia MárquezThe central theme of this early Gabriel Garcia Márquez story is perception of others. ‘Queen’, the six o’clock regular in José’s restaurant, is a prostitute. Queen’s customers see her as a sex object, to be used and sometimes abused. The police see her as an alcoholic miscreant who cannot be trusted. José, who professes platonic love for Queen, sees the vulnerable human being within. Queen, who claims to be disgusted by all men, sees the caring, kind-hearted José only as someone to be taken advantage of. Other themes: habit, murder, naïveté vs. worldliness, misunderstanding, reputation.

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The Kiss

The Kiss: Short story by Anton ChekhovIn this Anton Chekhov story, a mistaken kiss in a darkened room temporarily transforms the life of a shy, insecure army officer. He returns to duty on a high, wondering who the woman was and fanaticizing that he could be as successful in love and life as his fellow officers. Some weeks later, he eagerly returns to the scene. When nothing special takes place, he sees the folly of his summer dreams and fancies. In addition to Chekhov’s common message of the cruelty and unpredictability of life, themes include misunderstanding, human desire, self-delusion, raised hopes and shattered dreams.

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Proper Library

Proper Library: Short story by Carolyn FerrellIn this acclaimed story by Carolyn Ferrell a gay, academically challenged African-American boy experiencing persecution at school faces a conflict between his ambition to make something of himself and his feelings for a former lover. In addition to learning words with his mother, a highlight of the fourteen-year-old’s day is acting as surrogate “big sister” to the nine-plus younger children living in their house. The boy appears more grounded and “maternal” than most of the women in the story, many of whom are suffering major insecurity issues. Themes include family, love, sexuality, identity, gender stereotypes, alienation, responsibility, determination.

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The Judgment (The Verdict)

The Judgment: Short story by Franz KafkaOn the surface, this story by Franz Kafka is about a troubled man’s relationship with his frail but dominating father. The father thinks his son is trying to ease him out of their successful business. The son communicates regularly with a ‘friend’ in Russia, who may be an imaginary alter ego. The father says the friend would be more a son after my own heart, and judges his son guilty of selfishness and betrayal. He sentences him to death by drowning, which the son promptly carries out. Themes: loneliness, insecurity, bachelorhood vs. marriage, patriarchy, father-son relationships, crime, guilt, punishment.

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