The Horla
This story by Guy de Maupassant describes a man’s slow descent into madness, convinced that an invisible being he unknowingly lured from a passing ship is preying on his mind. As the entity (supposedly an otherworldly species of vampire that feeds on the life force of those it attaches to) gets stronger, he begins to lose his free will. Unable to flee, he traps it in his bedroom and burns his house to the ground. When this doesn’t work, he contemplates an even more extreme solution. Themes include reality vs. illusion, the unknown/supernatural, terror, madness, despair.
This Scottish folktale is one of those rare stories where the character who successfully defeats a giant is a girl. As often happens in folktales, Molly achieves this through gruesome actions. First, she tricks the giant into killing his three innocent daughters. Later, she tricks him into severely beating has kind wife, who had helped when Molly and her sisters needed food. As a reward, the girls marry into the family of a cowardly king who is happy to send Molly into danger three more times to satisfy his greed. There don’t seem to be any true heroes here.
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This coming-of-age story by Camille Acker initially comes across as yet another “too good to be true” tale about a young African-American girl from a working-class family overcoming the odds. (In this case to win a piano competition against privileged white kids from a wealthy neighborhood.) The narrative takes a turn after the competition as her family’s lower socio-economic status becomes clear. Provoked by the rude, condescending attitude of another competitor, she attacks the other girl’s chauffeur-driven car with the only weapon available… cast off cicada shells! Themes include poverty, social class, parental love, success, pride, identity.
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