The Velveteen Rabbit

The Velveteen Rabbit: Short story by Margery WilliamsThe major theme of this touching children’s fantasy (aka How Toys Become Real) from Margery Williams is the transforming power of love. A cheaply made stuffed toy (Rabbit) is made to feel inferior by the more “advanced” toys in the nursery. A wise but badly worn old toy (Skin Horse) gives it some memorable advice: Real isn’t how you are made. It’s a thing that happens to you. When a child [someone] loves you for a long, long time, not just to play with, but REALLY loves you, then you become Real. Other themes: being different, rejection, hope, loss, fulfillment.

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Borrowing a Match

Borrowing-a-Match: Short story by Stephen LeacockHave you ever asked someone if you could borrow something, and then watched them go to so much trouble looking for it that you wish you hadn’t asked? If so, you will understand the building frustration of the man in this Stephen Leacock story. All he asked of a “decent, ordinary-looking” stranger was the loan of a match. In the process of looking for one, the stranger destroys his overcoat and the parcels and letters he is carrying, and then threatens to beat his young son when he gets home. Finally, . . . (you’ll have to read the story to find out!)

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The Snob

The Snob: Short story by Morley CallaghanIn this story by Morley Callaghan, a young man shopping with a new girlfriend shames his poorly dressed father by not acknowledging him when they find themselves close to each other in a department store. The girl’s family are more affluent and sophisticated than his, and he is self-conscious about the difference. Ironically, although he is guilty of snobbery in ignoring his father, his anger at himself over having done so causes him to lose his temper and wrongfully accuse the girl of being a snob. Themes include identity, class, judgement by appearances, shame, guilt, hypocrisy.

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The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind

The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind: Short story by Ray BradburyThis Ray Bradbury story is thought to be an allegory of the nuclear arms race that took place during the “Cold War” between the United States and Russia. The “Mandarins” who began the Cold War were Harry S. Truman and Joseph Stalin. One wonders if the first Mandarin’s daughter alludes to Truman’s wife Bess, who he claims to have consulted before every important decision. Moreover, Bess is known to have made changes to his famous speech outlining the Truman Doctrine, which started it all. Themes include rivalry, paranoia, wisdom, the futility of confrontation and escalation vs. the benefits of cooperation.

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Karma

Karma: Short story by Khushwant SinghSir Mohan Lal, the pretentious high-ranking Indian official in this story by Khushwant Singh, is caught between two cultures. After rejecting his heritage and aspiring to identify with the British ruling class, he cannot escape his “Indian-ness”. His self-important behaviour is contrasted with that of his wife, who he treats with disdain but passively accepts her lot. Ironically, his humiliating treatment on a train (being unceremoniously thrown out of his first class carriage by two drunken British soldiers) highlights the dark side of the world he aspires to. Themes include identity, cultural alienation, social class, colonialism, narcissism, prejudice, humiliation.

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The Selfish Giant

The Selfish Giant: Children's story by Oscar WildeThe Irish writer Oscar Wilde is known for his plays, his novel The Picture of Dorian Gray, and his short stories. He also wrote children’s stories, and this is one of the best known of these. A giant finds that his beautiful garden has become a playground for children. He drives them away and builds a wall around it. The seasons close in and his castle becomes a cold, miserable place. Redemption comes in the form of a small child the giant comes to love. The two main themes of the story are greed vs sharing, and Christian love.

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Shhhh

Shhhh: Short story by NoViolet BulawayoIn this story by NoViolet Bulawayo, a Zimbabwean girl is full of hatred when her father returns home terminally ill after years of no contact or family support. He is totally helpless and, because of his condition (AIDS), her mother forbids her to tell anyone he is back. There are few secrets in an African slum and, when her friends insist on seeing him, she fears they will treat him cruelly. To her surprise, they are respectful, gentle and caring, which begins to turn her feelings around. Themes include abandonment, hatred, fatal illness (AIDS), shame, secrecy, compassion, religion, church greed/corruption.

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The Goodness of Matt Kaizer

The Goodness of Matt Kaizer: Short story by Edward Wortis (aka Avi)This story from Edward Wortis (aka Avi) is about “the baddest” member of a small group of troublesome sixth graders. Matt is constantly trying to prove how bad he is by taking on dares. His father, a church minister, does not seem greatly concerned by this in the belief that one day Matt will change. A dare that goes horribly wrong (or right depending how you look at it) proves his father correct. Themes: peer pressure, pride, good vs. evil, forgiveness. The story’s message: nobody is born bad; there is the potential for goodness in everyone.

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Ghosts

Ghosts: Short story by Edwidge DanticatThe ghosts in this Edwidge Danticat story are not the spectral kind. They are chimès… gang members of the Haitian slums. The story takes readers into one of these slums, and provides a glimpse of what life is like for young people growing up inside. It helps explain why young men join the gangs, the problems they face with police brutality and corruption at every level of society, and how the only way out for many is a bullet. Sadly, the problems described are not unique to Haiti. Themes include: social breakdown, gang culture, betrayal, parental love and sacrifice.

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The Fall of the House of Usher

The Fall of the House of Usher: Short story by Edgar Allan PoeThis 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.

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