The Witch

The Witch: Short story by Shirley JacksonAlthough very short (just over 1,400 words), there are enough dark elements in this Shirley Jackson story to unsettle most readers. An imaginative four-year-old travelling on a train with his mother and infant sister attracts the attention of a man who recounts how much he loved his own sister. The man then relates how, after killing and dismembering his sister, he fed her head to a bear. The story turns on who or what the man is, and what effect his story may have on the boy. Themes include parental inattention, boredom, imagination, witchcraft, innocence and its possible manipulation, violence.

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The Secret Life of Walter Mitty

The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: Short story by James ThurberA major theme of this story by James Thurber is escapism (in this case taking charge of one’s life through fantasy). Walter Mitty, a meek, blundering man who leads a mundane suburban life is perhaps the world’s best-known daydreamer. Constantly humiliated by his dominating, nagging wife and others he encounters in the community, his way of compensating is to escape into exciting, imaginary worlds. There, he acts out fantasies in which he is the opposite of his real self, performing wondrous feats and bravely facing all kinds of danger. Other themes: identity, self-respect, masculinity, gender roles.

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The Door in the Wall

The Door in the Wall: Short story by H. G. WellsThe major theme of this psychological fantasy by H. G. Wells is the conflict between reality (logic) and imagination. A precocious five-year old from a loveless household is permitted to walk the streets of London alone. One day he is drawn to a door that opens to an enchanted garden where he is greeted by tame animals and a beautiful, loving woman and plays with friendly children. Despite achieving great success in life, he becomes obsessed with re-visiting the garden. Other themes: childhood neglect, alienation and loneliness, escape, regret, obsession, success vs. happiness.

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Pigs is Pigs

Pigs is Pigs: Short story by Ellis Parker ButlerThis humorous story by Ellis Parker Butler illustrates how excessive bureaucracy can have dire consequences. A customer argues with a railway freight agent who claims that two guinea pigs he has been sent should be charged as common pigs (sixty cents) rather than pets (fifty cents). The customer leaves the pigs with the agent, planning to collect them after complaining to the freight company’s Head Office. By the time the matter is settled in the customer’s favour, the ten-cent dispute has almost brought the company to its knees. Themes include misinterpretation, stubbornness, bureaucracy gone awry.

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Blue

Blue: Short story by Francesca Lia BlockIn this story by Francesca Lia Block, a girl abandoned by her mother finds temporary comfort in stories about how much her mother loved her told by an imaginary creature living in her closet. When she shares this with a school friend, she is ridiculed and ostracized by classmates. A class assignment to “write about someone we love” provides an opportunity for the girl to put her thoughts and feelings about her mother on paper. This helps her face the loss, and gives her the courage to go on alone. Themes include family, loss, isolation and loneliness, healing through writing.

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Eleonora

Eleonora: Short story by Edgar Allan PoeIn this atypical Edgar Allan Poe story there is madness, but not the destructive kind; death, but not the gruesome kind; and a spirit, but not a frightening one. Also unusual is Poe’s extensive use of poetic prose. His description of the idyllic valley may be an allusion to the Garden of Eden, leaving readers to wonder if the couple’s incestuous lovemaking beneath the serpent-like trees was the “apple” that destroyed their paradise. Themes: the beauty of nature, innocence, passion, love, death, moving on. Poe’s message: true love endures; despite the loss of a loved one, life must go on.

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Brokeback Mountain

Brokeback Mountain: Short story by Annie ProulxAnnie Proulx’s Brokeback Mountain is an unsettling story about how a sexual encounter between two male ranch-hands, Jack and Ennis, develops into a twenty-year love affair. The relationship develops over short, intimate camping trips, sometimes years apart. Jack wants more but Ennis’s marriage, social pressures of the day (1960’s), and anti-gay upbringing prevent him from “coming out”. It is not until Jack dies, possibly in a gay hate crime, that Ennis understands the intensity of their feelings for one another. Themes: desire, love, repressed sexuality, masculinity, homophobia, shame, acceptance (if you can’t fix it, you’ve got to stand it).

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Wise Folks

Wise Folks: German folktale from the Brothers GrimmIn this folktale (aka The Clever People), a cruel farmer is angry with his wife because she was cheated out of two cows. He promises not beat her for it if can find someone more foolish. He soon finds one: a widow who is worried about how well her dead husband is doing in Heaven. The farmer makes up for losing his cows by cheating the widow out of a bag of money and stealing a horse from her son. At the end of the story, he seems to think that it is OK to cheat foolish people.

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Night Talkers

Night Talkers: Short story by Edwidge DanticatIn this story by Edwidge Danticat, a Haitian man living in New York returns to visit the aunt who raised him after his parents were murdered during the “Papa Doc” dictatorship. He believes he may have found their killer in America and wants to learn more about them before deciding to what to do. Sadly, his aunt dies before they can discuss it. At her wake, the story of a fellow “night talker” exemplifies how forgiveness may be a better path than revenge. Themes include violence and loss, memory, family, community, tradition, communication, dreams, guilt, forgiveness vs. vengeance.

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Araby

Araby: Short story by James JoyceIt is tempting to think the central theme of this story by James Joyce is an adolescent boy’s infatuation with a friend’s older sister. However, the title gives it away. The main theme, brought about by the boy’s wish to impress the girl, is his obsession with visiting the Grand Oriental Fete (Araby). The story helps us vicariously re-live our own Arabies. Whether it be a relationship, work opportunity or important event, we all have experiences where something much looked forward to greatly disappoints. We know how the boy feels! We know how the boy feels! Other themes: alienation, loneliness, religion, vanity, disillusionment.

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