This story from R. K. Narayan is a humorous account of the protagonist (Muri)’s trials and tribulations in a remote Indian village. Its major theme is culture clash (the villagers’ deep spirituality and acceptance of their lot vs. an American’s “money is everything” attitude). Other themes include miscommunication (and how it can sometimes pay off handsomely), change (younger villagers’ loss of appreciation of their cultural heritage, as symbolized by their indifference towards the statue), chauvinism (both men are extremely patronizing towards their wives), and archaeological looting (the American must surely recognize that the statue is of spiritual and/or historical significance!). More…
Archives
The New Food
The climax of this very short story is the gruesome death of an imaginary baby. If you did not know who wrote it, you might attribute the plot to the playful, postmodernist style of an author like Donald Barthelme. In fact, the story was published way back in 1910. It comes from Canadian humorist Stephen Leacock’s first short story collection, Literary Lapses. A fascinating aspect of the story is its modern relevance. Viewed in the context of today’s world, the story is a wonderful satire of heavily processed convenience foods and the contribution they make towards child obesity. More…
The Celebrated Jumping Frog
The humorous frame story of this unlikely tale by Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) satirizes the way late nineteenth-century American “Easterners” looked down on their supposedly less sophisticated Western compatriots. In the inner story, a man named Jim loves gambling so much that he will bet on almost anything. He finds a frog he believes can leap further than any other in Calaveras County, and learns an expensive lesson when a passing stranger bets against his frog and wins easily. Themes include regional stereotypes, storytelling (tall-tales), gambling consequences (there’s no such thing as a sure bet), trickery and deception. More…
The 13-Carat Diamond
Khin Mya (aka Khin Myo Chit) is one of a small number of recognized Burmese (now Myanmars) authors who wrote in English as well as their native tongue. The story takes place during World War II at the time the Japanese occupied Burma. It tells of the humorous experiences of a young couple who are finding it hard to make ends meet. The woman fails at running a market stall, and comes up with a plan to become rich overnight. All she has to do is find someone with a 13-carat diamond they are willing sell. More…
The Loaded Dog
This is one of the best-known stories by Australian poet and writer, Henry Lawson. It takes place in the late 1800s and involves three men and their big, lovable retriever pup. The men are working together digging for gold and like to go fishing in their free time. When the fish stop biting, they decide to catch them by making a bomb and exploding it in the water. The pup picks up the bomb, accidentally lights the fuse as he runs past the campfire, and has great fun chasing the men around the gold fields trying to give it back. More…
Answer
A goodreads.com reviewer aptly describes Answer by Fredric Brown as one of the most concise SciFi horror stories I have ever read. There are eerie similarities between the new supercomputer’s response to the first question asked of it in this story and the final sentence of Isaac Asimov’s The Last Question. Both stories were published in the mid-1950s and reflect concerns about the future influence of computers on society. An interesting observation on some other websites is that Brown’s one cybernetics machine that would combine all the knowledge of all the galaxies is already here… it’s called the Internet! More…
In the Withaak’s Shade
Like a number of Herman Bosman‘s Oom Schalk Lourens stories, In the Withaak’s Shade is a satire of the life of Bushveld Afrikaners embellished in the form of a “tall tale”. It tells of a farmer’s unlikely encounter with a leopard as he was lying down under a withaak tree while busily searching for some lost cattle. Several of Bosman’s common themes (storytelling and the indolence, independence and mateship of the Boer landowners) are obvious. Two others (the mass hysteria that follows the reported sighting, and destruction of wildlife) are not. More…
A Joke
In this short story by Anton Chekhov a young man plays a mean trick on a terrified lady-friend by whispering a ghostly ‘I love you’ as they speed down a mountain on a toboggan. Unsure of what she heard, the woman asks the man to repeat the ride over and over. Each time they do so he whispers the same words, with the same effect. Soon it becomes an obsession and every day she wants to go up the mountain to listen for the words. The woman’s reaction when she thinks she has the answer is a surprise. More…
The Mouse
H. H. Munro (aka Saki) is the British master of satirical stories with surprise endings. As you read about this train journey by a prudish young man, you soon realize that it could end badly for him. He is returning home from a farm visit and feels what he thinks is a mouse in his pants. The only other person in his compartment is a young lady who appears to be sleeping. He must find a way of taking off his trousers without offending the woman or, even worse, giving her the wrong idea and causing a scene. More…
The Catbird Seat
Set in 1940s New York, this story by James Thurber is a not-so-gentle satire of the lengths to which desperate people will go to resist change. A meek, solitary man believes the brash efficiency expert brought in to streamline his employer’s workflows threatens his job and must be “rubbed out”. He plans what he considers an almost perfect murder, only to be thwarted at the last moment by lack of a weapon. Fortunately, in a moment of inspiration, he turns the tables and puts himself in the “Catbird Seat”. Themes: workplace gender stereotypes, alienation, change, insecurity, desperation, revenge. More…
Master Jacob
The story by Howard Pyle is similar to the “trickster” narratives found in many folktales. Three greedy community leaders (a priest, a provost, and the town mayor) decide to trick an unsuspecting farmer out of a fat pig (or is it a dog?) he is taking to market. Later, the sly farmer turns the tables with three tricks of his own. For his last trick, he tells them the truth! The tricksters woe their foolishness at the bottom of a deep pit, and the farmer ends up with a lot of their money. Themes: greed, cleverness, revenge, distrust. More…
Borrowing a Match
Have 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!) More…
Bigfoot Stole My Wife / I Am Bigfoot
Today we have two linked stories from Ron Carlson: Bigfoot Stole My Wife and I am Bigfoot. In the first, despite a host of context clues suggesting that the protagonist’s wife has left him, shame and denial lead him to believe that the legendary Bigfoot has abducted her. Using flawed logic, he argues that this must be true because another seemingly impossible event in his life was also true. The story opens with the line: “The problem is credibility.” In the ironic second story, credibility comes as Bigfoot issues a fearful warning to all men of the world. More…
They’re Made Out Of Meat
At first read, this very short story by Terry Bisson appears to be a humorous exchange with little substance. Two alien space explorers are discussing whether to make contact with a newly discovered intelligent life form. They are uneasy about it because the life form seems to be composed entirely of meat. The major theme of the story is prejudice: the aliens consider themselves above all other life. How can beings so different to them be capable of such advanced thought? Also, an interesting dietary theme: Is it right that one sentient life form (man) kills and eats others (animals)? More…
Passing Wind
For me, the most enjoyable aspect of this humorous flash story from Lydia Davis is that it describes an embarrassing situation we have all probably encountered: after going to great lengths to silently pass wind among a group of strangers, the smell gives us away. Do we say nothing, excuse ourselves, or immediately cast a dirty look at the person standing next to us? Here the narrator faces a slightly different dilemma. She tries to think of a polite way to let a guest know that if he didn’t do it, then it wasn’t her but the dog. More…
Luck
As the name implies, the major theme of Luck by Samuel Clemens (aka Mark Twain) is just that — Luck! Its main message is that good fortune can result in the most unlikely people achieving greatness. Minor themes are envy and injustice. The clergyman envies Lieutenant General Lord Arthur Scoresby, V.C., K.C.B., etc. for his successes in life… especially on the battlefield where, in reality, he didn’t seem to know back from forwards and right from left. There is also a sense of injustice in that the General appears to show no appreciation for the clergyman’s role in success. More…
The Hit Man
T. C. Boyle’s The Hit Man is a clever satire of the short story genre. Written in short paragraphs under sub-headings, the story contains all the necessary elements of a short story. What makes it unusual is that Boyle is able to provide a meaningful account of his protagonist’s entire life (boyhood, adolescence, courtship, death of parents, ‘career’, marriage, family, retirement, death… and even dislike of peas!) in less than 1,200 words. He also manages to deal with some serious issues (bullying, schoolyard violence, judicial system failure, gratuitous murder, glamorized crime and death) along the way. More…
Hermann the Irascible (Story of the Great Weep)
H. H. Munro (aka Saki)’s story Hermann the Irascible is a classic example of the use of reverse psychology to achieve a desired result. The story first appeared in 1909 at the height of the suffrage movement in Britain. As in the story, this involved mass demonstrations (of both man and women) across the country. Many readers are critical of the story because they feel that it trivializes women’s rights. The point they miss is that Saki’s use of satire is so “over the top” here that, rather than mocking the cause, the story highlights and supports it. More…
Yellow Moepels
In this story by Herman Bosman, a young a young farmer riding off to fight the British during the short First Boer War promises the girl he is engaged to that he will be home when the moepel fruit are ripe (yellow). The girl visits a native witch-doctor who tells her the same thing. We learned earlier in the story that witch-doctors can only tell you the things that don’t matter in your life. There is something more important in the girl’s future that the witch-doctor neglected to divulge. Themes: love, superstition, war, “bravery”, memory, racism. More…
Mammon and the Archer
Mammon is a biblical term for great wealth. In this story by William Porter (aka O. Henry), a self-made millionaire is initially of the belief that money can buy anything. When his son falls in love with a woman from an aristocratic family, he learns there are two things his money can’t buy: love and family recognition among New York High Society. Fortunately for his son, it is able to buy the young man enough time to allow the archer to do his job. Themes include money vs. love, pride, new vs. old money, upper class etiquette, superstition, deception. More…