Featured Stories

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg

The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg: Short story by Mark TwainMark Twain’s imaginary Hadleyburg is a remarkable place. Despite its reputation for being the most honest and upright town in all the region, its citizens managed to offend a vindictive passing stranger. The visitor was so upset that he came up with an elaborate plan to destroy the town’s image. Ironically, as the story plays out, we learn that Hadleyburg’s version of “honesty” came at a price. It is a mean, hard, stingy town, and hasn’t a virtue in the world. Themes: revenge, appearance vs. reality, hypocrisy, temptation, morality vs. greed, “herd mentality”, guilt and shame.

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Defender of the Faith

Defender of the Faith: Short story by Philip RothThis story by Philip Roth raises questions about the conflict between integrity and loyalty to one’s community group. A Jewish-American army sergeant returning from the European battlefields towards the end of World War 2 is assigned to a training unit in which there is an entitled Jewish recruit. The recruit exploits their common heritage, scheming, lying and manipulating the sergeant to receive special treatment. When the self-serving recruit goes behind the sergeant’s back to avoid serving in the Pacific, he is quickly put in his place. Themes include identity, integrity, “Jewishness”, antisemitism, manipulation.

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Axolotl

Axolotl: Short story by Julio CortázarJulio Cortázar gives away the plot of this story in the first paragraph: There was a time when I thought a great deal about the axolotls… Now I am an axolotl. The rest of the story talks about this Kafkaesque transformation, which is partial and may have only occurred in the protagonist’s mind. He (the axolotl part) sits in an aquarium tank watching himself (the unchanged part) looking in from the other side. Considering his life from this perspective seemingly builds the man’s self-esteem, and he no longer feels the need to return. Themes: loneliness, alienation, obsession, connection, enlightenment, inertia.

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Snowstorm

Snowstorm: Short story by Bruna Dantas LobatoThis story by Bruna Dantas Lobato describes the experiences of a Brazilian college student studying in Vermont after a snowstorm. The focus of the story is the girl’s relationship with her anxious mother, with whom she speaks daily over Skype. The girl has remained in her dorm over the winter break and as expected, her mother issues warnings about every possible danger, fuelled by media reports and watching horror movies. The girl is equally concerned for her mother, who appears to be having more difficulty coping with the separation than she is. Themes include mother-daughter connection, separation anxiety, isolation and loneliness.

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The Drover’s Wife

The Drover's Wife: Short story by Henry LawsonIn this story by Henry Lawson, a woman remembers the many hardships and few good times in her life as she sits up all night with only a dog to help protect her and her children from a deadly snake. The snake has crawled under their house. They can’t sleep inside, as the wooden floor has gaps in it. They cower in the kitchen, which is attached to the side of the house and has an earthen floor. The children sleep on the table. She sits on a chair with a stick on her lap, waiting for the snake.

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The Blind Men and the Elephant

The Blind Men and the Elephant: Children's story from James BaldwinThis children’s story from James Baldwin is based on a religious parable from India. Six blind men come across an elephant for the first time. Although they have often heard about elephants, they have never been close to one. They ask the elephant’s carer if they could try to ‘see’ what it looks like by using their sense of touch. At the end of the story, the blind men are arguing fiercely. Each of them has put their hands on a different part of the elephant’s body. Each of them believes that only he knows what the elephant looks like.

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The Mouse

The Mouse: Short story by H. H. Munro (aka Saki)This story by Saki satirizes the social sensitivities of the late-Victorian/Edwardian middle class. A prudish young man who has had a sheltered upbringing returns to the city from a farm visit. Sharing his train compartment is a woman who appears to be sleeping. He soon finds they are not alone… he has a mouse in his pants! To avoid offending the woman and causing a scene, he removes his trousers by hiding behind a blanket. Unfortunately, the blanket falls before can he put them on again and the woman wakes up. Themes include propriety, embarrassment, dissimulation, insensitivity towards others.

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The Stolen Party

The Stolen Party: Short story by Liliana HekerIn this heartbreaking story by Liliana Heker, a nine-year-old girl learns the hard way about social class. Her mother is a maid, and every day after school she does homework with Luciana, the daughter of her employer, while her mother finishes work. The girls become friends, but her mother is uneasy when she is invited to Luciana’s birthday party. Contrary to her mother’s concerns, the girl is the star of the party and feels on top of the world … until the party favors are handed out. Themes include social class, friendship, childhood innocence, manipulation, shame.

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