Featured Stories

Morphine

Morphine: Novelette by Mikhail BulgakovIn this story by Mikhail Bulgakov, a young Russian doctor receives a plea to visit a gravely ill classmate practicing in a nearby country town. Before he has a chance to leave, the friend is brought to his hospital suffering from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. As he dies, the friend bequeaths him a notebook from which we learn of his problem (morphine addiction), how he strove and failed to overcome it, and how it gradually destroyed his life and the hopes of a nurse who loved him. Themes include isolation and loneliness, addiction, self-delusion, deception and manipulation, despair, suicide.

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Love in the Cornhusks

Love in the Cornhusks: Short story by Aida Rivera-FordOn the surface, this story from Aida Rivera-Ford is about young love leading to an illegitimate child, a “disappearing” boyfriend, an unhappy marriage of convenience, affirmation of the boyfriend’s love, and taking responsibility for one’s actions. On a deeper level, questions arise as to whether the couple’s lovemaking was consensual or forced (She resisted but his arms were strong.). We also see elements of ethnic and class discrimination in the descriptions of Tinang’s Bagobo husband and her sense of superiority over the “darker-skinned” girls and other workers in the fields. Themes: prejudice, love, choices and consequences, regret, facing reality/moving on.

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A Mystery of Heroism

A Mystery of Heroism: Short story by Stephen CraneAs the title suggests, this story from Stephen Crane explores the concept of what makes a “hero”. In trying to answer the question, the story considers issues such as recklessness vs. bravery and the danger of bravado. It also touches on perspectives of heroism. To an injured officer, the protagonist is a hero; to his fellow soldiers, he is an impetuous fool. The irony of a dropped bucket at the end of the story suggests that many acts of heroism in wartime are wasted, having no impact on the outcome. Themes: war, duty, death, bravado, pride, heroism.

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A Point at Issue!

A Point at Issue!: Short story by Kate ChopinThis early Kate Chopin story explores the relationship between unconventional 1880s newly-weds. A progressive mathematics professor marries his ideal woman: independent, intuitive, intellectual and extremely good to look at. After a European honeymoon, they decide to live separate lives for one or two years. She stays in Paris to become fluent in French, while he returns to teaching in America. The relationship is tested when he writes about the interesting emotions a friend’s young daughter stirs in him, and she is caught with an embarrassed young man in her studio. Themes: independence and equality, trust vs. suspicion, jealousy, repression.

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The Eskimo Connection

The Eskimo Connection: Short story by Hisaye YamamotoThe “connection” in this story by Hisaye Yamamoto is a correspondence relationship between a widowed Japanese-American poet living in California and a young Eskimo man jailed in a federal penitentiary. Although initially reluctant to write due in part to differences in age, family situation, culture and social situation, the woman empathises with the young man because of her own experiences in a wartime internment camp. This clouds her judgement, and she naively overlooks hints that he may have a capacity for extreme violence. Themes include loneliness, compassion, matriarchy, family struggle, interethnic bonding, art and writing, violence, imprisonment, religion.

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One Friday Morning

One Friday Morning: Short story by Langston HughesThis Langston Hughes story introduces an often-overlooked element of the American racial debate. A community committee reverses a decision to award an arts scholarship to a promising high-school senior when they learn that she is colored. Her art teacher, who is of Irish descent, describes the discrimination and violence suffered by her people when they first arrived in the country. Although the girl didn’t win the award, she emerges from the experience stronger and even more determined to succeed. Themes: equality, the American Dream (defined in the story as liberty and justice for all), racial discrimination, injustice, resilience, determination, hope.

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María Concepción

María Concepción: Short story by Katherine Anne PorterThis story by Katherine Anne Porter exemplifies the proverb Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned. María Concepción, a pious Mexican peasant, is shattered when her husband has an affair with a fifteen-year-old neighbour and runs away with her to war. When the two return, the girl heavily pregnant, he expects their marriage to continue as if nothing had happened. Maria makes sure of this by brutally murdering the girl. During the police investigation the community covers up her involvement, perhaps sensing that true justice has been served. Themes include patriarchy, betrayal, revenge, moral vs. legal justice, feminism.

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Disorder and Early Sorrow

Disorder and Early Sorrow: Short story by Thomas MannThe charm of this story by Thomas Mann lies in its relative uneventfulness… no crime, violence, madness or broken hearts! Set in the 1920s, it follows a day in the life of a close, middle-class German family. The major theme is resilience: the struggle of the German people to recover from the social disruption and deprivations of World War I and cope with emerging hyperinflation. Secondary themes are identity, the relationship between history and the present, and the emergence of a more independent youth culture embracing new styles in music, dance, fashion and the arts.

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