In this story by Isaac Asimov, a scientist tells astounded colleagues a “tall tale” about how a new model robot broke the first and most fundamental of the Three Laws of Robotics: a robot may not injure a human being, or through inaction allow a human being to come to harm. The malfunctioning robot had escaped from its base and, upon encountering the man in a deadly zero-visibility storm, left him to die. Although the robot had a legitimate reason for its actions, the model was discontinued immediately. Themes include disobedience, protectiveness and “motherly” love. More…
The Overcoat (The Cloak)
This story by Nikolai Gogol, described by Vladimir Nabokov as the greatest Russian short story ever written, uses pathos and dry humor to get its messages across. The protagonist represents Russia’s working class, eking out a living in a tedious, low-level job. Things improve dramatically when a windfall allows him to buy a new overcoat. Sadly, after a mugger steals the coat, shortcomings in the justice system and failing health contribute to his death. Perhaps metaphorically, his ghost rises up and terrorizes the city in retribution. Themes: alienation, (lack of) connection and compassion, bureaucracy, materialism, social class, the supernatural, revenge. More…
The Spinoza of Market Street
Isaac Singer’s protagonist is an aging philosopher who has struggled for thirty years to write a commentary on the 17th century philosophical treatise, Spinoza’s Ethics. Frustrated, sickly and too weak from hunger to get out of bed, a reclusive spinster nurses him back to health. Her kindness leads to marriage and a wedding night in which he miraculously regains his youthful virility and passion for life. The story’s denouement: Spinoza, forgive me. I have become a fool. could thus be taken several ways. Themes: obsession, isolation and loneliness, renewal through passion, the difficulty in reconciling Spinoza’s views with traditional religion. More…
Father Against Mother
Brazil was the last country in the Western world to abolish slavery. Major themes of this story by Joaquim Maria Machado de Assis are the brutality of slavery and the ethical dilemma of the protagonist (a destitute slave catcher whose wife has just had a baby) in returning a pregnant escaped slave to potentially cruel punishment. Literary devices used include understatement (pursuing slaves was … not a very noble profession), sarcasm (They would sometimes be beaten, and not all of them liked being beaten.) and metaphor (That unripe fruit entered the world amid the cries and moans of the mother…). More…
The Queen of Spades
This entertaining, quite witty story from Alexander Pushkin shows how greed can overcome our better judgement when presented with a seemingly easy way to make money. A young soldier spends hours watching his fellow officers gamble at cards. He never joins in because he can’t afford to risk his small savings. When he learns that an old socialite knows a secret strategy that always wins at faro, he devises a heartless plan to learn it. He begins to gamble using her information, winning and doubling the bet each time. Unfortunately for him, the old socialite has the last laugh. More…