The major theme of this story by Ghulam Abbas is how people judge others by their appearance. A clearly impoverished man uses an overcoat, scarf and cane to create the persona of a well-to-do dandy. He enjoys a leisurely stroll through the streets of Lahore, and is welcomed in shops he could not otherwise enter. Importantly, the reader is also taken in by the guise until it is stripped away as his clothes are removed in hospital. Other themes include loneliness, social class, the human desire to “fit in” and be treated with respect, the unpredictability of life and death. More…
Prayer for the Living
This story by Ben Okri highlights the suffering of innocent civilians caught up in regional conflicts. Set during the Nigerian Civil War when a government blockade of the self-proclaimed Republic of Biafra resulted in mass starvation, a man who hasn’t eaten for three weeks walks among corpses scattered in an unnamed town. He has come to the grim conclusion that the dead seem happier and more alive than the living. His purpose… to make sure that his family and lover are dead before finding “happiness” himself. Themes include the horrors of war, corruption/ethnic rivalry, suffering, acceptance, death as relief. More…
Amnesty
A major theme of this story by Nadine Gordimer, and the reason it is still relevant today, is the need for grass roots involvement in the struggle for justice. A young South African woman whose unionist husband is imprisoned for five years comes to appreciate the need for people at all levels to join hands in resisting oppression. Although the exploitation of poorly educated indigenous laborers depicted in the story has greatly diminished, injustice in many other forms is still rampant throughout the world. Other themes: racism, the right to protest, the importance of learning, love, loneliness, dedication, change. More…
My Sweet Sixteenth
In this story by Brenda Wilkinson, a school friend helps a young a girl deliver her baby in her upstairs bedroom while a house-full of guests celebrate her “Sweet Sixteenth” birthday downstairs. The baby’s father wanted her to keep it; she wanted a termination but waited too long. The next morning, she secretly takes the baby to a hospital, claiming she found it on the street. Fortunately, the truth comes out and the prospect of family shame encourages her to keep the child, which she now loves. Themes include naivety, choices and consequences, deception, abortion, friendship, social image, and motherhood. More…
The Elephant Vanishes
The major theme of this surreal mystery by Haruki Murakami is how commercialism and modernization have upset Japan’s traditional social order. Other themes include unity, perception, disillusionment, alienation, paralysis, isolation and connection. An aging elephant and keeper symbolize the old ways, destined to vanish when displaced by urban development. The city’s absurd responses to the disappearance signify the uneasiness and confusion brought about by the changes. The narrator, a loner used to unity and balance in his life, becomes so disoriented by what he saw on the night of the disappearance that he is unable to make important decisions. More…