Self-Alienation Anorexia nervosa is a disorder that occurs more often than most people think, yet it is odd in that it is self-inflicted. The “normal” human being would abhor the idea of giving himself or herself cancer, AIDS, or any other serious disease, but many of those same humans withhold proper nutrition from their own…
Tag: Themes
Two Friends by Guy de Maupassant – Themes
Friendship The very title ‘‘Two Friends’’ suggests friendship as an important theme in de Maupassant’s story, and indeed the story revolves around the friendship of Morissot and Sauvage. The action of the story begins when the two meet, and, made idle by the war, have nothing better to do than reminisce about their friendship in…
Once Upon A Time by Nadine Gordimer – Themes – Apartheid
Apartheid Underlying everything that happens in ‘‘Once Upon a Time’’ is the specter of apartheid, or the government-directed racial segregation that was the law in South Africa from about 1949 to about 1990. Gordimer does not name the suburb where the story is set, nor the country where the suburb lies, just as she does…
A Mystery of Heroism – Themes
Heroism In ‘‘A Mystery of Heroism’’ and many of his other short stories (including The Red Badge of Courage) Crane grapples with the definition of heroism. What makes a hero a hero? Is the conventional definition of heroism truly valid? Crane uses Collins’s opinions about heroism as a way of poking fun at the conventional…
The Medicine Bag – Themes
Family Relationships Sneve explores family relationships in ‘‘The Medicine Bag’’ at several levels. Martin’s nuclear family, comprised of Martin, his sister Cheryl, his mother, and his father, is in many ways a typical suburban American family. The members of the family get along well with each other, and the family relationships do not seem to…
Marigolds by Eugenie W. Collier – Themes
Coming of Age A coming-of-age story is one in which the protagonist, or main character, is initiated into adulthood through the attainment of knowledge or experience. Often, experience leads to knowledge, and the process is often one of disillusionment. ‘‘Marigolds’’isLizabeth’scoming-of-age story. The confusion she feels over her father’s desperation and shame and the subsequent role…
How Much Land Does A Man Need? – Themes
Greed and Envy When viewed through its main theme, ‘‘How Much Land Does a Man Need?’’ is not a complex or subtle story. It is about the sins of greed and envy as they manifest in one particular man, the peasant Pahom. Unlike his wife, Pahom has not learned to be satisfied with what he…
House Taken Over – Themes
Social Class ‘‘House Taken Over’’ paints a stark picture of the life of the Argentine upper class. Irene and her brother have inherited a large house and gather income from the farms that they own. All of this means that neither has to work. They have enough income to enjoy a leisurely and well-off lifestyle….
The Golden Kite, the Silver Wind – Themes
Conflict The story presents two different models for relationships between human communities. They can choose conflict or cooperation. At first the unnamed city of the Mandarin and the growing city of Kwan-Si choose the conflict model. Each city feels threatened by the other. For example, the people in the first city think that the wall…
Games At Twilight – Themes
Identity Anita Desai’s fiction deals with individuals searching for their identity. This theme has been popular in Western fiction for at least two centuries, but it is a new theme in Indian literature since India was until recently a closed society. Traditionally, the family and social caste system dictated individual choices in everything from education…