Dreams The thematic focus on dreams in the story is announced by the title of the collection, Dream Stuff , an allusion to Shakespeare’s The Tempest (4.1.156–58). Prospero, the central character in the play, notes the temporal nature of human life in his claim, “We are such stuff / As dreams are made on; and…
Tag: Themes
The Good Doctor by Adam Haslett – Themes
Chemical Drug Use and Abuse “The Good Doctor” is much concerned with drug use and abuse. Life in this rural, economically depressed Nebraska prairie offers little opportunity or hope, and drugs become the means by which people dull disappointment and disillusionment. Jack Buckholdt promised his wife they would leave for a better life in California;…
Fish by Jill McCorkle – Themes
Resurrection Resurrection means to rise from the dead or to revive. Resurrection is the narrator’s primary theme in “Fish.” Many of the narrator’s memories over the course of the story are concerned with little moments in which resurrection has occurred or nearly occurred, for example, the father’s birth a year after his stillborn brother; his…
The English Pupil – Themes
Age and Youth, Present and Past There are a series of contrasts in the story between age and youth, present and past, death and life. Linnaeus is bitterly and painfully aware of these two sets of opposing realities, and he attempts to bridge the gap between them. The contrasts bring out the irony of Linnaeus’s…
The Canal by Richard Yates – Themes
Memory Yates dramatizes in this story how individuals remember shared experiences (perhaps especially of war) in separate ways and how those different ways of remembering determine or express the person’s sense of self. Tom Brace selects from all his military experience in order to shape his story. Soldiers have many experiences in military service, but…
Titanic Survivors Found in Bermuda Triangle – Themes
Edwardian Age The term “Edwardian Age” refers to years during which Edward VII reigned. Though Edward was king from 1900 to 1910, the era named after him is often extended to the start of World War I in 1914. The Edwardian period marked the very different mood that prevailed in England and in America in…
A Silver Dish by Saul Bellow – Themes
Familial Love Woody Selbst loves his father much like an indulgent father might love his irresponsible, yet self-serving son. Woody loses the opportunity to have his education paid for because of the selfish actions of his father. Because he loves his father, he gives him his savings when the old man wants to hire a…
Rosa by Cynthia Ozick – Themes
The Holocaust “Rosa” gives a dramatic example of how the Holocaust not only took the lives of the millions of Jews who died in concentration camps, but also emotionally crippled millions of others who survived. While Rosa and Stella survived the camp physically, both are disabled emotionally, though they deal with it in very different…
The Pearl by John Steinbeck – Themes
Greed His obsession with the pearl is prompted by his desire for respect and power, but most importantly for the education of his child. He wants to be able to marry Juana, to buy a rifle that can “[break] down the barriers,” to dress his family in nice clothes, and finally to enable his son…
Mowgli’s Brothers – Themes
Nature versus Nurture The nature part of the story pertains to Mowgli’s innate classification as a human. His body is human, hairless and upright. The nurture part of the story pertains to his learned traits and characteristics. His extended foster family teaches him everything he must know to be a wolf. He hunts when he…