In No Place to Make Love by Langston Hughes we have the theme of struggle, privacy, responsibility, conflict, desperation and hope. Taken from his Short Stories collection the story is narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator and the reader realizes from the beginning of the story that Hughes may be exploring the theme of struggle. The narrator […]

In the James Baldwin adapted parable, The Blind Men and the Elephant, we have the theme of curiosity, perception, ignorance and conflict. Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator the reader realizes from the beginning of the story that Baldwin may be exploring the theme of curiosity. The blind men have never seen an elephant before and do […]

In the shorty story In The Shadow of War by Ben Okri we have the theme of conflict, trust, connection, innocence and fear. Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator it becomes clear to the reader from the beginning of the story that Okri may be exploring the theme of conflict. The war that is occurring in Omovo’s […]

In the essay On Good Resolutions by Robert Lynd we have the theme of respect, virtue, morality, maturity and habit. Taken from his The Book of This and That the reader realizes from the beginning of the essay that Lynd may be exploring the theme of respect. Lynd believes that those who make good resolutions should be respected. They take […]

In One Summer Night by Ambrose Bierce we have the theme of acceptance, mortality, determination, experience and fear. Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator it becomes clear to the reader from the beginning of the story that Bierce may be exploring the theme of acceptance. Though buried alive and it would seem without any ability to free […]

In The Aged Mother by Matsuo Basho we have the theme of power, selfishness, honesty, forgiveness, wisdom, love and change. Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator it becomes clear to the reader from the beginning of the story that Basho may be exploring the theme of power. The ruler of Shining abuses his power by requesting that […]

In The Boy Who Painted Christ Black by John Henrik Clarke we have the theme of race, freedom, pride, arrogance, connection and dignity. Narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator the reader realizes after reading the story that Clarke may be exploring the theme of race. Aaron’s painting of Christ causes problems for him and the principal George […]

In The Bamboo Blind by Seema Jena we have the theme of marriage, control, equality, patriarchy, freedom, acceptance, paralysis and escape. Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator it becomes clear to the reader from the beginning of the story that Jena may be exploring the theme of marriage. Razia and Razak are married and Razia is unhappy. […]

In A Death in the Stadium by Robert Nathan we have the theme of mortality, voyeurism, acceptance, fascination, entertainment and satisfaction. Narrated in the first person by an unnamed narrator the reader realizes from the beginning of the story that Nathan may be exploring the theme of mortality. The narrator along with his friend have gone to the stadium to […]

In My Greatest Olympic Prize by Jesse Owens we have the theme of nationalism, propaganda, struggle, kindness, friendship and participation and from the beginning of the essay the reader realises that Owens may be exploring the theme of nationalism. It is 1936 and the Berlin Olympics are underway. These Olympics were Hitler’s way of showing off to the world how […]

In The Fat Frog by P. Lal we have the theme of selfishness, greed, relationships and honesty. Narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator it becomes clear to the reader from the beginning of the story that Lal might be exploring the theme of selfishness. Not only does the frog eat the dinner made for him and the […]

In The Brinjal Cut-Out by Krishan Chander we have the theme of poverty, desperation, religion, escape and fraud. Narrated in the first person by an unnamed man the reader realises from the beginning of the story that Chander may be exploring the theme of poverty. The narrator is a poor man who can ill afford food for his family. If […]

In It Was Dark by Shashi Deshpande we have the theme of fear, rape, uncertainty, hope and connection. Narrated in the first person by an unnamed mother the reader realises from the beginning of the story that Deshpande may be exploring the theme of fear. The narrator is woken from a dream in where she is hopelessly searching for something […]

In Ramblings on a Beach by Kabir Bedi we have the theme of happiness, freedom, shame, humiliation, conformity, kindness and hope. Narrated in the first person by Bedi himself it becomes clear to the reader from the beginning of the story that Bedi might be exploring the theme of happiness. As he is walking along the beach Bedi sees a […]

In Phoenix Fled by Attia Hosain we have the theme of paralysis, struggle, fear, connection, colonialism and partition. Taken from her Phoenix Fled and Other Stories collection the story is narrated in the third person by an unnamed narrator and the reader realises from the beginning of the story that Hosain may be exploring the theme of paralysis. Old Granny’s […]

In Everything in the Right Place by Hans Christian Andersen we have the theme of cruelty, arrogance, paralysis, kindness and selfishness. Taken from his The Complete Fairy Tales collection the reader realises from the beginning of the story that Anderson may be exploring the theme of cruelty. The baron attempts to push the goose girl into the river because he […]

In Rain-Making by K. Shankar Pillai we have the theme of fear, anger, love, and forgiveness. Narrated in the first person by a young Indian boy called Raja it becomes clear to the reader from the very beginning of the story that Shankar is exploring the theme of fear. Raja is afraid of his grandfather and knows he has a […]

In How I Taught My Grandmother to Read by Sudha Murty we have the theme of love, independence, desperation and happiness. Narrated in the first person by an unnamed woman the story is a retrospective look at the narrator’s life with her grandmother and how she taught her grandmother to read. It also becomes clear to the reader after reading […]

In Love Letters by Kate Walker we have the theme of romance, love, honesty, vulnerability and selfishness. Narrated in the first person by a young man called Nick the reader realises after reading the story that Walker may be exploring the theme of romance. Fleur wants some romance in her life. Just like Helen has. She wants Nick to write […]

In Swimming Partners by Timwa Lipenga we have the theme of connection, control, friendship, love, fear, change, freedom and AIDS. Narrated in the first person by a woman called Linda the story is a memory piece that takes Linda’s relationship with her sister, Aisha, into account. From the beginning of the story it is clear that Linda has a connection […]