EXAM

"A Temporary Matter"

Summary: Husband and wife Shukumar and Shoba are notified that their electricity will be turned off at 8:00PM for five evenings in a row in order to fix a power line. Shoba tells her husband this news. He looks at her, noticing that her makeup has run from her time at the gym. He reminisces about how she would look in the morning after a party in happier times. Shoba insists that the electric company should work on the lines during the day. Shukumar takes slight offense at this idea; since January, he has worked at home on his dissertation. The outages begin that evening. Six months earlier, Shoba went into labor prematurely when Shukumar was attending a conference out of town. Shukumar remembers the station wagon cab that took him to the airport. For the first time, the images of parenthood that flashed through his mind - Shoba handing out juice boxes to their children in the back seat of their own station wagon - were welcome. While out of town, Shukumar was alerted of the labor complications, but by the time he arrived at the Boston hospital, their child had died. Lately, editor Shoba spends more time at work, leaving before Shukumar wakes and coming home late. Shukumar had been granted more time to work on his dissertation, but he finds himself unable to work. He and his wife have become strangers, experts in avoiding one another. A half an hour before the lights are due to go out, Shukumar continues cooking their dinner while Shoba showers. Reminded of a dentist appointment, Shukumar brushes his teeth with a toothbrush purchased long ago in case of overnight guests. Shoba was always prepared for what might happen. Groceries were purchased in bulk, Indian chutneys and marinades were prepared on the weekend, and dishes frozen for future use. A lavish feast could be whipped up on a moment's notice. Now, Shukumar was working his way through their provisions, cooking dinner each evening just for the two of them to eat separately - Shukumar in the study that was to become the nursery and Shoba in front of the TV with her editing assignments spread out in front of her. Shukumar pretends to work when Shoba comes to visit each night, forcing herself to enter the room. Tonight, in the dark, would be the first time they ate together in months. Shukumar finds a half-empty box of birthday candles leftover from a surprise party Shoba had thrown for her husband last spring. At the party, she held his hand all night as they chatted easily with friends they now avoid. The only visitor they'd had since their baby died was Shoba's mother, who somewhat blames Shukumar for his child's death. Shukumar sets the table with a potted ivy to hold the candles and glasses of wine. Just as the meat is ready, the house goes dark. When the power would go out while visiting relatives in India, Shoba's family would share jokes or poems. Shoba suggests they tell each other secrets in the dark. First, she confesses that when they began dating, she looked for her name in his phone book the first time she went to his apartment. Shukumar tells Shoba that he forgot to tip the waiter on their first date. He was distracted by the thought he might marry her. The next night, Shoba comes home earlier so they can eat together before the lights go out. When they lose power, they decide to sit outside in the unseasonably warm winter night. Shukumar wonders what Shoba will tell him since he feels they know everything about each other. Shoba shares first. When Shukumar's mother came for a visit, she lied about working late and went out for a martini with her friend Gillian instead. Shukumar remembers the visit, his mother still in mourning for her husband twelve years after his death. Without Shoba there to say the right things, Shukumar felt awkward with his grief-stricken mother. Shukumar admits that, fifteen years ago, he cheated on an exam. His father had died only a few months earlier. Shoba takes his hand. They sit outside until the lights come on and then retreat to their home, still holding hands. Without speaking about it, their time in the dark turned into an exchange of confessions about how they had hurt or disappointed each other or themselves. On the third night, Shukumar tells Shoba that he returned the sweater vest she had given him for their third anniversary. He exchanged it for cash and got drunk in the middle of the day. She tells him that she once let him speak to the chairman of his department with food on his chin. On the fourth night, he admits he kept a picture of a woman torn out of a magazine in his wallet while Shoba was pregnant. The desire for the unknown woman was the closest he ever came to infidelity. Shoba tells him she never liked the only poem he had ever published. Shukumar and Shoba are able to be intimate in the dark. On the third night, they kiss and on the fourth night, they make love. The next day, they receive a notice that the power line has been repaired ahead of schedule. It is the end of their game. Shoba suggests they still light candles and eat by their glow. After dinner, Shoba blows out the candles and opens a second bottle of wine. She turns the lights back on, telling Shukumar that she wants to see his face when she tells him her biggest secret. Before coming home that evening, she had signed the lease on her own new apartment. Shukumar is relieved but sickened. Shoba had been preparing for a life without him and the game had been proposed so she could work up her nerve to break the news to him. It is Shukumar's turn to speak and he decides to confess something he swore he'd never tell. When she was pregnant, Shoba wanted the gender of their child to remain a surprise until birth. When the child died, she did not know if they had lost a son or daughter. Shoba took refuge in that mystery, spared of that knowledge. When Shukumar arrived at the hospital, Shoba was asleep. The doctor suggested he hold the child before it was cremated in order to begin the grieving process. Shukumar recoiled, but then agreed. He tells Shoba that he held their son. He describes what the child looked like, how his fingers were curled just as hers curl in the night. Shukumar takes their plates to the sink, leaving Shoba alone in the living room. He watches their neighbors walk arm in arm and the lights suddenly go out. He turns to find Shoba at the light switch. They sit together and weep for their new knowledge.

The Great Gatsby

Summary: In the summer of 1922, Nick Carraway moves from Minnesota to work as a bond salesman in New York. Nick rents a house in West Egg, a suburb of New York on Long Island full of the "new rich" who have made their fortunes too recently to have built strong social connections. Nick graduated from Yale and has connections in East Egg, a town where the people with social connections and "old" money live. One night Nick drives to East Egg to have dinner with his cousin, Daisy and her husband Tom Buchanan, a classmate of Nick's at Yale. There, he meets Jordan Baker, a beautiful and cynical professional golfer. Jordan tells Nick that Tom is having an affair. Upon returning home from dinner, Nick sees his mysterious neighbor Jay Gatsby holding out his arms toward the Long Island Sound. Nick looks out across the water, but sees only a green light blinking at the end of a dock on the far shore. A few days later, Tom invites Nick to a party in New York City. On the way, Tom picks up his mistress, Myrtle Wilson, the wife of George Wilson, the owner of an auto shop an industrial area between West Egg and New York City called the Valley of Ashes. At the party, Myrtle gets drunk and makes fun of Daisy. Tom punches her and breaks her nose. Nick also attends one of Gatsby's extravagant Saturday night parties. He runs into Jordan there, and meets Gatsby for the first time. Gatsby privately tells Jordan a story she describes as the most "amazing thing." After going to lunch with Gatsby and a shady business partner of Gatsby's named Meyer Wolfsheim, Nick meets with Jordan and learns the "amazing" story: Gatsby met and fell in love with Daisy before World War I, and bought his West Egg mansion just to be near her and impress her. At Gatsby's request, Nick arranges a meeting between Gatsby and Daisy. The two soon rediscover their love. Daisy invites Nick and Gatsby to lunch with her, Tom, and Jordan. During the lunch, Tom realizes Daisy and Gatsby are having an affair. He insists they all go to New York City. As soon as they gather at the Plaza Hotel, though, Tom and Gatsby get into an argument about Daisy. Gatsby tells Tom that Daisy never loved Tom and has only ever loved him. But Daisy can only admit that she loved them both, and Gatsby is stunned. Tom then reveals that Gatsby made his fortune by bootlegging alcohol and other illegal means. Tom then dismissively tells Daisy to go home with Gatsby, since he knows Gatsby won't "bother" her anymore. They leave in Gatsby's car, while Tom, Nick, and Jordan follow sometime later. As they drive home, Tom, Nick, and Jordan come upon an accident: Myrtle has been hit and killed by a car. Tom realizes that it must have been Gatsby's car that struck Myrtle, and he curses Gatsby as a coward for driving off. But Nick learns from Gatsby later that night that Daisy was actually behind the wheel. George Wilson, distraught, is convinced that the driver of the car yellow car that hit Myrtle is also her lover. While at work that day, Nick fights on the phone with Jordan. In the afternoon, Nick has a kind of premonition and finds Gatsby shot to death in his pool. Wilson's dead body is a few yards away. Nick organizes a funeral, but none of the people who were supposedly Gatsby's friends come. Only Gatsby's father and one other man attend. Nick and Jordan end their relationship. Nick runs into Tom soon after, and learns that Tom told Wilson that Gatsby had run over Myrtle. Nick doesn't tell Tom that Daisy was at the wheel. Disgusted with the corrupt emptiness of life on the East Coast, Nick moves back to Minnesota. But the night before he leaves he walks down to Gatsby's beach and looks out over Long Island Sound. He thinks about Gatsby, and compares him to the first settlers to America. Like Gatsby, Nick says, all people must move forward with their arms outstretched toward the future, like boats traveling upstream against the current of the past. Themes: The Roaring Twenties The American Dream Past and Future

Frankenstein

Summary: Robert Walton, the captain of a ship bound for the North Pole, writes a letter to his sister, Margaret Saville, in which he says that his crew members recently discovered a man adrift at sea. The man, Victor Frankenstein, offered to tell Walton his story. Frankenstein has a perfect childhood in Switzerland, with a loving family that even adopted orphans in need, including the beautiful Elizabeth, who soon becomes Victor's closest friend, confidante, and love. Victor also has a caring and wonderful best friend, Henry Clerval. Just before Victor turns seventeen and goes to study at the University at Ingoldstadt, his mother dies of scarlet fever. At Ingolstadt, Victor dives into "natural philosophy" with a passion, studying the secrets of life with such zeal that he even loses touch with his family. He soon rises to the top of his field, and suddenly, one night, discovers the secret of life. With visions of creating a new and noble race, Victor puts his knowledge to work. But when he animates his first creature, its appearance is so horrifying he abandons it. Victor hopes the monster has disappeared for ever, but some months later he receives word that his youngest brother, William, has been murdered. Though Victor sees the monster lingering at the site of the murder and is sure it did the deed, he fears no one will believe him and keeps silent. Justine Moritz, another adoptee in his family, has been falsely accused based of the crime. She is convicted and executed. Victor is consumed by guilt. To escape its tragedy, the Frankensteins go on vacation. Victor often hikes in the mountains, hoping to alleviate his suffering with the beauty of nature. One day the monster appears, and despite Victor's curses begs him incredibly eloquently to listen to its story. The monster describes his wretched life, full of suffering and rejection solely because of his horrifying appearance. (The monster also explains how he learned to read and speak so well.) The monster blames his rage on humanity's inability to perceive his inner goodness and his resulting total isolation. It demands that Victor, its creator who brought it into this wretched life, create a female monster to give it the love that no human ever will. Victor refuses at first, but then agrees. Back in Geneva, Victor's father expresses his wish that Victor marry Elizabeth. Victor says he first must travel to England. On the way to England, Victor meets up with Clerval. Soon, though, Victor leaves Clerval at the house of a friend in Scotland and moves to a remote island to make his second, female, monster. But one night Victor begins to worry that the female monster might turn out more destructive than the first. At the same moment, Victor sees the first monster watching him work through a window. The horrifying sight pushes Victor to destroy the female monster. The monster vows revenge, warning Victor that it will "be with him on [his] wedding night." Victor takes the remains of the female monster and dumps them in the ocean. But when he returns to shore, he is accused of a murder that was committed that same night. When Victor discovers that the victim is Clerval, he collapses and remains delusional for two months. When he wakes his father has arrived, and he is cleared of the criminal charges against him. Victor returns with his father to Geneva, and marries Elizabeth. But on his wedding night, the monster instead kills Elizabeth. Victor's father dies of grief soon thereafter. Now, all alone in the world, Victor dedicates himself solely to seeking revenge against the monster. He tracks the monster to the Arctic, but becomes trapped on breaking ice and is rescued by Walton's crew. Walton writes another series of letters to his sister. He tells her about his failure to reach the North Pole and to restore Victor, who died soon after his rescue. Walton's final letter describes his discovery of the monster grieving over Victor's corpse. He accuses the monster of having no remorse, but the monster says it has suffered more than anyone. With Victor dead, the monster has its revenge and plans to end its own life.

Everything I Never Told You

Summary: The book opens in 1977. Lydia Lee is dead, but all her family knows is that she hasn't come down to breakfast. Lydia's mother Marilyn goes up to her room to look for her, and finds everything in its place but no sign of Lydia. Lydia's siblings Nath and Hannah leave for school, while Marilyn begins to fear that something terrible may have happened. Meanwhile, Marilyn's husband James is at his office in Middlewood College, unaware that anything is wrong. James is a tenured professor of American History; one of his graduate student teaching assistants, Louisa Chen, knocks on his door and the two discuss their students' work. Their conversation is interrupted by Stanley Hewitt, who James finds irritating. Then Marilyn calls and asks James to come home. Back at the house, police officers tell Lydia's family that teenagers often run away because they are angry with their parents, and that most come home within 24 hours. Officer Fiske asks about an incident in which Marilyn went missing 11 years before, but James quickly dismisses this as a "miscommunication." After the police leave, James and Marilyn write down a list of Lydia's friends. Nath says nothing, but knows that the girls on the list are not actually close to Lydia; she doesn't have any friends except the Lee's neighbor, Jack Wolff, whom Nath strongly dislikes. However, even as James and Marilyn call all the girls they believe to be Lydia's friends, Nath doesn't mention Jack. Meanwhile, Hannah keeps quiet about the fact that at 2am the previous night, she'd seen Lydia walk across the front lawn away from the house. The next day, a passerby notices that there is a rowboat floating in the middle of the lake at the end of the Lee's street. The police ask James if Lydia can swim and he tells them she can't; a day later, Lydia's body is found in the water. The narrative jumps back to 1955, during Marilyn's first year at Radcliffe, the women's college within Harvard University. Marilyn is an excellent student who dreams of becoming a doctor, but faces sexist opposition from both her male peers and professors. Marilyn's mother Doris Walker is a highly traditional woman, a home economics teacher who has never left her hometown in Virginia. In Marilyn's sophomore year, she enrolls in a new course called "The Cowboy in American Culture." She is entranced by the instructor, James, a graduate student in the history department and the first "Oriental" (Asian-American) person Marilyn has ever seen. After the first lecture, Marilyn goes to James' office hours and kisses him. The two quickly form a relationship. James was born in California to Chinese immigrants who worked in the cafeteria of Lloyd Academy, a small boarding school that James attended after passing the entrance exam at six years old. James goes on to attend Harvard for both his undergraduate and graduate degrees, yet he never feels like he fits into American society. During the spring after meeting James, Marilyn discovers that she is pregnant, and the two marry quickly. At the wedding, Doris tells Marilyn that "it's not right" for her to marry James, and Marilyn never speaks to her mother again. Back in 1977, the Lees attend Lydia's funeral. After the service, Nath aggressively questions Jack and is scolded by James for behaving inappropriately. The narrator mentions that Jack's mother, Janet, leaves Jack unsupervised during her shifts working as a doctor at the hospital, and that Jack has a reputation for taking the virginity of girls at his school. Later that day, Nath notices that the police are questioning Jack and Janet and he spies on the conversation. Jack tells the police that Lydia was always sad, and that this was due to her poor grades, her parents, and the fact that Nath is about to leave home to attend Harvard. Meanwhile, James has gone to his office to read Lydia's autopsy report. While there, Louisa knocks on his office door. Seeing that James is visibly shaken, she offers to cook him lunch at her apartment. They go back and immediately sleep together, after which James sleep soundly for the first time since Lydia's death. The narrative rewinds 11 years in time, when Lydia is five years old and Hannah is not yet born. At the Middlewood Christmas party, Marilyn asks a professor of chemistry, Tom Lawson, if he would consider hiring her as a research assistant. He tells her he'd be happy to consider it as long as James doesn't mind. That spring, Marilyn learns that Doris has died. She drives to Virginia to pack up her mother's belongings, and finds no trace of Doris in her house other than her beloved Betty Crocker cookbook, which Marilyn takes home with her. The cookbook contains recipes and instructions on "keeping" a happy, harmonious household; its advice includes that wives should make eggs in their husband's preferred style. Meanwhile, James takes Nath to swim at the Y, but Nath is humiliated by the other kids ganging up and shouting racist insults at him. Shaken by her confrontation with the reality of Doris' life, Marilyn concocts a plan to leave her family, finish her undergraduate degree at a community college in Toledo, and finally pursue her dream of attending medical school. She writes a note explaining her decision to leave to James, but she tears it up and departs without leaving a note. Her family is stunned by her sudden disappearance. As time passes after Lydia's death, the police and news coverage both emphasize that she was lonely; most articles claim that her death was likely a suicide. Marilyn insists that this is not true, that Lydia was "very happy" and "loved school." She and James fight, with Marilyn accusing James of being overly deferential to the police. Meanwhile, Nath and Hannah walk to the lake. Nath sees Jack and is overcome by a desire to punch him, but Hannah stops him. Nath explains that he is convinced that Jack was involved with Lydia's death, and he adds that Lydia fell in the lake years before, when Hannah was not yet born. The narrative returns to the summer in which Marilyn disappeared. James enlists the help of the police in finding her, but he had secretly already discovered the torn-up pieces of her note and thus he knows she left voluntarily. Life in the Lee household has quickly fallen apart; James fails to make adequate meals for the children, the family rarely leaves the house, and all three of them spend most of their time aimlessly waiting for Marilyn to return. Nath manages to distract himself with a newfound interest in outer space, and he watches the news coverage of the launch of the Gemini 9 space flight with glee. When he tries to tell James about it, however, James slaps him. In Toledo, Marilyn devotes herself to her studies, quickly regaining her previous prowess at scientific work. However, she desperately misses her family, and calls them every day without saying anything. One day, after a series of dizzy spells, Marilyn faints and goes to the hospital, where she discovers she is pregnant. A nurse calls James, and Marilyn decides that she must return home and give up on her medical ambitions forever. Back in Middlewood, Lydia tells Marilyn that she "lost" the Betty Crocker cookbook, when in fact she hid it because she knew it made her mother sad. Marilyn takes this as a sign that Lydia is rejecting traditional gender roles and she vows to encourage her daughter to study science and become a doctor herself. Meanwhile, Lydia vows to do everything her mother asks in order to prevent her from leaving again. A few days later, Nath and Lydia go to the lake, and Nath is overcome by a sudden sense of frustration with his parents' favoritism of Lydia. He pushes her into the lake, where she nearly drowns before Nath helps her back to shore. They do not tell their parents about what happened. Ten years pass, during which time the world is shaken by dramatic political events and shifting social norms, including the gains of the women's liberation movement. James and Marilyn are still fixated on Lydia, with James encouraging her to attend social events and have lots of friends, and Marilyn enrolling her in college-level science classes. Marilyn boasts that Lydia is a "genius," unaware that she is failing physics and only barely passing biology. Meanwhile, when Lydia discovers a letter from Harvard informing Nath that he has been admitted to the class of 1981, she hides it in a desperate attempt to force Nath to stay in Middlewood. Eventually, however, another letter arrives and Nath finally discovers that he got in. The family's celebration is interrupted by Lydia suddenly exclaiming that she is failing physics, which infuriates Nath. At Christmas, James gives Lydia three self-help books with advice on how to make friends; while Lydia pretends to be happy, in reality she is crushed by this gift. At school, Lydia decides to befriend Jack, who is dubious of her sudden desire to smoke and her claim that she doesn't care about physics. Jack asks Lydia what it's like to be the only non-white girl in school, and Lydia explains that it means everyone assumes they know something about her before they've met her. The narrative jumps forward to show the Lees continuing to struggle in the wake of Lydia's death. James and Marilyn barely speak, and when Nath notices that James smells of Louisa's perfume, James yells at his son. Officer Fiske calls to let the family know that the police are ceasing their investigation and ruling Lydia's death a suicide, which provokes an enormous argument between Marilyn and James. James leaves the house and doesn't come back, and Nath informs Marilyn that James is probably at Louisa's apartment. Marilyn confronts Louisa, who lies about not knowing where James is (when he is in fact there in her apartment). Knowing that Louisa is lying, Marilyn tells her that "if" she sees James, she should tell him that Marilyn will see him at home. Three months before Lydia's death, Nath is increasingly suspicious that Lydia and Jack's friendship is manipulative and sexual. When the two hang out, though, they simply smoke and talk, and Jack begins teaching Lydia to drive. Lydia has now resigned herself to the fact that Nath is leaving for college, but she dreams that as soon as she gets her driver's license she will be able to drive away and escape her family too. James gives Lydia a silver locket as an early 16th birthday present; at first Lydia is thrilled, until she sees a photo of herself inside which was taken before the 9th grade dance that James forced her to attend. On her birthday, James takes Lydia for her DMV test, which she fails. Lydia is furious, but pretends to be happy during dinner with her family. Hannah observes that Lydia is at a breaking point. In the weeks following Lydia's death, Marilyn confronts James about Louisa, claiming that she seems "docile" and would make a "nice little wife." They argue and James suggests that Marilyn must regret marrying him because of how it makes her "different." Marilyn responds that her real disappointment lies in the fact that she was forced to give up her dreams of becoming a doctor. Eventually, James leaves the house. Marilyn discovers the Betty Crocker cookbook in Lydia's room and begins to realize that Lydia was only pretending to be interested in science in order to be close to her. Meanwhile, Nath buys whisky and drinks alone to the point of vomiting. Officer Fiske finds him and takes him home, and Fiske's kindness is such a contrast to the treatment Nath is used to from his parents that Nath cries. The penultimate chapter opens just days before Lydia's death. Nath leaves for his campus visit to Harvard and, although he promises Lydia that he will call, he never does. The next night, Lydia calls Nath to ask how the visit is going and he responds to her rudely before hanging up. On the following day, Lydia wears her prettiest dress and lipstick, and after school she attempts to seduce Jack. Jack resists her advances and reveals that he is secretly in love with Nath. Although Jack explains this kindly, Lydia is furious and threatens to tell the whole school. That night, she sneaks out of her bedroom at 2am and goes to the lake. She decides that all of the problems in her life began the summer when Nath pushed her into the water, and she promises herself that she can fix everything as long as she rows out, jumps in, and swims back to shore. The last thing Lydia thinks to herself before jumping is "it will be alright." The final chapter returns to the period after Lydia's death. Following his fight with Marilyn, James drives away before turning around and coming back to Middlewood. At home, he plays with Hannah, feeling overwhelmed by grief yet comforted by Hannah's love. That night, Marilyn and James lie in bed together, feeling closer than they have for years. The next morning, Nath confronts Jack about Lydia; although Jack knows he is innocent, he lets Nath punch him. Hannah eventually pushes Nath into the lake to avoid him hurting Jack any further. In the water, Nath thinks about his permanent separation from Lydia, and all the things that will happen in the future that he will never be able to tell her. He swims toward the surface, his eyes fixed on Hannah's face. Themes: Appearances vs. Disappearances Secrets, Lies, and Silence Innocence vs. Guilt Loneliness, Exclusion, and Prejudice Expectations, Ambition, and Disappointment

"The Other Side of the Hedge"

Summary: The story opens with the narrator resting by the side of a seemingly endless road. Although others on the road jeer him for stopping his walk, and the energetic Miss Eliza Dimbleby exhorts him to persevere, he subsequently collapses and thinks of his brother, who had collapsed a year or so earlier after wasting his breath on singing and his strength helping others. The narrator lies prostrate from exhaustion until a faint breath of air from a thick hedge alongside the road revives him. After glancing around to ensure that he is unobserved, he musters his remaining strength and fights through the dead branches of the hedge, although he has no idea what he might find on the other side. Just as he feels he might die from his exertion, he falls through the undergrowth into a moat. He nearly drowns but is rescued by a man who becomes his guide to the world on the other side of the hedge. This guide, who looks fifty or sixty years old but has the voice of an eighteen-year-old boy, shows the narrator through the park, which is of indeterminate size but of definite beauty. Unlike the dusty and dry road, the park teems with vitality and is filled with images of pastoral happiness: flowers covering the green hedge, fish swimming in the moat, people singing and working contentedly in the fields. The narrator, however, is disenchanted to learn that the residents of this paradise have no need for science or machines. After arguing that a society must progress or else it is worthless, he states his intention to leave this world—beautiful as it may be—to return to the competition of the road. Before he can leave, his guide shows him two gates. The first opens outward and is made of ivory: It is the gate through which earliest humanity walked when first taken with the idea of leaving the paradise to explore the outer world. As the narrator and his guide walk away from this gate, the narrator believes he sees Miss Dimbleby with her feet in a fountain. Although his guide confirms that it is she, the narrator rejects the sight as an impossibility because her earnest demeanor would never allow such laziness. He then asks to leave the park immediately. His guide reluctantly shows him a second gate, made of half-transparent horn and opening in toward the park. Through its translucency, the narrator can see the dusty, dreary road flanked by dead hedges that he left earlier. When he hesitates, a man passes by with a can of liquid. Suddenly seized by an uncontrollable thirst, the narrator snatches the can and drinks from it. He starts to lose consciousness but hears his guide say that this second gate is the one through which all that is left of humanity will pass on its return to the paradise. The man whose drink he has taken catches the narrator as he collapses. Slipping into a deep sleep, the narrator realizes that he now lies in his brother's arms. Themes: In his brief introduction to The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories (1947), E. M. Forster points out that each of the six stories in his collection are fantasies, meaning they are more far-fetched in plot and characterization than his novels usually are, even though both often deal with similar themes. This generalization about the stories holds especially true for "The Other Side of the Hedge," a dreamlike parable that uses heavy-handed symbolism to condemn modern, mechanistic society. As in Forster's other fantasies in The Celestial Omnibus, and Other Stories, "The Other Side of the Hedge" exemplifies the value of a pastoral society in which men and women can ignore the pressures of a modern world. Unlike the other fantasies, this story is overtly allegorical and is to be read symbolically. The dusty road, for example, represents life; the reader should understand that when the narrator—who is anonymous because he is an Everyman—stops walking along this road he is contemplating suicide rather than continuing his monotonous trek. He has already dropped many of the tools of civilization but has kept his pedometer and his watch, obvious symbols for the mechanistic society in which he lives.

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian

Summary: Fourteen-year-old Junior, a Spokane Indian boy, was "born with water on the brain" or hydrocephalus. This condition gave him a stutter, seizures, and a number of physical differences, such as a large head, that make him a frequent target for bullies on the reservation where he lives. As a result, Junior has spent a lot of his time alone, reading or drawing cartoons. He loves to draw, and thinks his cartoons pose his best chance of getting off the reservation and out of the poverty that has held his family and his tribe back for generations. He also loves spending time with his best friend, Rowdy, whose violent temper makes the other kids afraid of him. Rowdy always protects Junior, though, and the two boys share a special bond, telling each other their secrets and dreams. On his first day of high school at Wellpinit (the school on the reservation), Junior is particularly excited for geometry class. But when the teacher, Mr. P, passes out textbooks, Junior realizes that the books are at least thirty years old. Suddenly furious that the reservation school is so poorly funded that it must use old and outdated books, Junior throws the textbook across the room—accidentally hitting Mr. P in the face and breaking his nose. As a result, Junior is suspended from school. Mr. P comes to visit him and tells Junior he forgives him, but advises him that he must leave the reservation. Otherwise, the culture of defeat, depression, and alcoholism on the reservation will force him to give up his dreams, just as his older sister Mary—who, Mr. P reveals, used to want to be a romance writer, but now spends all her time alone in the family's basement—and the other adults in his life have done. Because of Mr. P's advice, Junior decides to transfer to the high school in Reardan, a wealthy white farm town twenty-two miles away. Junior's parents support his decision, but warn him that most of the tribe will see him as a traitor. In particular, when Junior tells Rowdy he is changing schools and asks him to come along, Rowdy is angry and betrayed. He punches Junior in the face, screams that he hates him, and walks away. Junior is heartbroken, realizing that his best friend has become his worst enemy. At the Reardan school, Junior is the only Indian besides the racist mascot, and he feels deeply alienated from the white students, who either ignore him or call him names. He also feels like his identity is divided between Reardan and the reservation, particularly because the white teachers call him by his given name, Arnold, instead of Junior. Gradually, though, Junior makes friends with some of his new classmates, including Gordy, a "genius" who teaches him how to really read books; Penelope, a beautiful, popular blond girl who becomes Junior's "semi-girlfriend" after he discovers her eating disorder and lets her cry on his shoulder; and Roger, a star athlete who encourages Junior to join the basketball team. Much to his surprise, Junior excels on the team, impressing Coach with his shooting skills and his commitment. In the team's first game against Wellpinit, Rowdy gives Junior a concussion, sparking a thirst for revenge that drives Junior to humiliate him in turn later in the season—only to realize, after a crushing Reardan victory, that perhaps he shouldn't be so proud given Reardan's advantages. Junior's first year at Reardan is also filled with many deaths on the rez, all of them related to alcohol. First, his beloved grandmother is killed by a drunk driver. Weeks later, his father's best friend Eugene is shot during a drunken argument. Then, right after Reardan's victory over Wellpinit, Mary dies when her trailer home burns down after a wild party. Junior is devastated, and blames himself for her death—she moved to Montana right after he decided to leave the reservation, and might never have left home if he hadn't done it first. However, the sympathy from his classmates at Reardan makes him realize that he matters to them now, just as they matter to him. Later, when Junior and his parents go to the cemetery to care for Mary, Eugene, and Grandmother's graves, he comes to a realization that he will be able to leave the reservation, and although he will be lonely, he won't be completely alone—he actually can and will always be a member of many tribes, from the tribe of cartoonists to the tribe of people who have left their homes. Shortly after the last day of school, Rowdy comes to see Junior and invites him to play basketball. Rowdy doesn't apologize for everything he's said and done, but he does tell Junior that he always knew he would leave the reservation, and that he looks forward to Junior's travels and is happy for him. Junior hopes and prays that someday Rowdy and the rest of his tribe will forgive him for leaving—and that he will someday be able to forgive himself. The novel ends as Junior and Rowdy play a one-on-one game of basketball into the night, without keeping score. Themes: Identity, Belonging, and Coming-of-Age Overlapping Opposites Racism, Poverty, and Alcoholism Confessions, Revenge, and Forgiveness Hope, Dreams, and Loss Drawing, Writing, and Junior's Cartoons

"To Build a Fire"

Summary: In northern Canada, a solitary hiker and his dog depart from the main Yukon trail. At the end of their day hike, the man will be reunited with his traveling companions, who he refers to as "the boys," at the Henderson Camp. The man is a newcomer to this area and unfamiliar with the extreme cold temperatures. A weather forecast of fifty degrees below zero does not mean much to the man, who is competent but lacks imagination. Such extreme temperatures promise discomfort, but do not cause him to reflect on the risks, his own death, and his role in the natural world. The man, therefore, thinks very little as he walks, considering only his destination for the evening, and his lunch, which he carries inside his jacket against his skin to keep it from freezing. He chews tobacco as he walks, and his spit freezes in an icicle from his mouth in the extreme cold. The temperature is, in fact, seventy-five degrees below zero. The dog's natural instincts tell it that it is unsafe to travel in these weather conditions. The dog is anxious. It feels it should curl up beneath the snow and wait out the cold. It expects the man to do the same: stop traveling and build a fire. As the man walks, he is looking carefully for places where the ice and snow might conceal hidden water. The creek he follows is frozen solid, but streams run from the hillsides under the snow and these small pools can be liquid even in the coldest temperature. Falling through the ice and getting wet would be dangerous and would delay his travel because he would need to stop to build a fire to warm himself. He shies away from a place where he feels the ice move. Once, sensing danger, he sends the dog over a patch of ice first. The dog falls through and the water on its feet and legs freezes instantly. The dog chews the ice from between its toes. It does not know the consequences of frozen feet, but it is directed by its survival instinct to remove the ice. The man arrives at a divide in the creek where he stops to eat his lunch. In the few minutes that he removes his mittens his hands grow numb. He realizes he cannot feel his toes and feet, and the ice frozen around his mouth in his beard obstructs his eating. He laughs at his own foolishness; he forgot to first build a fire to warm himself. He remembers meeting an old man at Sulphur Creek who gave him traveling and safety advice. He had scoffed at the man's stories of the cold temperatures, but now acknowledges that the man was right: it is extremely cold. He builds a fire, melts the ice from his face, and eats his lunch. The dog sits near the fire enjoying the warmth. When the man moves on, the dog does not want to leave the fire, drawn to its safety. For half an hour, the man does not observe any telltale signs of water under the snow. Then, without warning, the ice breaks and he falls through. He is soaked to the knees. He curses the delay, but knows he must stop to build a fire and dry his clothes, another piece of instruction from the old man at Sulphur Creek. The man gathers wood and constructs his fire among some pine trees at the top of a bank. He moves carefully, understanding that he needs to be successful at his first attempt to build a fire. As the fire roars to life, the man congratulates himself on proving the old man at Sulphur Creek wrong. The old man had cautioned that no one should travel alone in temperatures of fifty degrees below zero. And yet, the man had provided for himself even after an accident. Any man should be able to do the same, he believes. The man starts to remove his frozen moccasins, when, suddenly, snow falls from the pine trees above onto the man and his fire. The man had disturbed the snow piled on the trees as he gathered wood for his fire, and the heat from the fire had done the same. The fire is smothered in an instant. The man is shocked, but he starts to rebuild his fire out in the open, wishing for a companion who could have helped him in this situation. The man reaches into his pocket for the tree bark he uses to light a fire, but he cannot grasp it, or tell where it is, because his fingers have grown numb and lost all feeling. He puts on his mittens and beats his hands in an attempt to restore feeling. He looks jealously at the dog, which is protected by its body's natural resources. Eventually the man retrieves the tree bark, but he cannot handle the matches. He drops the pack and individual matches. He lights one match by holding it in his mouth, but the smoke in his nose causes him to drop the match into the snow. The man can only hold the full pack of matches between numb hands, so, in desperation, he strikes the whole pack at once. He can smell his flesh burning as he holds the lit bundle of matches to the tree bark. Once the bark is lit, he drops the burning bundle into the snow. He carefully adds grasses and wood to the small flame, which promises life. He realizes that he will lose some fingers and toes, even if he is able to build a second fire. But his numb hands are clumsy and he scatters the coals of the fire, extinguishing it. The sight of the dog inspires a crazy idea. The man heard of a man who survived a winter storm by killing an animal and crawling inside the corpse for warmth. He thinks that he could kill the dog, warm his hands inside its body, and try again to build a fire. The man catches the dog by wrapping his arms around it, but realizes he physically cannot kill it. His hands cannot grasp his knife. The man realizes now that the situation has become one of life or death. In a panic, he begins to run down the trail. He imagines that he could run far enough to reach the camp and the boys who could save him. But he lacks the endurance for running, and his frozen feet and legs have lost all feeling. He stumbles and falls, then runs again. Eventually he lies in the snow, resting. The thought that more and more of his body is freezing soon sends the man running again. After the last time he falls, the man sits quietly, reflecting on meeting his death with dignity. He thinks that he has been running around ridiculously rather than accepting the inevitable. He grows sleepy. He imagines the boys finding his body on the trail the next day. He feels separate from himself, and looks at his body in the snow from the boys' perspective. He murmurs aloud to the old man at Sulphur Creek that he was right: no man should travel alone in these temperatures. Finally, the man falls into a peaceful sleep. The dog watches the man, puzzled by his inactivity, until, moving closer, it smells death. The dog howls, while evening arrives and stars appear in the sky. Eventually, the dog turns and runs down the trail toward the camp where it seeks fire and food provided by other humans. Themes: Instinctual Knowledge vs. Scientific Knowledge Chance and Human Error Fight for Survival vs. Acceptance of Death The Power of Imagination Indifferent Nature

"The Lottery"

Summary: It is June 27th, and a beautiful summer morning, and villagers begin to gather in their town square (the town is unnamed) for the annual "lottery." This village has only three hundred people, and so the lottery can be completed easily in a single day, and leave time for noon dinner. The children are enjoying their summer vacation. Bobby Martin, Harry Jones, and Dickie Delacroix gather a large pile of stones and defend them from the other boys. Adults arrive and stand around talking: the men speak of farming and the weather, and the women greeting each other and gossiping. Eventually the women join their husbands and call to their children, so families are standing together as units. Mr. Joe Summers arrives. Mr. Summers conducts the lottery, as well as the square dances, the teen club, and the Halloween Program. This civic engagement stems from his free time: his wife is a scold and he is childless, so the other villagers pity him. He arrives in the square carrying the black box, followed by the postmaster, Mr. Graves, who is carrying a stool. Mr. Summers appeals to the crowd for help, and Mr. Martin and his oldest son Baxter come forward to hold the black box on the stool at the center of the square. The original black box for the lottery has long since been lost, and the current box is well worn, but the villagers don't like to upset tradition by replacing the box. Other aspects of the ritual of the lottery have also been lost or forgotten. Slips of paper, which were made up by Mr. Summers and Mr. Graves, have replaced the chips of wood in the box. Lists are made of the households and the heads of each household, and Mr. Summers is sworn in as officiator of the lottery. Just as the drawing is about to begin, Mrs. Tessie Hutchinson arrives. She tells Mrs. Delacroix that she forgot what day it was. Tessie joins her husband Bill and Mr. Summers greets her cheerfully. Tessie makes a joke, and the villagers chuckle. Mr. Summers points out that Clyde Dunbar is absent due to a broken leg, and his wife, Janey Dunbar, speaks up, saying, "wife draws for her husband." Mr. Summers asks if she doesn't have a grown son who could draw for their family, but Janey replies that Horace is only sixteen. Jack Watson, on the other hand, is old enough this year to draw on behalf of himself and his mother. Mr. Summers reads the names and the men come forward when their names are called to draw a slip of paper from the box. Everyone holds his paper without looking at it. As the drawing progresses, Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs. Graves comment to each other that it seems as if no time has passed since the previous year's lottery. The women watch as their husbands draw from the black box, and when Janey Dunbar steps forward for her turn, they encourage her. Mr. Adams strikes up a conversation with Old Man Warner about the north village, which is talking of giving up the lottery. Old Man Warner proclaims this to be "foolishness." He says that giving up the lottery is akin to going back to living in caves, or to nobody working any more. He says that "there's always been a lottery" and that it's "bad enough" to see the light-hearted tone Joe Summers takes as he runs the ritual. As Old Man Warner's name is called, he reminds the crowd that it's the seventy-seventh year he has been in the lottery. Once every man has drawn, the slips of paper are unfolded simultaneously and every one begins to ask, "who is it?" The word spreads through the crowd that Bill Hutchinson has the marked slip of paper. Tessie Hutchinson suddenly shouts at Mr. Summers, "you didn't give him time enough to take any paper he wanted," and, "it wasn't fair!" Mrs. Delacroix and Mrs. Graves remind her to "be a good sport" and that they "all took the same chance." Bill Hutchinson says, "shut up, Tessie." Mr. Summers asks if there are any other households included with the Hutchinsons, and Tessie points out her daughter Eva and Eva's husband Don, saying they ought to take their chance with everyone else. But Mr. Summers reminds Tessie that daughters draw with their husband's family. The Hutchinsons have three children: Bill Jr., Nancy, and little Davy. The children, Bill, and Tessie each draw another slip of paper from the black box. Mr. Graves helps little Davy draw and holds his paper for him. Nancy's school friends watch as she goes forward to draw from the box. Tessie appeals to the people around her and looks around defiantly, but draws a slip of paper. When Mr. Graves opens Davy's paper and reveals that it is blank, the crowd sighs in relief. Bill Jr. and Nancy open theirs and, laughing, happily hold them up to the crowd. Bill's slip of paper is blank as well. He goes over to his wife and forces the paper from her hand. It's the marked slip, with a dot in pencil Mr. Summer drew the night before. Mr. Summers says, "let's finish quickly." The villagers have forgotten much of the original ritual, but they remember to use stones, which they gather up as they run at Tessie. Someone gives little Davy a few pebbles. Old Man Warner urges the crowd onward. Tessie cries, "it isn't fair, it isn't right," before she is overwhelmed by the villagers and stoned to death. Theme: The Juxtaposition of Peace and Violence Human Nature Family Structure and Gender Roles The Power of Tradition Dystopian Society and Conformity

"The Garden Party"

Summary: Katherine Mansfield's "The Garden Party" follows Laura, a teenaged daughter of the wealthy New Zealand Sheridan family, as her family throws a garden-party at their estate. The early summer day could be no more perfect, and neither could the family garden; after the story's opening paragraphs assert this in the formal register of English nobility, Laura's mother sends Laura, "the artistic one," to tell four workmen where to set up the marquee (a large outdoor tent). Laura takes her breakfast outside and is astonished to find four polite, strapping men who speak with an urgency and directness unlike anyone from her own social class. They negotiate about the marquee's location, the workmen begin setting it up, and Laura complains about the "absurd class distinctions" that keep her from socializing with such "extraordinary nice" men like these. The telephone rings and Laura runs inside to answer it, briefly encountering her father and her brother Laurie on the way. She answers it, invites a family friend to lunch, and hears the piano being moved in the other room. Sadie, one of the Sheridans' domestic servants, tells Laura that the florist's deliveryman has arrived. They meet him at the front door and see trays upon trays of beautiful pink canna lilies, which Mrs. Sheridan ordered on a whim the day before when she saw them in a shop window. Laura complains that her mother promised the children control over the party this year, but Mrs. Sheridan convinces her daughter to overlook her interference. The story jumps to the drawing-room, where another Sheridan daughter, Jose, sings the mournful song "This Life is Weary" with a "brilliant, dreadfully unsympathetic smile" while the third, Meg, accompanies her on the piano. Again, Sadie interrupts the narrative to announce another working character's request: the cook wants the name flags for the sandwiches she has made. Mrs. Sheridan has not written the flags yet but tells Sadie that she has them before ordering Laura to write the names. She accuses the children of hiding the envelope where the guest list is written, but finds it behind the dining-room clock. Laura writes the flags and brings them to the kitchen where Sadie has another announcement: the cream puff deliveryman has arrived from Godber's. The cook tells Laura and Jose to have a cream puff each, and they scarf them down even though they find it improper to eat sweets so soon after breakfast. Laura heads back to the garden but first encounters Godber's man telling the horrified servants about the death of Scott, a cart-driver, in an accident that morning. She decides that it would be inconsiderate to continue the party because Scott lives in a row of decrepit cottages just downhill from the Sheridans' estate. She tells this to her sister Jose, who accuses Scott of drinking on the job and finds Laura's concern for the poor ridiculous. Laura then approaches her mother, who cares even less: Mrs. Sheridan is amused and irritated at Laura's concern once she realizes the death didn't happen in their garden. Mrs. Sheridan gives Laura her hat to distract her; once Laura sees herself in her bedroom mirror, she suddenly starts to see Scott's death as "blurred, unreal, like a picture in the newspaper." Laura changes her mind about the party and goes to lunch. After lunch, Laurie returns from the office and Laura goes to ask his opinion on stopping the party. After her brother compliments her hat, Laura decides not to bring up the accident after all and goes to the party, which Mansfield recounts in scarcely half a page. After it ends, the Sheridans convene in the marquee and Mr. Sheridan mentions Scott's accident. Mrs. Sheridan, irritated that her husband also wants to ruin their fun, makes fun of Laura and then suddenly has an idea: they should send their leftovers to the Scotts. Laura finds this presumptuous but agrees to take the basket herself. Laura heads down to the cottages, where she is horrified at the unsightly residents and ashamed at her own expensive clothes. She decides to turn back but realizes she has already reached the Scott house; she knocks and tells Em's sister, who answers the door, that she simply wants to leave the basket and go. But Em's sister brings her inside nonetheless and introduces her to the man's crying widow, Em Scott, who thanks Laura for coming but does not understand why she would visit at all. Laura tries to run out the front door but instead walks through the door of Scott's room, where his body lies under a sheet. Em's sister assumes that Laura must want to see him and draws down the sheet. To her surprise, Laura finds the body peaceful and marvelous; she sees the man as dreaming, far removed from the suffocating constraints of social convention. But she does recognize the tragedy in his death and exclaims "forgive my hat" before running out of the house and meeting her brother Laurie on the road outside. He embraces and comforts her as she cries but does not understand that hers are tears of joy; Laura starts to explain what she has realized but cannot finish her sentence. "Isn't life—" she says, and the story ends with the narrator's insistence that Laurie "quite understood" and his entirely empty response: "Isn't it, darling?" Themes: Work and Leisure Empathy, Understanding, and Class Consciousness Beauty, Refinement and Detachment Childhood, Family and Independence

"Good Country People"

The story begins with a description of Mrs. Freeman, a woman who works on a farm in rural Georgia. Mrs. Hopewell, who employs Mrs. Freeman, begins the morning routine: she lights the gas heater, then her daughter Hulga goes into the bathroom and slams the door, staying in there until Mrs. Freeman has arrived and her small talk with Mrs. Hopewell is almost done. Hulga experiences "constant outrage" in the presence of her mother and Mrs. Freeman's constant small talk. The banality of Mrs. Hopewell's conversation is characterized by one of her favorite phrases, "that is life!" No matter what Mrs. Hopewell says, Mrs. Freeman agrees with her. Mrs. Hopewell considers Mrs. Freeman one of the "good country people," a group that she contrasts with the "trash" who have given her trouble as employees in the past. Whenever Mrs. Hopewell has tried to make her daughter work, Hulga's attitude has been so negative and unpleasant that Mrs. Hopewell gave up. Mrs. Hopewell accepts her daughter's negative attitude because Hulga lost her leg when she was ten years old in a hunting accident. Her artificial leg makes it so that Hulga "never danced a step or had any normal good times." Hulga's original name, at birth, was "Joy", but when she turned 21 she changed it to Hulga to spite her mother. Hulga takes pride in ruining anything that her mother thinks is beautiful. Mrs. Hopewell regrets allowing Hulga to return to school for a PhD. Hulga is thirty two years old, but because of a heart condition she is only expected to live to forty-five. She would like to go travel and lecture at universities, but cannot do so because of her illness. She is frustrated with her ordinary surroundings, demanding of her mother, in response to being told to smile more, "Woman! do you ever look inside? Do you ever look inside and see what you are not? God!" Having studied philosophy as a graduate student, Hulga spends much of her time reading and taking long walks. She has little interest in men, regarding most of them as unintelligent and uneducated. We learn that a Bible Salesman arrived at the Hopewell home the previous day, and the narrator then recounts what transpired: the Bible Salesman arrived, seeming earnest and well-mannered. Mrs. Hopewell invited him inside, and he explained that he was there to sell bibles that he kept in a valise. He commented that there was no bible in their parlor, for which Mrs. Hopewell blamed Hulga. Mrs. Hopewell then lied to the Bible Salesman, telling him that she keeps a bible by her bedside. He insisted that every family should have a bible in the parlor, but Mrs. Hopewell refused and suggested that it was time for him to leave. But she was then guilted into letting him stay by his insistence that he is "just a country boy" and that "People like you don't like to fool with country people like me." He introduced himself as Manley Pointer, and Mrs. Hopewell insisted that she appreciated "good country people." When Hulga arrived ready for dinner and demanded that her mother get rid of the Bible Salesman, the Bible Salesman mentioned that he has a heart condition, and Hulga began to cry, believing that the two of them must have the same condition. She insisted that he stay for dinner. At dinner, Hulga pretended not to hear whenever the Bible Salesman spoke to her. He told his hosts about his childhood, mentioning that his father was crushed by a tree when he was eight. Hulga left the table, but Mrs. Hopewell spent two hours listening to the Bible Salesman talk about his life before telling him that she must be going. Outside, as the Bible salesman left, Hulga was waiting for him in the road and they spoke. Mrs. Hopewell saw them but could not hear what they said. She did watch Hulga walk him to the gate. Back in the present, Saturday morning, Hulga waits for the Bible Salesman to arrive. The night before, they had made a plan to meet at 10am. She told him that she was seventeen. On the way to the gate the night before, he explained that he considered himself a serious person who is keenly aware of his own mortality. Hulga said she was the same, and felt a connection with him. Then he proposed that they have a picnic the next day. During the night, she imagined seducing him. When Hulga shows up to the gate at 10am, nobody is there. She begins to wonder if he will ever show up, but then he appears. He is carrying his valise full of bibles. As they walk, he asks where her artificial leg joins to her body, and Hulga is offended. He then expresses disbelief when she says she is an atheist. At the edge of the woods, he kisses her. Hulga has never been kissed before and reflects that it is an "unexceptional experience." They enter the barn and the Bible Salesman laments that they cannot go up to the loft because of Hulga's missing leg. She is offended and immediately climbs up. They kiss, and the Bible Salesman tells Joy he loves her. He insists that she say the same of him. She explains that love is "not a word I use. I don't have illusions. I'm one of those people who see through to nothing." She expresses pity for the Bible Salesman. Finally, on his insistence, she admits that she loves him "in a sense" and tells him that she is thirty years old and well-educated. The Bible Salesman asks her to prove that she loves him by showing where her artificial leg connects to the rest of her body. When she says no, he accuses her of leading him on. Hulga then lifts up the sleeve of her pants and shows him, then taking the leg off and putting it back on again. The Bible Salesman then takes it off, and despite Hulga's demand that he put it back on, he does not. The Bible Salesman then begins to kiss her again. When she pushes him off, he takes out one of his bibles from the valise and opens it, revealing it to be hollowed out. It contains a flask of whiskey, pornographic playing cards, and a box of condoms. He offers her a drink of the whiskey, and Hulga is shocked. She repeatedly demands to be given her leg back. She says that, in all his hypocrisy, he is a "perfect Christian." He ridicules her for thinking that he was an actual Christian, grabs the leg and, as he descends from the loft, tells Hulga that he has a whole collection of things he's stolen in a similar way, and that his real name is not Manley Pointer. He proclaims "you ain't so smart. I been believing in nothing ever since I was born." Mrs. Hopewell and Mrs. Freeman, busy working, watch the Bible Salesman walk from the woods toward the highway. Mrs. Hopewell recognizes him and presumes that he had been selling bibles. Both she and Mrs. Freeman reflect that they could never be as "simple" as the Bible Salesman seems to be. Themes: Class, Identity, and Superiority Appearances and Realities Authentic Faith and Vulnerability Disease and Disability Hypocrisy