Short Stories
You must not suppose, however, that I spoke of this to anyone. I would make him pay, yes; but I would act only with the greatest care. I must not suffer as a result of taking my revenge. A wrong is not made right in that manner. And also the wrong would not be made right unless Fortunato knew that he was paying and knew who was forcing him to pay.
- The Cask of Amontillado, Edgar Allan Poe
Main Idea - Amontillado seeks revenge against Fortunato
Theme - Revenge
He clasps the crag with crooked hands;
Close to the sun in lonely lands,
Ringed with the azure world, he stands.
The wrinkled sea beneath him crawls;
He watches from his mountain walls,
And like a thunderbolt he falls.
- The Eagle, Lord Tennyson
Main Idea - An eagle, who sits atop a cliff, dives down in flight
Theme - Strength in Nature
Then,
once you’ve sealed those matters, seen them through,
think hard, reach down deep in your heart and soul
for a way to kill these suitors in your house,
by stealth or in open combat.
You must not cling to your boyhood any longer—
it’s time you were a man. Haven’t you heard
what glory Prince Orestes won throughout the world
when he killed that cunning, murderous Aegisthus,
who’d killed his famous father?
- The Odyssey
Theme - Justice, Coming of Age
The news spread through Sighet like wildfire. Soon that was all people talked about. But not for long. Optimism soon revived: The Germans will not come this far. They will stay in Budapest. For strategic reasons, for political reasons … In less than three days, German Army vehicles made their appearance on our streets.
- Night, Elie Wiesel
Main Idea - The people of Sighet attempt to quell their fears of German troops approaching but are soon proven wrong
Theme - False Optimism
The Happy Meal has long been a target of health advocates and parents who link it to childhood obesity. McDonald's has made many tweaks over the years. They've included cutting the size of its fries and adding fruit. Most recently, it swapped out its apple juice for one that has less sugar. It's been especially important as the company tries to shake its junk-food image. McDonald's is known for getting more business from families with children relative to its traditional rivals, such as Burger King and Wendy's. The Happy Meal is a key part of that.
- NewsELA
Main Idea - The Happy Meal is subject to scrutiny due to nutritional concerns, and so Mcdonald's is trying to make changes
Theme - Health
She came to know the heavy work of the house, the hateful duties of the kitchen. She washed the plates, wearing out her pink nails on the coarse pottery and the bottoms of pans. She washed the dirty linen, the shirts and dishcloths, and hung them out to dry on a string; every morning she took the dustbin down into the street and carried up the water, stopping on each landing to get her breath. And, clad like a poor woman, she went to the fruiterer, to the grocer, to the butcher, a basket on her arm, haggling, insulted, fighting for every wretched halfpenny of her money.
- The Necklace, Guy de Maupassant
Main Idea - The poor woman must work tirelessly in order to live
Theme - Suffering, Lack of Wealth
"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!
The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!
Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun
The frumious Bandersnatch!"
He took his vorpal sword in hand:
Long time the manxome foe he sought--
So rested he by the Tumtum tree,
And stood awhile in thought.
And, as in uffish thought he stood,
The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,
Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,
And burbled as it came!
One two! One two! And through and through
The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!
He left it dead, and with its head
He went galumphing back.
- The Jabberwocky, Lewis Caroll
Main Idea - A man is warned about a beast called "The Jabberwocky," and so he slays it
Theme - Man vs. Beast, Good vs. Evil
Look, I didn't want to be a half-blood. If you're reading this because you think you might be one, my advice is: close this book right now. Believe what-ever lie your mom or dad told you about your birth, and try to lead a normal life. Being a half-blood is dangerous. It's scary. Most of the time, it gets you killed in painful, nasty ways. If you're a normal kid, reading this because you think it's fiction, great. Read on. I envy you for being able to believe that none of this ever happened. But if you recognize yourself in these pages-if you feel something stirring inside-stop reading immediately. You might be one of us. And once you know that, it's only a matter of time before they sense it too, and they'll come for you.
- The Lightning Thief, Percy Jackson
Main Idea - The main character warns the audience about the dangers of being a half blood
Theme - Identity
All the same, even when Western parents think they’re being strict, they usually don’t come close to being Chinese mothers. For example, my Western friends who consider themselves strict make their children practice their instruments thirty minutes every day. An hour at most. For a Chinese mother, the first hour is the easy part. It’s hours two and three that get tough.
- Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother, Amy Chua
Main Idea - A Chinese mother explains that Chinese mothers are essentially more strict than their Western counterparts.
Theme - Tensions of Parenthood
Toys R Us had become powerful in the toy store business in the 1980s and early 1990s. It was one of the first "category killers"— a store totally devoted to one thing. Its size gave it power with toy sellers and it disrupted general merchandise stores and local toy shops. Children sang along with commercials about "the biggest toy store there is." The company eventually lost ground to discounters like Target and Walmart, and then to Amazon. Even parents who liked the store sought deals elsewhere. Toys R Us said Amazon's low prices were hard to match.
- NewsELA
Main Idea - Toys R Us was at one point in time a major toy store but has since lost its footing to competitors
Theme - Economics
For there lay The Combs—the combs that Della had seen in a shop window and loved for a long time. Beautiful combs, with jewels, perfect for her beautiful hair. She had known they cost too much for her to buy them. She had looked at them without the least hope of owning them. And now they were hers, but her hair was gone.
- The Gift of the Magi, O. Henry
Main Idea - Della receives some combs for her hair, but she cannot use the combs because she has lost her hair
Theme - Loss, Lack of Wealth
There will come soft rains and the smell of the ground,
And swallows circling with their shimmering sound;
And frogs in the pools singing at night,
And wild plum-trees in tremulous white;
Robins will wear their feathery fire
Whistling their whims on a low fence-wire.
And not one will know of the war, not one
Will care at last when it is done.
Not one would mind, neither bird nor tree,
If mankind perished utterly;
And Spring herself, when she woke at dawn,
Would scarcely know that we were gone.
- There Will Come Soft Rains, Sara Teasdale
Main Idea - After the war, there will be a beautiful spring that knows nothing of the human's war
Theme - Human Insignificance
When I was younger, I scared my mother to death, the things I would blurt out about District 12, about the people who rule our country, Panem, from the far-off city called the Capitol. Eventually I understood this would only lead us to more trouble. So I learned to hold my tongue and to turn my features into an indifferent mask so that no one could ever read my thoughts. Do my work quietly in school. Make only polite small talk in the public market. Discuss little more than trades in the Hob, which is the black market where I make most of my money. Even at home, where I am less pleasant, I avoid discussing tricky topics. Like the reaping, or food shortages, or the Hunger Games. Prim might begin to repeat my words and then where would we be?
- The Hunger Games, Suzanne Collins
Main Idea - The main character learns over time to "hold her tongue" about her country
Theme - Fear, Power of Society
I say to you today, my friends, though, even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream. I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up, live out the true meaning of its creed: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.
- I Have A Dream, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.
Main Idea - The speaker has a dream that America will one day see all of its people as equal
Theme - Equality, Unity, Patriotism
All of this book happiness makes me happy. When I slide a beloved book into a neighborhood library, I have no way of knowing what will happen to it. Sometimes, I hear neighbors complain how every book disappears overnight. The neighbors suspect someone is taking them all to sell. But more often the books stay put, disappearing one by one over time. And I hope that the books I leave turn out to be like those Rachel has found, exactly what someone is hoping for - even if they didn't know.
- NewsELA
Main Idea - The author of the article finds happiness in donating books to a "neighborhood library" where anyone is welcome to come and go as they please
Theme - Charity