Adam by Kurt Vonnegut -- Review

In the short story “Adam” by Kurt Vonnegut the main character is a man (his name is Heinz) who is waiting in the waiting room of a maternity hospital.

He and his wife are holocaust survivors. When a nurse informes Heinz that his son is born, he is very excited and wants to share it with everyone around him. But people are indifferent.

Kurt Vonnegut showed in this story how a life’s experience influences the ability of people to feel one another’s grief or joy.



This is a link to the text of the story:
https://learn.k20center.ou.edu/api/lessons/1c2bb46ffdf0fed14bcbaaaf4904ec70/AdambyKurtVonnegut.pdf

The Unconquered by W. Somerset Maugham - Review

"The Unconquered" was written in 1943 by the British writer W. Somerset Maugham.

The setting of the story is life in a French village during the Nazi occupation. This is a life story, and each character has his own image of the world and worldview, which leads to the epilogue.

The author does not justify anyone. The reader must be prepared to experience horror and shock. If you are not ready for it - don’t read this story.

This is a link to the text of the story:

https://www.enghienlesbains.fr/sites/default/files/media/downloads/The%20Unconquered.pdf

The Field of Mustard by A. E. Coppard --- Review

“The Field of Mustard” written by an English writer and poet Alfred Edgar Coppard represents a combination of realism and lyricism. The author uses a simple conversation between two peasant women. The narration includes the description of the natural world and the fate of each individual person, where the lost possibilities, desires, and disappointments occur.

Here is the link to the text of the story:

https://www.fadedpage.com/showbook.php?pid=20181020

To Build a Fire by Jack London -- Review

The theme of the story "To Build a Fire" by Jack London is the confrontation between man and the harsh northern nature.

A character of the story dies but dies with dignity, like a strong opponent of the severity of nature. The reason for his death is that he overestimated his human capabilities.

The man as a king of nature failed in the confrontation with nature, to which it was necessary to adapt. An important way to present this idea is the image of a dog, which, being part of nature, does not oppose it.



This is a link to the text of the story:
https://hchissaquah.files.wordpress.com/2015/09/to-build-a-fire.pdf