The story “Homework” by Helen Simpsonis written in the form of a dialogue between a mother and her son and raises issues of schooling, raising children, family relationships, etc.
The son is thirteen. He comes home from school and tells his mother that he has to write an essay about an event that changed his life. The mother agrees to help him to write a story about his parents divorce.
Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/06/25/homework-8
“One Autumn Night” by Maxim Gorky is a story-memory. Here Gorky talks about his impressions of “women’s first kisses.” There is no condemnation of the fallen woman here.
Natasha is still too young to realize her fall. The hero feels pity for her; it is Natasha who warms his heart with her sincerity, simplicity, and sympathy. The writer does not indicate the way out, he is only bitterly aware of the fact that reality can be a “heavy and bad dream.”
Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://americanliterature.com/author/maxim-gorky/short-story/one-autumn-night
The story “The Sound Machine” by Roald Dahl told about a man who was passionate about sound. He created the theory that there are many sounds in the world, and people are unable to hear them due to high frequencies.
The author explained what would happen if a person could understand the feelings of other organisms, such as trees or flowers. The scream of a tree is worse than a human scream, because it sounds scared, monotonous, and voiceless.
Here is the link to the text of the story:
https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/1949/09/17/the-sound-machine
