AICE LIT MIDTERM

The Yellow Wallpaper

Charlotte Perkins Gilman

Narrator, John

Colonial mansion, room

Freedom, gender roles

After being confined to a room with disturbing yellow wallpaper by her husband, the narrator becomes increasingly obsessed with the pattern. Her mental health declines as she starts imagining a woman trapped within the walls. Tormented and thinking she is being taunted, she destroys the wallpaper in an attempt to free herself from the wallpaper, descending into madness.

The Son’s Veto

Thomas Hardy

Sophy, Sam, Randolph

Suburban villa in London

Gender roles, freedom vs obligation

Sophy, a widow confined to a wheelchair, lives a plain and lonely life. Everything changes when she reconnects with her old flame Sam, falling back in love. Her son Randolph disapproves due to Sam’s lack of status, forcing his mother to sacrifice her happiness up until her death.

The Door in the Wall

H.G. Wells

Young Wallace, old Wallace, Redmond

Garden

Regret, loneliness

Redmond recalls a conversation he once had with his now deceased friend Wallace about a mysterious door he encountered as a youth that led to a fantastical garden. Wallace expresses his overwhelming regret for not going through the door when he had the repeated chance. This leads to mental instability as he ultimately takes his own life in a state of hallucination.

An Englishman’s Home

Evelyn Waugh

Beverly Metcalfe, Lady Peabury

Suburban community

Pride, social class

Metcalfe, with his newfound wealth, commissions an elaborate house to reflect his ambitions. He obsesses over the details, pestered by Lady Peabury and the community for his lower status. In the end, Metcalfe and Lady Peabury reconcile and acquire land, turning it into real estate.

The Prison

Bernard Malamud

Tony, Rosa

Candy shop

Freedom, regret

Tony, trapped in a loveless marriage and a business that was forced on him, reflects on his past mistakes that led him to this point. In an attempt to atone for his past crimes, he tries to prevent a young girl from stealing. When this fails, he is left to solemnly deal with his stifling existence.

Games at Twilight

Anita Desai

Ravi, Raghu

Hiding place

Disappointment, childhood

A group decide to play a game of hide and seek in the forest behind their home. Ravi, constantly overlooked by his family, is set on winning when he finds a shed, though it terrifies him to be inside. He goes hours unfound, and when he runs back to their home to exclaim his victory, he is heartbroken to realize that he was completely forgotten about by his siblings and mother.

Billenium

J.G. Ballard

John Ward, Henry Rooster

Future dystopian city

Freedom, control

In a dystopian future, there is extreme overcrowding and citizens have to share small homes with several others. John and Henry decide to room together when they find a hidden, large room within the wall of their new apartment. They lose their newfound space as they allow more people to move in with them.

The People Before

Maurice Shadbolt

Narrator, father, Jim

Farm

Pride, control

A family moves into a New Zealand farm that used to belong to Māoris. The narrator recounts his father’s indifference towards the history as compared to his brother’s fascination with it. When a Māori family suddenly visits their land and their elder passes away on it, they reflect on the farm’s cultural significance.

Five-Twenty

Patrick White

Ella, Royal

Freedom, control

An elderly marriage, Ella and Royal, live a mundane life. Suddenly, they become intrigued with a mysterious man who drives outside of their home everyday at 5:20, and watching him becomes their routine. When Royal dies, Ella seeks the man’s companionship to fix her loneliness, but is forced to face reality when he dies in her arms.

My Greatest Ambition

Morris Lurie

Nu, father

Childhood, disappointment

Nu dreams of being a comic artist, but is doubted by his father who only approves of it if it is profitable. When he sends his comic to a magazine, he’s overjoyed that they invite him to the headquarters, and becomes sure that they will offer him a job. He becomes disappointed when they do not offer him a job despite publishing his comic.

To Da-Duh, In Memorium

Paule Marshall

Da-Duh, narrator

Barbados, New York

Fear, pride

The narrator visits her grandmother in Barbados as a young girl. They debate on their home cities and their superiority to the other, comparing Barbados to New York. The narrator nostalgically recounts growing a bond with her grandmother, having to leave her to go back to New York, only for the grandma to pass away shortly after.

Of White Hairs and Cricket

Rohinton Mistry

Narrator, daddy

India/ Firozha Baag

Gender roles, pride

Plucking his father’s white hairs, the narrator recounts their relationship and his father’s memory loss. When his friend’s father lands on his deathbed, he reflects on how he misjudged his parents. He goes back to them, intent on treasuring the time he has left with him.

Real Time

Amit Chaudhuri

Mr. Mitra, Mrs. Mitra

Childhood/traditions, indifference

The Mitra’s, on their way to a distant relative’s funeral, complain about feeling obligated and uncomfortable in attending. At the ceremony, Mr. Mitra childishly focuses on his hunger over the somber mood, expressing his wish to leave. As they depart, they show their relief and apathy to the tragic occasion.

Report on a Threatened City

Doris Lessing

Narrator/Alien

San Francisco, Earth

Indifference, fear

Humanity faces an impending disaster, but humans are indifferent to it. This is reported on by the shocked alien narrator as he details his race’s attempts to warn humans. They integrate themselves into society to attempt to save them, ultimately failing and having to leave.

Tyres

Adam Thornes

Raoul Pualhan

France

Guilt/regret, pride

The young Raoul expresses his pride in his family’s tire-making business. Amidst world war 2, his life changes when he falls in love with a girl who passes his home every day on her bike, not knowing she is part of the resistance. Their love is cut short when she gets in a fatal car crash, a tragedy he recounts 20 years later.