Final Exam Short Story Summaries

Modern marriage

Anu (ugly)/James (handsome/hot)

Bronx (New York)

James only wants to marry Anu to get citizenship for himself (green card)

Societal expectations and Hidden identities

The yellow wallpaper

Namless main character/John (husband/doctor)

MC is struggling with postpartum depression, and her husband doesn’t believe her and thinks she’s being dramatic

She has a fascination with the yellow wallpaper, which she believes holds secrets and truths about her confinement, ultimately leading to her psychological breakdown.

The journey to insanity/Psychological abuse and manipulation

the swimmer

The main character, Nedd, goes swimming through all of his neighbors’ pools, and as he gets further from home, they start to get drearier and unfriendlier

The pool was his journey of life, and how he threw it away, which he then finds out when he reaches home and he has nothing left but himself.

The outcomes of bad decisions

eveline

Eveline wants to leave; dead mother, drunken father, too many responsibilities, drab environment. She can’t leave: she is paralyzed by her responsibilities and the promise to her dead mother.

The red convertible

Two brothers, Henry and Lyman, from North Dakota, buy a red convertible, and it becomes a symbol of their bond.

Henry then goes and fights in the Vietnam War, but when he returns, he has severe ptsd and struggles to connect with anyone.

Lyman uses the car to get his brother back, but the pain was so severe that he drowned in a river, so Lyman then drives the car into the river, symbolizing his loss and the irreparable damage of war.

The effects of war can destroy one’s identity and ruin relationships