Tapka

This story was an interesting read. The author's style of writing is unique, in a manner where you might even have to read a paragraph twice before it actually makes sense. The story is being told by an unnamed narrator. All the reader is disclosed with is that the narrator is a young boy in the first grade. He lives with his newly immigrated parents in a Toronto apartment building. The only other Russians in the apartment, the Nahumovskys, live directly below them. They are often over for dinner.

The young boy's life is changed when the Nahumovskys (who just moved from Russia as well) get their dog back from the vet. He falls in love with the female Jack Russell named "Tapka", in a stereotypical childish matter. Everyday at lunch the narrator and his female cousin, who is his elder by a year, dart to the Nahumovskys' apartment to play with Tapka. Everyday after school the narrator and his female cousin dart the Nahumovskys' apartment to play with Tapka. Everyday, all day, he plays with Tapka. He even earns a key to the Nahumovskys' apartment, so he may play with her while the homeowners are at their English class.

One day, however, the two children were playing outside with Tapka's favourite toy, a rag doll named "Clonchik". The narrator, feeling that Tapka had earned his trust, decides to take off her leash. They tirelessly throw the doll. Tapka, never seeming to get bored, retrieves Clonchik with much enthusiasm. However, as children often do, they duo gets into an argument. When the narrator's cousin gets frustrated and walks home, the narrator decides to throw Clonchik at her. Tapka runs for the doll, and gets distracted by a bird who happened to cross paths with the flying doll. She chases the bird. The bird flies over the intersection.

Chaos erupts on the busy Toronto road. The children rush over to see Tapka lying in her own blood. She's still breathing, he notices. A woman takes Tapka and the children to see a vet. The confused and shocked children try to communicate with the woman, but a language barrier stops anything from being understood. At the vet, Tapka is rushed to an animal version of an ER. The children's' parents and the Nahumovskys are called.

Although Tapka only suffered minor, treatable injuries, she died that day. However she didn't die in a physical sense, but in a philosophical way. As the dog was being treated, the narrator came to a sudden epiphany. He knew he would be stripped of the Nahumovskys trust and he would not be forgive for such stupidity. Tapka might as well as died, because the narrator would never see her again.

The Interlopers

The Interlopers involves a theme that is often seen in works of fiction. The story revolves around two men who inherited a multi-generation feud between their families. Ulrich von Gradwitz, and Georg Znaeym are the two hunters, forced into a deep hatred due to historic occurrences. The origin of the feud: the Gradwitz clan was given the legal ownership of a strip of land. Their neighbours, the Znaeyms, however, felt that this land was their property. And so the timeless quarrel had began.

The reader finds the current head of the Gradwitz family, Ulrich, patrolling his land, with malicious motives. His neighbour Znaeym is no more just in his actions, as he is hunting on his neighbours land. The two hunters both anticipated an encounter with one another, and thus were ready to commit murder in order to end their dispute.

The story quickly raises its pace as both men come face to face with one another. On the dark, stormy night, both men are staring down the ends of their rifles. Both guns are cocked and loaded, but neither of them are fired. As they exchange words, the men come to see that they are not capable of taking another human life, no matter what the reason. Both men are in a standoff, neither of them having the stomach to pull the trigger. All of a sudden, in a convenient act of nature, a blinding strike of lightning attacks the forest, destroying some plants. Amidst the strike, the two men were struck by falling trees, leaving both of them pinned down in plain sight of one another.

The story's theme changes when the men are hit by the fallen arbors. Friendliness, empathy and sympathy is shared between the former enemies. The men come to realize that the feud was unnecessary, and a compromise on hunting privileges is made between the men. The pinned hunters have nothing to do except wait for their men to arrive, lift off the trees and start their new friendship. The two men are excited when they hear footsteps. They anxiously wait for the men, until the excitement turns into tragedy. The fast approaching men are, in fact, not men at all. They are wolves.

A Handful of Dates

The story A Handful of Dates describes a young boy's admiration for his childhood hero, as well as his harsh debut into reality. The protagonist is a typical adolescent boy, being raised in Sudan. In a prominently Islamic area, the boy would often be found at the Mosque, reading the Koran and studying from his wood slate. He would do this with much more enthusiasm than most young boys. Although the direct reason for this is never given, it is safe to assume that this is done to earn the pride and applause of his grandfather (whom the boy thinks very highly of). The boy's idolization of his grandfather is further cemented when he compares the majestic river to his grandfather, speaks poetically of his beautiful white beard, and boasts of his granddad's tall and godly figure.

However, the boy's feelings towards his grandfather are suddenly changed, when it comes time to harvest the family's palm trees for dates. The young boy, again by his grandfather's side, sees their neighbour Masood in the field. He notices Masood's less-than-fancy apparel, and asks his grandfather why he is dressed in such a way. His grandfather explains that Masood is not very wealthy. In fact, he sold much of his land to the grandfather in order to support his many marriages. The young boy caught on to the obvious lack of respect and empathy in his grandfather's voice.

Later, as the dates are being harvested, the young boy contrasts the behaviours of his grandfather and the neighbour, Masood. He notices that his grandfather has an all-business mind-state, whereas Masood genuinely cares for and loves the land. He even goes as far as personifying the palm trees. The boy found that he related to Masood, in the way that they both loved and respected the land for more than just monetary value. At the end of the harvest, the bags of dates were split up between the boy's grandfather, townsmen, and merchants. Masood received none of the dates.

Utter shock filled the boy, who was eating some dates that his grandfather had given him. Masood cared for the land the most, yet his grandfather unsympathetically took all the crops. The boy felt a sudden urge to run to the river (the same river that he compared his grandfather too) and he symbolically induced himself to vomit the dates he was given. The symbolism alone shows that he has a very different opinion about his grandfather, and also shows maturity and a better understanding of the world.