Analyzing "The Shining Houses"

• Summaries and analyses of several short stories are provided that explore different critical lenses, like Marxism, postcolonialism, archetypal criticism, cultural criticism, psychoanalysis, Critical Race Theory (CRT), and feminism.

"The Shining Houses" by Alice Munro

• A young woman named Mary witnesses the community's pressure on Mrs. Fullerton, an elderly resident, to leave her old home in a newly developed neighborhood.
• Themes include progress, conformity, and moral conflict.
• Mary struggles between her sympathy for Mrs. Fullerton and conforming to social expectations.
• From a Marxist viewpoint, it shows the conflict between the working class (Mrs. Fullerton) and the property-owning class (new homeowners).
• New residents want Mrs. Fullerton gone to increase property values, highlighting capitalism's emphasis on money over people.
• Mary's inaction demonstrates the struggle between personal beliefs and societal pressure.
• The story critiques how economic power can marginalize those who don't fit into the system.

"The Return" by Ngugi wa Thiong’o

• Kamau returns home after being imprisoned during Kenya's fight for independence.
• He finds everything changed, illustrating the impact of colonialism on identity and community.
• Kamau feels like a stranger to his family and finds his wife remarried.
• Represents how colonialism separates individuals from their homes and identities.
• Colonial rule fractured traditional ways of life.
• Kamau's experiences reflect the broader struggle to find a place in a world altered by colonialism.

"Two Words" by Isabel Allende

• Belisa Crepusculario earns a living selling words.
• She is kidnapped by a Colonel who asks her to write a speech to gain public support.
• Belisa gives him two secret words that deeply affect and change him.
• The exact words are not revealed, which shows the power of language to influence emotions and fate.
• Explores themes of love, transformation, and the power of words.
• From an archetypal view, Belisa is the wise woman/magician, using words like spells.
• The Colonel is the warrior who lacks something deeper.
• The two secret words act as a transformative magic charm.
• Words here are powerful and mystical, shaping destinies like in myths.

"Marker on the Side of the Boat" by Bao Ninh

• Reflects the cultural impact of the Vietnam War on both the individual and society.
• Explores how war shapes cultural identity, memory, and collective experience.
• The "marker" symbolizes the war's lasting impact on the nation's cultural and historical memory.
• Explores the conflict between personal survival and the collective memory of a country scarred by war.
• The soldier's identity is tied to his culture’s experience of the war.

"On a Rainy River" by Tim O’Brien

• The narrator faces being drafted into the Vietnam War; the story delves into his internal conflict.
• His flight to the Canadian border shows his ego trying to balance his desire to escape war with his sense of societal duty.
• The decision to cross into Canada is a battle between personal survival and social expectations.
• Elroy Berdahl provides psychological release, offering a safe space to confront fears.
• Elroy acts as a father figure, guiding the narrator to face his fears and guilt.
• The narrator's decision to go to war shows the dominance of his superego, where fear of shame outweighs personal desires.
• Unconscious drives and external pressures shape decisions during crises.

"The Spaces Between Stars" by Geeta Kothari

• Explores race, culture, and identity through Maya, an Indian-American woman.
• Maya navigates the challenges of balancing her Indian upbringing and American culture.
• Highlights the difficulties of living between two racialized cultures.
• Her alienation in her husband’s world shows the racial divides she experiences.
• Underscores the complexities of racial identity and the pressures of assimilation in white societies.

"Dressing Up for the Carnival" by Carol Shields

• Examines a woman’s struggle with self-perception and societal expectations.
• The story portrays women being forced to wear metaphorical "masks" to meet external pressures.
• The woman preparing for the carnival represents the broader pressures on women to fit predefined roles.
• Critiques the limitations placed on women’s identities and freedom by societal norms.
• The themes include self-reinvention, identity, and the complexities of womanhood.