By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
Although the pigs Snowball and Napoleon are far better-known, several other pigs play important roles in Animal Farm, George Orwell’s 1945 fable about Soviet Russia. Orwell’s novel satirises the way the ideals of the Russian Revolution of 1917 were subsequently betrayed, especially under Josef Stalin. And the October Revolution is important context for understanding the character of Old Major, another key figure in Animal Farm.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘The Outcasts of Poker Flat’ is a short story by the American writer Bret Harte (1836-1902), published in 1869 in the Overland Monthly magazine. The story helped to confirm Harte’s reputation as an exciting new talent, and by 1871 he was the highest-paid writer in the country.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘The Last Night of the World’ is a short story by the American writer Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), published in Esquire magazine in February 1951 before being reprinted in his 1952 collection The Illustrated Man. In this story of just a few pages, a husband tells his wife that the world will end later that night.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘A Good Man Is Hard to Find’ is one of the best-known short stories by Flannery O’Connor (1925-64), who produced a string of powerful stories during her short life. First published in the collection A Good Man Is Hard to Find in 1955, the story is about an American family who run into an escaped murderer at a plantation.
By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)
‘Witches’ Loaves’ is a short story by the US short-story writer O. Henry, whose real name was William Sydney Porter (1862-1910). His stories are characterised by their irony and by their surprise twist endings. Both of these elements became something of a signature feature, and ‘Witches’ Loaves’ certainly carries a twist ending.
The story is about an unmarried woman running a bakery, who takes a shine to one of her regular customers, a man who she deduces is an artist.