Summaries | Lecturia

Isaac Asimov: Robbie. Summary and analysis

“Robbie” is a short story by Isaac Asimov, published in September 1940 in Super Science Stories magazine. Set in a future where robots form part of everyday life, it narrates the relationship between Gloria, an eight-year-old girl, and her robot nanny, Robbie. For Gloria, Robbie is much more than a machine: he is her friend and playmate. However, her mother considers this relationship unhealthy and decides to separate them. While Gloria struggles to understand the absence of her friend, her parents try to convince her that robots are nothing more than tools without emotions or true meaning for humans.

Edgar Allan Poe: The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar. Summary and analysis

“The Facts in the Case of M. Valdemar” by Edgar Allan Poe narrates a disturbing scientific experiment. A hypnotist, fascinated by the boundaries between life and death, decides to try to hypnotize a person at the moment of their death. To do this, he recruits Ernest Valdemar, a terminally ill man. With the help of doctors and assistants, the narrator undertakes this audacious experiment, exploring unknown territories of the human consciousness. As the process advances, the participants face inexplicable phenomena that challenge their understanding of reality and death. The story combines elements of psychological horror with a pseudo-scientific approach, creating an atmosphere of growing tension and mystery that keeps the reader in suspense until its surprising conclusion.

Ernest Hemingway: The Killers. Summary and analysis

Ernest Hemingway - Los asesinos. Resumen y análisis

The Killers is a short story by Ernest Hemingway, published in 1927 in Scribner’s Magazine. The story takes place in a small restaurant in the town of Summit, where two unknown men enter with a strange and threatening attitude. George, the manager, and Nick Adams, a young customer, watch with growing concern as the strangers take over the place. It soon becomes clear that they have come to kill a man named Ole Anderson. As the tension mounts, Nick finds himself caught up in a situation that brings him face to face with the brutality of violence and the inevitability of fate.

José María Arguedas: The Pongo’s Dream. Summary and analysis

José María Arguedas - El sueño del pongo. Resumen y análisis

The Pongo’s Dream (El sueño del pongo) is a folk tale compiled by the Peruvian writer José María Arguedas that tells the story of a humble indigenous servant, known as the pongo, who suffers constant humiliation and abuse at the hands of his master, the owner of the hacienda. However, one day, the pongo dares to tell of a dream in which both master and servant appear before Saint Francis and are judged for their actions in life. Through this parable, Arguedas explores Peruvian society’s profound inequalities and injustices while affirming the cultural resistance and hope for the liberation of the indigenous people.

Jorge Luis Borges: The House of Asterion. Summary and analysis

The House of Asterion is a short story by Jorge Luis Borges, published in 1947 in Los Anales de Buenos Aires and later included in El Aleph (1949). It narrates the life of Asterion, a solitary being who inhabits an immense and labyrinthine house. From his perspective, he defends his isolation and describes his games, thoughts, and the strange architecture of his home, where each corridor seems to repeat itself endlessly. Despite his apparent freedom, Asterion longs for the arrival of a redeemer to end his solitude without fully understanding the meaning of his destiny.

Ray Bradbury: A Careful Man Dies. Summary and analysis

A Careful Man Dies is a short story by Ray Bradbury published in November 1946 in New Detective Magazine. The story follows Robert Douglas, a meticulous writer with hemophilia, a disease that can cause death from any wound. He has organized his life with extreme care to avoid risks, but everything changes when he receives a mysterious package that hides a deadly trap. He soon realizes that someone wants to kill him in a subtle and undetectable way. His world becomes a dangerous survival game as he tries to discover who is behind the attacks.