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Ray Bradbury: The Other Foot. Summary and analysis

In The Other Foot, Ray Bradbury imagines a future where Black people have fled a racially divided Earth to start anew on Mars, leaving behind the injustices of the past. Twenty years later, news arrives that a rocket carrying a white man is coming, reigniting old wounds and prompting Willie Johnson and others to prepare for revenge by imposing segregation on the visitor. As the rocket lands, the white man reveals Earth’s devastation from a nuclear war, pleading for help and acknowledging past wrongs. Faced with the ruins of their former world, Willie and the community confront the futility of hatred, choosing instead to dismantle the structures of revenge and seek a path toward reconciliation.

Edgar Allan Poe: MS. Found in a Bottle

MS. Found in a Bottle is a short story by Edgar Allan Poe, published on 19 October 1833 in the Baltimore Saturday Visiter. It tells the story of an anonymous man who, dissatisfied with his life and searching for escape, embarks on a ship sailing from Batavia, Java, to an uncertain destination. Although the voyage begins smoothly, an unearthly calm soon overtakes the sea, foreshadowing a colossal storm that abruptly breaks loose, plunging the ship into chaos and panic.

Lester del Rey: The Day Is Done

The Day Is Done is a science fiction story by Lester del Rey, published in May 1939 in Astounding Science-Fiction magazine. The story follows Hwoogh, an old Neanderthal who sadly contemplates the decline of his world. His people were strong and dominant in his youth, but now the ‘Talkers’ (as he calls the Cro-Magnons) have … Read more

Ursula K. Le Guin: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. Summary and analysis

In “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas,” Ursula K. Le Guin presents a utopian city filled with joy, beauty, and prosperity, where citizens live in harmony and celebrate life’s pleasures. However, this idyllic society harbors a dark secret: the happiness of all depends on the perpetual suffering of a single, neglected child locked away … Read more

Ursula K. Le Guin: The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas is a short story by Ursula K. Le Guin, published in 1973. The story takes us to a utopian city where the happiness of all the inhabitants depends on a dark and terrible secret. Through an involving and provocative prose, Le Guin invites us to question morality and the price of collective happiness. In this dream city, some choose to stay, but others, moved by the injustice, decide to leave Omelas forever. This story challenges the reader to reflect on sacrifice and ethics in the search for an ideal society.

Ray Bradbury: The Man Upstairs

The Man Upstairs is a haunting short story by Ray Bradbury, published in March 1947 in Harper’s Magazine. The story follows Douglas, a curious boy who lives with his grandmother, a woman skilled in the kitchen whose culinary rituals fascinate him. One day, a stranger named Mr. Koberman arrives at the boarding house to rent a room upstairs. From the moment he arrives, the atmosphere in the home becomes uneasy and mysterious. Intrigued by the new tenant’s behavior, Douglas begins to suspect something very unusual about him, which defies all logic.