The Last Lesson

French district of Alsace and Loraine have passed into Prussian hands. M Hamel wanted the people
to remember that their language is beautiful and logical one and needed to be kept alive, especially
as they were enslaved. Under these conditions they were bound to feel a loss of identity. It would
prove to be a key to their prison. Frenz a leading character determined to keep it alive.

Lost Spring

Saheb is a rag picker like his parents. They have left behind a life of abject poverty in Bangladesh. In
order to pursue their dream of finding a better life . Living on the periphery of Delhi in a slum called
Seemapuri these people are living a miserable life. The children have no access to education. They
are forced for rag picking. The writer analyses the grinding poverty and tradition that leads
exploitation.

Deep Water

Douglas having been thrown into the deep end of pool experienced great feeling of terror. He
struggled in vain to save himself but soon lost consciousness. Though he was rescued and decided to
fight took over his life. The instructor whom he hired taught him swimming that worked nicely and
soon made him master swimmer.

The Rattrap

The story Rattrap reflects that the essential goodness in human being can be awakened through
understanding and love. The peddler had lived a life of privation and constant rejection, had made
him cynical. His self preservation had become his sole objective and he could not sense difference
between right and wrong. He was given unconditional respect by Edla made him feel human again
and this transformed him forever.

Indigo

Gandhi met Rajkumar Shukla and knew about the landlord system of Bihar. Gandhi struggled against
English landlords with the help of lawyers, prominent people and people of Champaran . He
compelled them to revert their land and compensation. The peasants learned to be courageous
when they realized that they have rights and defenders. Ganghi taught them self reliance .

Going Places

The story Going Places focuses on the complexities of human relationship especially among different
members of a family. This mainly consists of Sophie, a leading character of the story. Her family
shrinking budget had no choice but to work. She ignored advice and suggestions by her friend and
family members and thrown herself into lion’s den. Her dream journey into dream world collapsed.
The Third Level

The modern is full of insecurity, fear, war, worry and stress. Charley the protagonist is victimized of it
and wanted to escape. This is an indication that if the present balance of life is not retained it is likely
to lead to a breakdown in the future. Thus we see an intersection of time and space in the story. It
explores the shadow land between desire and reality where nothing is as it seems.

The Tiger King

As soon as the tiger king was born the royal astrologer predicted that the king would grow up to be
the mightiest warrior and the hero of heroes but would also meet with his death. The king was
determined to disprove the prediction and started to kill tigers. He invested money to the officers
not to kill tigers. He had to remarry to fulfill his mission. At last he was killed by wooden tiger.

The Enemy

Being a doctor Sadao had spent so many years of his life learning to save lives. He was overcome
with the urge to do the same for the American. He also realized that the man was urgent need of
medical attention. He displayed extreme kindness towards him and saved his life as opposed to a
patriotism to rise above narrow prejudices of race.

Should Wizard Hit Mommy

The story focuses on adult attitude to raising children. The issue that it raises is whether children
should be allowed to use their abilities to reason and to question. Jo wants the wizard to hit mommy
in retaliation for her having hit the wizard If mommy got away with turning the skunk which now
smelled of roses then he would lose his newfound friends. This violated jo sense of fairness for why
should the skunk not met nice. Have friends and thus be happy.

On the Face of It

Derry and Lamb suffer the sense of alienation. Derry a young boy of fourteen has been burnt by acid
that has left his face disfigured. His ugliness invites the curiosity of some, the pity of others and the
disgust of many. Not allowed by his mother to stay with Lamb decided to go and found lamb dead.
Lamb infected him with a love for life.

Memories of Childhood

The feeling of sadness and indignation and outrage experienced by two women of marginalized
communities. The seeds of rebellion were thus sown early and gave direction to fuelled their spirits
to fight against the injustice. Bama directed all her energies into fighting the injustice of such a
system. The discipline that Zitkala was subjected to violated her sense of freedom.