James Evans is a Kleptomaniac who is notoriously popular in prison for having escaped the authorities for three times despite heavy law enforcement and strict rules. This character is the central protagonist of the story and the attention of all the other characters seem to be on him. Having been fooled thrice by his clever antics, the Governor takes serious measures to ensure that he does not escape a fourth time and prove them incompetent once again. Since, Evans was in all reality, an otherwise decent and harmless fellow, the Governor allows him to satisfy his intellectual capacities by app ..read more

Norman Colin Dexter was born in Stamford, UK, in the year 1930 and was a prolific crime-fiction writer. Most of his works received recognition and were also adopted onto television. Up until his death in 2017, he spawned memorable characters that were both rebellious and smart. The short story Evans Tries an O-level earned him the Macavity Award in the year 1996.  The story begins upon a conversation between the Secretary of Examinations and the Governor of Oxford. They debate amongst themselves if it’s a good idea to let a prisoner like Evans take an exam. The Governor explains the chara ..read more

Memories of Childhood Short Summary The chapter ‘Memories of Childhood’ begins with a short introduction to the writers. Two women of different culture, origin and time are interlinked with their autobiographical accounts of childhood experiences. Zitkala-Sa (Gertrude Simmons) and Bama pen down details of certain events in their younger days which affected them and set a course for their future life. They are separated by time and circumstances, but they share a connection through pain and suffering meted living in a prejudiced society. Social divisions have created evil stigmas through which ..read more

The chapter, Memories of Childhood, includes two autobiographical excerpts written by two distinguished female authors. The first extract was written by Gertrude Simmons Bonnin, who belonged to the nineteenth century community of Native Americans. Since, female writers were not published as much during that time, she had adopted the pen name Zitkala-Sa for her articles. The second extract comes from a contemporary Indian writer, Bama, who belongs to the Dalit community. Both writers face discrimination and prejudice early in their lives and as adults they try to heal and come to terms with the ..read more

The author of the short play On The Face Of It is Susan Hills. This award-winning English writer has published both fiction and non-fiction literature. In this play, she introduces two peculiar characters who converse and realise that they are not so very peculiar after all. Derek is a young boy of fourteen who likes to be called Derry. He has the average views on life like any other teenage boy but his youth is encumbered by a tragic accident which has distorted his facial skin. He is afraid of going out and meeting people because he believes they will run away from him in fear as they look u ..read more

On The Face Of It Short Summary The play On The Face of It was written by the author Susan Hills. The writer was born in the year 1942 and she was raised in North Yorkshire, England. She developed an early taste in theatre and literature and published many short stories over her long career in writing and publishing. This short impactful play features an old man and a young boy by the name of Derek or Derry. Their friendship is instantaneous and they both indulge in a light banter which develops into a meaningful conversation. Derry is one of the main protagonists of the play and the plot revo ..read more

Like any other father, Jack likes to spend time with his daughter by telling her bed time stories to help her sleep. Jo his daughter is already four years old and Jack is struggling to conjure up new stories for her. This is when he decides to continue with his saga of a character named Roger. As he wants to keep the stories simple and complicated the basic name remains unchanged while the character shifts in shape and becomes a new animal every new story. This time, Jo prompted that Roger should be a skunk so her father continues with his story keeping the skunk in mind. As the story progress ..read more

Should Wizard Hit Mommy Short Summary The story, ‘Should Wizard Hit Mommy?’ is based upon a character named Jack who is shown to be the father of two little children and is expecting a third one with his wife Clare. Joanne or as lovingly called Jo, along with her baby brother Bobby always gets a treat in the form of a story from their father. They snuggle on the bed in the evenings or just before afternoon naps for some magical tale which would be weaved from their father’s imagination. The four-year-old Joanne always looked forward to these stories and would listen attentively. The only probl ..read more

It is important to note the background of this story to fully comprehend and appreciate the dynamics of its characters. Dr Hoki is an exceptionally talented surgeon who has a natural gift for surgical operations. Under his father’s strict guidance he has been trained and educated by the best doctors in the world for which he had to travel and stay in America. From the fore, it seems like education only made an impact on his knowledge and skills. He was a traditional Japanese man and followed his father’s conservative rules when it came to marriage and household. He had good relations with the ..read more

The Enemy Short Summary The story begins with a description of Doctor Sadao Hoki’s house in Japan which was located very close to a sea beach. The coast was outlined by pine trees which were always bent due to the sea wind. The readers are acquainted with the father of Sadao and his constrictive upbringing. Ever since Sadao was young, the father was concerned about his education and so to train him adequately, he sent his son to America to learn and practice medicine. The son makes him proud by becoming a surgeon as well as a scientist in his field. The obedient Sadao meets a Japanese girl in ..read more