"City of Churches" by Donald Barthelme

Summary

"City of Churches" is a short story written in 1973 by a great American author named Donald Barthelme. The story takes place in a small isolated city named Prester. The story begins with the town's real estate agent Mr.Phillips showing the town around to a woman named Cecelia, who is interested in starting a car rental business in the city. "Everyone here takes a great interest in church matters" says Mr. Phillips.

Theocracy?

"I'm not especially religious," Cecelia said.

"Not now" he answered, "Not yet." At this point in the story it is clear that religion is very key to this obscure city. As the two turned the corner a plethora of churces became visible. In fact, the entire city was comprised of churches. Everyone lived in the church they attended, which clearly had Cecelia shocked. Not only did the churches serve as places of residence, but they also doubled other things. For example, the United Methodist was also a barber shop, and the Antioch Pentecostal doubled as the Board of Education. Cecelia's interest in Prester was simply to see if her car rental business would succeed. Mr. Phillips was quick to point out that people don't want to leave Prester, so a car rental business would be very odd. By the cheer tone of the story it is clear that Prester is a very strange town. Cecelia asked about where she could live if she decided to live in Prester, and she had very limited options. Her options were living in a basement with two other women, or living in a dangerous bell tower. Prester seemed like a horrible place to live, and it seemed as though Cecelia had been fed up with all of its oddities and did not want to live there. Mr. Phillips was clearly unhappy with Cecelia's attitude towards Prester, and her wanting to live alone.

Independent Woman

When Cecelia was asked what denomination she belonged to, she replied that she can "dream" what ever she wants. When asked what she dreams about, Cecelia confidently said "mostly sexual things." Cecelia was unphased by Mr. Phillips' stern personality. After arguing for a little while Cecelia makes her final decision and decides to leave. Mr. Phillips clutches Cecelia's arm and tells her that she belongs to Prestor, the perfect city. Even after being told that she has no option, Cecelia stays confident in herself and remains unphased.

Themes & Meanings

'Theocracy' is a key theme in "City of Churches." This theme is very present in almost every sentence; the entire town is comprised of churches, and every necessity a town would need is found in the churches themselves. For example the Board of Education, barbershops, and homes are all found in the churches. Religion has quite obviously corrupted peoples' minds in Prester.

'Perfection' is another theme in the story, and this is clear when Mr. Phillips is constantly hinting on how everyone lives in Prester. Mr. Phillips even says that a car rental business implies that people would want to leave the city, and that no one would ever want to do that. "We are like other towns, execpt that we are perfect," Mr. Phillips said. Mr. Phillips than held Cecelia's arm and said that they need her for their perfect town.

Thought Provoking Questions:

1.) In what ways can Prester be considered a theocracy?

2.) What is the significance of Cecelia's bravery in the end of the story, especially when she tells Mr. Phillips to "wait and see"?

3.) What kind of tone is set early in the story?

Reader Response

I thought that the "City of Churches" was a fine piece of literature. It is easily one of my favorite short stories of all time. The story is full of archetypal symbols especially evil. 'The mouths of all the churches were gaping open. Inside, lights could be seen dimly." This the story is extremely well written, and the mechanics of it are impeccable.

"The Killers" by Ernest Hemingway

Summary

Ernest Hemingway's Twentieth Century short story "The Killers" takes place in the small town of Summit. The story begins with two characters named Al and Max who enter into a restaurant called Henry's lunch-room. George, the waiter, greeted them and gave them each a menu. The men wanted to order food that was not available and were becoming angry with George. A man named Nick Adams sat there watching and eating quietly.

Trouble Can Follow a Man. . .

It is apparent that Al and Max are out for trouble when they begin to start insulting the waiter calling him 'bright boy,' and start making fun of the town. As soon as Al and Max realize there is someone cooking, they ask who the man was, using a very racist word. Al and Max eventually show their guns, and start asking questions, and demanding answers. They tell everyone in the restaurant that they are going to kill a 'Swede' named Ole Anderson. George said that Ole comes in sometimes, and asked why they wanted to kill Ole.

Nick Adams. . .

The Hit men's response is key to the story, they said: "He never had a chance to do anything to us. He never even seen us." This quote is very important because it tells the reader that these men are indeed hired assassins, and that there is something about Ole Anderson's past that we do not yet know about. Right after this Max stated: "We're killing them for a friend. Just to oblige a friend, bright boy?" Eventually Max and Al realized that Ole was not showing up, and decided to leave. Afterwards they leave, Nick Adams speaks for the first time, and he agreed to go visit Ole and warn him about the imminent danger he is in.

Ole Anderson...

Nick goes to Ole's rooming house, and warns Ole about the danger he is facing. As Nick walked into Ole's room, he saw Ole in his bed that was too small for his prize-fighting heavyweight boxer build. Ole was a known boxer, which probably had something to do with the reason he was being hunted. Nick immediately warned Ole about the trouble that he was in, and Ole simply looked at the wall, and did not respond at first. After a moment's pause Ole says: "There isn't anything I can do about it." Nick and Ole discussed his options, and Ole simply did not want to do anything about it, and stated: "I'm through with all that running around." Ole stayed in bed, and accepted his fate.

Themes and Meanings

A very important theme in the story is 'one's past.' Ole Anderson's past obviously came back to haunt him, and he could not escape his past. Ole clearly ran from his troubles in the past, and than came to the realization at the end of the story that he simply cannot keep on running away from his past: "I'm through with all that running around."

The Human Condition plays a key role in Nick Adams gaining experience, and becoming more mature. Nick Adams was the only man who actually got involved in the situation, by going to Ole's house and warning him about the trouble he is facing. The reason Nick probably did this was because he was naive, and very young.

The artwork on the right is a piece by an amateur artist, and it is called "The Human Condition." "The Human Condition" fits in perfectly with Hemmingway's theme, which has to do with Nick Adams' maturity and growth.

The video below is to represent Ole Anderson, because he to was a boxer. I thought that the clip below would fit in well with the story because of Ole's profession.