Hemingway Foundation/PEN Award

Mid-Sweep The Clean House brings new meaning to naturalist works, drawing in comedy in a way both familiar and foreign to any reader. Taking place in a time potentially not to far from that of now, reflecting on current events or that of those very close in time proximity. Though no location is really known, a Connecticut-esque vibe is expected in a place residing some place between the city and sea. The cast is upperclass for the most part other than Matilde, who is obviously of a lower status having Coke to work as a maid. The only known religious correlations is that of Judaism to Ana, who claims to be Jewish when bringing up the idea of Bashert to in a sense justify her relationship to Charles. The tone is obviously comedic while retaining its somewhat serious tone, comparable to the struggles of real life. The reader must realise that although this is a play with elements similar to real life it is also a comedy and should be taken like butter on bread, lightly. The Clean House is a play stocked with many ideas shoved away in little crevasses that also touches on the reality of love in the modern day world. Although every character may not seem to be struggling in the department of amor, a connection can be made because all roads lead back to it. In the most obvious relationship between Charles, Anna and Lane, the relationship focuses on romanticality while the relationship between Virginia and Matilde is built on the idea of two broken people looking for…

The short story, “In the Kindergarten” was written by a Chinese-American writer, Ha Jin. He started to write when he studied in America. Ha Jin was born in 1956 in the northern Chinese city of Jinzhou. He has grown up during the Cultural Revolution 1960s. He joined the People’s Liberation Army when he was fourteen-year-old and could only continue his studies at the age of 21 when the colleges were reopened. He furthered his studies at local universities and was majoring in English. He started…