The Autobiography of an Ex-Coloured Man tells the story of a biracial man living around the turn of the 20th century. After growing up in relative privilege, the Ex-Colored man becomes a ragtime piano player in New York. A rich white man notices him and befriends him, showing him off to other rich friends. Walking the line between black and white, the Ex-Colored Man finds that hiding his blackness and attempting to assimilate with the white world is his only means of avoiding violent racism and securing success.
The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock is a poem dealing with the isolation and self-perceived impotence of a man living in a city just prior to the outbreak of World War I. The poem dwells on themes like unresolved carnal desire, loss of manhood, the inevitability of death, and embarrassment. The poem was T. S. Eliot's first foray into what would be a long and celebrated career in Modernist poetry.
The Masque of the Red Death is the story of Prince Prospero and his hundreds of wealthy, noble guests on the night of a fabulous masquerade. Holed up in the Prince's private abbey because of fear of a plague sweeping through the unnamed country, Prospero and his guests have a night of forced merriment further intensified by the presence of a mysterious masked figure in red. At the story's conclusion the figure is revealed to be a personification of the plague and Prospero and his guests are doomed.
The Red Badge of Courage is a novel by Stephen Craneabout a young man fighting for the Union Army during the American Civil War. After deserting his regiment during a battle and subsequently observing the horrific consequences of warfare, Henry Fleming feels ashamed of his cowardice, desiring a "red badge of courage"--a wound that would redeem him. After several battles, Henry leads his regiment in a charge on the confederates as a flag-bearer, thereby redeeming himself. The novel pits feelings of shame against themes of heroism and courage.
The Red Pony is a novella in four parts about the youth and entrance into manhood of Jody Tiflin, son of a horse trainer. Jody's life is a strenuous one full of hardships and tough lessons, including the accidental death of his beloved pony which stands as a symbol of his entry into the sometimes violent, unpredictable, and frightening world of manhood. The stories explore themes of regret, aging, the fallibility of adults, and responsibility.
The Red-Headed League is a classic Sherlock Holmes story in which Holmes must discover who is behind what appears to be a pointless prank. Pawnbroker Jabez Wilson, who has very distinctive red hair, replies to a newspaper advertisement offering work to red-headed men; after being accepted for the job and spending several weeks copying encyclopedia entries, the agency that employed him disappears. This tale of trickery and greed finds Holmes unraveling the true crime behind the mystery.