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Brief Contents Detailed Contents t/k Preface t/k To the Instructor t/k About the Authors t/k Fiction 1 1. Reading a Story 3 2. Point of View 23 3. Character 91 4. Setting 124 5. Tone and Style 170 6. Theme 212 7. Symbol 251 8. Evaluating a Story 284 9. Reading Long Stories and Novels 288 10. Two Critical Casebooks: Edgar Allan Poe and Flannery O'Connor 381 11. Stories for Further Reading 475 Writing 697 12. Writing About Literature 699 13. Writing About a Story t/k 14. Writing a Research Paper t/k 15. Critical Approaches to Literature t/k Glossary of Literary Terms t/k Acknowledgments t/k Index of Authors and Titles t/k List of Authors (front inside cover) Index of Literary Terms (back inside cover) Detailed Contents Preface t/k To the Instructor t/k About the Authors t/k Fiction 1 1 Reading a Story 3 Fable, Parable, and Tales 4 W. Somerset Maugham, The Appointment in Samarra 4 A servant tries to gallop away from Death in this brief sardonic fable retold in memorable form by a popular storyteller. Aesop, The Fox and the Grapes 5 Ever wonder where the phrase "sour grapes" comes from? Find out in this classic fable. Bidpai, The Camel and His Friends 6 With friends like these, you can guess what the camel doesn't need. Chuang Tzu, Independence 8 The Prince of Ch'u asks the philosopher Chuang Tzu to become his advisor and gets a surprising reply in this classic Chinese fable. Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm, Godfather Death 9 Neither God nor the Devil came to the christening. In this stark folktale, a young man receives magical powers with a string attached. Plot 12 The Short Story 13 John Updike, A & P 15 In walk three girls in nothing but bathing suits, and Sammy finds himself no longer an aproned checkout clerk but an armored knight. Writer's Perspective John Updike on Writing, Why Write? 20 Writing Critically What's the Plot? 21 Writing Assignment 22 Further Suggestions for Writing 22 2 Point of View 23 William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily 29 Proud, imperious Emily Grierson defied the town from the fortress of her mansion. Who could have guessed the secret that lay within? Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies 37 Mr. Kapasi's life had settled into a quiet pattern-and then Mrs. Das and her family came into it. James Baldwin, Sonny's Blues 53 Two brothers in Harlem see life differently. The older brother is the sensible family man, but Sonny wants to be a jazz musician. Eudora Welty, Why I Live at the P.O. 77 Since no one appreciated Sister, she decides to live at the Post Office. After meeting her family, you won't blame her. Writer's Perspective James Baldwin on Writing, Race and the African American Writer 87 Writing Critically How Point of View Shapes a Story 89 Writing Assignment 89 Further Suggestions for Writing 90 3 Character 91 Katherine Anne Porter, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall 94 For sixty years Ellen Weatherall has fought back the memory of that terrible day, but now once more the priest waits in the house. Alice Walker, Everyday Use 102 When successful Dee visits from the city, she has changed her name. Her mother and sister notice other things have changed, too. Raymond Carver, Cathedral 109 He had never expected to find himself trying to describe a cathedral to a blind man. He hadn't even wanted to meet this odd, old friend of his wife. Writer's Perspective Raymond Carver on Writing, Commonplace but Precise Language 121 Writing Critically How Character Creates Action 122 Writing Assignment 123 Further Suggestions for Writing 123 4 Setting 124 Kate Chopin, The Storm 127 Even with her husband away, Calixta feels happily, securely married. Why then should she not shelter an old admirer from the rain? Jack London, To Build a Fire 132 Seventy-five degrees below zero. Alone except for one mistrustful wolf dog, a man finds himself battling a relentless force. T. Coraghessan Boyle, Greasy Lake 143 Murky and strewn with beer cans, the lake appears a wasteland. On its shore three "dangerous characters" learn a lesson one grim night. Amy Tan, A Pair of Tickets 152 A young woman flies with her father to China to meet two half sisters she never knew existed. Writer's Perspective Amy Tan on Writing, Setting the Voice 167 Writing Critically How Time and Place Set a Story 168 Writing Assignment 169 Further Suggestions for Writing 169 5 Tone and Style 170 Ernest Hemingway, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place 174 All by himself each night, the old man lingers in the bright cafÄ. What does he need more than brandy? One other knew. William Faulkner, Barn Burning 178 This time when Ab Snopes wields his blazing torch, his son Sarty faces a dilemma: whether to obey or defy the vengeful old man. Irony 192 Guy de Maupassant, The Necklace 193 Having no jewels to wear to the ball, a young woman borrows her rich friend's diamond necklace-with disastrous results. Ha Jin, Saboteur 200 When the police unfairly arrest Mr. Chiu, he hopes for justice. After witnessing their brutality, he quietly plans revenge. Writer's Perspective Ernest Hemingway on Writing, The Direct Style 209 Writing Critically Be Style-Conscious 210 Writing Assignment 211 Further Suggestions for Writing 211 6 Theme 212 Stephen Crane, The Open Boat 215 In a lifeboat circled by sharks, tantalized by glimpses of land, a reporter scrutinizes Fate and learns about comradeship. Alice Munro, Day of the Butterfly 234 A sixth-grader is surprised by some of her own reactions when one of her classmates becomes seriously ill. Luke 15: 11-32, The Parable of the Prodigal Son 241 A father has two sons. One demands his inheritance now and leaves to spend it with ruinous results. Kurt Vonnegut, Jr., Harrison Bergeron 242 Are you handsome? Off with your eyebrows! Are you brainy? Let a transmitter sound thought-shattering beeps inside your ear. Writer's Perspective Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. on Writing, The Themes of Science Fiction 248 Writing Critically Stating the Theme 249 Writing Assignment 250 Further Suggestions for Writing 250 7 Symbol 251 John Steinbeck, The Chrysanthemums 253 Fenced-in Elisa feels emotionally starved-then her life promises to blossom with the arrival of the scissors-grinding man. Shirley Jackson, The Lottery 262 Splintered and faded, the sinister black box had worked its annual terror for longer than anyone in town could remember. Elizabeth Tallent, No One's a Mystery 269 A two-page story speaks volumes about an open-hearted girl and her married lover. Ursula K. Le Guin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas 272 Omelas is the perfect city. All of its inhabitants are happy. But everyone's prosperity depends on a hidden evil. Writer's Perspective Ursula K. Le Guin on Writing, Note on "The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas" 278 Writing Critically Recognizing Symbols 279 Writing Assignment 279 Student Essay An Analysis of the Symbolism in Steinbeck's "The Chrysanthemums" 280 Further Suggestions for Writing 283 8 Evaluating a Story 284 Writing Critically Know What You're Judging 286 Writing Assignment 287 Further Suggestions for Writing 287 9 Reading Long Stories and Novels 288 Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilych 294 The supreme Russian novelist tells how a petty, ambitious judge, near the end of his wasted life, discovers a harrowing truth. Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis 336 "When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect." Kafka's famous opening sentence introduces one of the most chilling stories in world literature. Writer's Perspective Franz Kafka on Writing, Discussing The Metamorphosis 371 Writing Critically Leaving Things Out 373 Writing Assignment-Research Paper 373 Student Research Paper Kafka's Greatness 374 Further Suggestions for Writing 380 10 Two Critical Casebooks: Edgar Allan Poe and Flannery O'Connor 381 Edgar Allan Poe 381 s Stories The Tell-Tale Heart 382 The smoldering eye at last extinguished, a murderer finds that, despite all his attempts at a cover-up, his victim will be heard. The Masque of the Red Death 386 The uninvited guest at Prince Prospero's masquerade ball changes the life of everyone present in this masterpiece of mood and effect. The Fall of the House of Usher 391 A letter from a boyhood friend turns out to be an invitation to a world of horror and doom. s Edgar Allan Poe on Edgar Allan Poe The Tale and Its Effect 405 On Imagination 406 The Philosophy of Composition 407 s Critics on Edgar Allan Poe Daniel Hoffman, The Father-Figure in "The Tell-Tale Heart" 408 Marie Bonaparte, A Psychoanalytic Reading of "The Masque of the Red Death" 410 Charles Baudelaire, On Poe's Genius 412 James Tuttleton, Poe's Quest for Supernal Beauty 413 Flannery O'Connor 415 s Stories Good Country People 416 Joy's mother thought the Bible salesman was a nice young man, but Joy will soon discover otherwise. A Good Man Is Hard to Find 431 Wanted: The Misfit, a cold-blooded killer. An ordinary family vacation leads to horror-and one moment of redeeming grace. Revelation 443 Mrs. Turpin thinks herself Jesus' favorite child, until she meets a troubled college girl. Soon violence flares in a doctor's waiting room. s Flannery O'Connor on Flannery O'Connor Excerpt from "On Her Own Work": The Element of Suspense in "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" 459 On Her Catholic Faith 462 Excerpt from "The Grotesque in Southern Fiction": The Serious Writer and the Tired Reader 462 Yearbook Cartoons 464 s Critics on Flannery O'Connor Robert Brinkmeyer Jr., Flannery O'Connor and Her Readers 465 J. O. Tate, A Good Source Is Not So Hard to Find: The Real Life Misfit 468 Mary Jane Schenck, Deconstructing "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" 470 Kathleen Feeley, Comic Perversion in "Good Country People" 472 Writing Critically How One Story Illuminates Another 473 Writing Assignment 473 Further Suggestions for Writing on Edgar Allan Poe 473 Further Suggestions for Writing on Flannery O'Connor 474 11 Stories for Further Reading 475 Chinua Achebe, Dead Men's Path 475 The new headmaster of the village school was determined to fight superstition, but the villagers did not agree. Isabel Allende, The Judge's Wife 478 Revenge can take many different forms, but few are as strange as the revenge taken in this passionate tale. Anjana Appachana, The Prophecy 485 Seventeen years old and pregnant, Amrita doesn't know what to do, but before she visits the gynecologist, she consults a fortune teller. Margaret Atwood, Happy Endings 497 John and Mary meet. What happens next? This witty experimental story offers five different outcomes. Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge 501 At last, Peyton Farquhar's neck is in the noose. Reality mingles with dream in this classic story of the American Civil War. Jorge Luis Borges, The Gospel According to Mark 508 A young man from Buenos Aires is trapped by a flood on an isolated ranch. To pass the time he reads the Gospel to a family with unforeseen results. Willa Cather, Paul's Case 513 Paul's teachers can't understand the boy. Then one day, with stolen cash, he boards a train for New York and the life of his dreams. John Cheever, The Five-Forty-Eight 528 After their brief affair, Blake fired his secretary. He never expected she would seek revenge. Anton Chekhov, The Lady with the Pet Dog 539 Lonely and bored at a seaside resort, they had sought a merely casual affair. How could they know it might deepen and trouble their separate marriages? Kate Chopin, The Story of an Hour 552 "There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name." Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street 554 Does where we live tell what we are? A little girl dreams of a new house, but things don't always turn out the way we want them to. Ralph Ellison, Battle Royal 555 A young black man is invited to deliver his high school graduation speech to a gathering of a Southern town's leading white citizens. What promises to be an honor turns into a nightmare of violence, humiliation, and painful self-discovery. Gabriel GarcÆa Mçrquez, The Handsomest Drowned Man in the World 566 Even in death, a mysterious stranger has a profound effect on all of the people in the village. Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper 571 Her husband the doctor prescribed complete rest in the isolated and mysterious country house they rented for the summer. The cure proves worse than the disease in this gothic classic. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown 584 Urged on through deepening woods, a young Puritan sees-or dreams he sees-good villagers hasten toward a diabolic rite. Zora Neale Hurston, Sweat 594 Delia's hard work paid for her small house. Now her drunken husband Sykes has promised it to another woman. Kazuo Ishiguro, A Family Supper 604 Something very odd lurks beneath the surface of this family supper, and it might prove fatal. James Joyce, Araby 612 If only he can find her a token, she might love him in return. As night falls, a Dublin boy hurries to make his dream come true. Jamaica Kincaid, Girl 617 "Try to walk like a lady, and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming." An old-fashioned mother tells her daughter how to live. D. H. Lawrence, The Rocking-Horse Winner 619 Wild-eyed "as if something were going to explode in him," the boy predicts each winning horse, and gamblers rush to bet a thousand pounds. Bernard Malamud, Angel Levine 631 Broke, ill, and desperate, the tailor Manischevitz begs God for help. But when he discovers a black man in his living room who claims to be a Jewish angel, the tailor refuses to believe. A comic classic of how grace and need overcome prejudice. Katherine Mansfield, Miss Brill 639 Sundays had long brought joy to solitary Miss Brill, until one fateful day when she happened to share a bench with two lovers in the park. Bobbie Ann Mason, Shiloh 643 After the accident Leroy could no longer work as a truck driver. He hoped to make a new life with his wife, but she seemed strangely different. Joyce Carol Oates, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? 654 Alone in the house, Connie finds herself helpless before the advances of a spellbinding imitation teenager, Arnold Friend. Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried 667 What each soldier carried into the combat zone was largely determined by necessity, but each man's necessities differed. Frank O'Connor, First Confession 680 A sympathetic Irish priest cross-examines a boy who takes a bread knife to his sister and wants to chop up his grandmother besides. Tillie Olsen, I Stand Here Ironing 687 Deserted by her husband, forced to send away her child, a woman remembers how both she and her daughter managed to survive. Leslie Marmon Silko, The Man to Send Rain Clouds 693 When old Teofilo dies, his friends give him a tribal burial to ensure that the rains will come for the pueblo. But can they also convince Father Paul to take part in the pagan ceremony? Writing 697 12 Writing About Literature 699 Beginning t/k Keeping a Journal t/k Using Critical Sources and Maintaining Academic Integrity t/k Discovering Essay Ideas t/k Drafting and Revising, or Creativity vs. Analysis t/k The Form of Your Finished Paper t/k Using Spell-Check and Grammer-Check Programs t/k Anonymous (after a poem by Jerrold H. Zar), A Little Poem Regarding Computer Spell Checkers t/k 13 Writing About a Story t/k Explicating t/k Sample Student Essay (Explication) t/k Analyzing t/k Sample Student Essay (Analysis) t/k Sample Student Card Report t/k Comparing and Contrasting t/k Suggestions for Writing t/k John King, The Argentine Context of Borges's Fantastic Fiction t/k Barbara T. Christian, "Everyday Use" and the Black Power Movement t/k Psychological Criticism t/k Sigmund Freud, The Destiny of Oedipus t/k Gretchen Schulz and R. J. R. Rockwood, Fairy Tale Motifs in "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" t/k Mythological Criticism t/k C. G. Jung, The Collective Unconscious and Archetypes t/k Edmond Volpe, Myth in Faulkner's "Barn Burning" t/k Sociological Criticism t/k Georg Lukacs, Content Determines Form t/k Daniel P. Watkins, Money and Labor in "The Rocking-Horse Winner" t/k Gender Criticism t/k Elaine Showalter, Toward a Feminist Criticism t/k Juliann Fleenor, Gender and Pathology in "The Yellow Wallpaper" t/k Reader-Response Criticism t/k Stanley Fish, An Eskimo "A Rose for Emily" t/k Michael J. Colacurcio, The End of Young Goodman Brown t/k Deconstructionist Criticism t/k Roland Barthes, The Death of the Author t/k Barbara Johnson, Rigorous Unreliability t/k Cultural Studies t/k Vincent B. Leitch, Poststructuralist Cultural Critique t/k Mark Bauerlein, What Is Cultural Studies? t/k 14 Writing a Research Paper t/k Doing Research for an Essay t/k Evaluating and Using Internet Sources t/k Guarding Academic Integrity t/k Acknowledging and Documenting Sources t/k Sample Student Research Paper t/k Concluding Thoughts t/k Reference Guide for Citations t/k 15 Critical Approaches to Literature t/k Formalist Criticism t/k Cleanth Brooks, The Formalist Critic t/k Michael Clark, Light and Darkness in "Sonny's Blues" t/k Biographical Criticism t/k Virginia Llewellyn Smith, Chekhov's Attitude to Romantic Love t/k Emily Toth, The Source for AlcÄe LaballiÅre in "The Storm" t/k Historical Criticism t/k Glossary of Literary Terms t/k Acknowledgments t/k Photo Acknowledgments t/k Index of Authors and Titles t/k List of Authors (front inside cover) Index of Literary Terms (back inside cover)
Library of Congress Subject Headings for this publication: Fiction Collections