Table Of ContentSHORT
STORIES
for Students
Advisors
Susan Allison: Head Librarian, Lewiston High Florida. B.A. from University of Detroit,
School, Lewiston, Maine. Standards Com- 1967 (magna cum laude); M.L.S.,University
mitteeChairpersonforMaineSchoolLibrary of Missouri–Columbia, l974. Volunteer Pro-
(MASL) Programs. Board member, Julia ject Leader for a school in rural Jamaica;
Adams Morse Memorial Library, Greene, volunteerwithAdultLiteracyprograms.
Maine. Advisor to Lewiston Public Library
LaurieSt.Laurent:HeadofAdultandChildren’s
PlanningProcess.
Services, East Lansing Public Library, East
Jennifer Hood: Young Adult/Reference Librar-
Lansing, Michigan, 1994–. M.L.S. from
ian, Cumberland Public Library, Cumber-
Western Michigan University. Chair of
land,RhodeIsland.Certifiedteacher,Rhode
MichiganLibraryAssociation’s1998Michi-
Island.MemberoftheNewEnglandLibrary
ganSummerReadingProgram;Chairofthe
Association, Rhode Island Library Associa-
Children’s Services Division in 2000–2001;
tion, and the Rhode Island Educational
and Vice-President of the Association in
MediaAssociation.
2002–2003. Board member of several regio-
AnnKearney:HeadLibrarianandMediaSpecia-
nal early childhood literacy organizations
list, Christopher Columbus High School,
and member of the Library of Michigan
Miami,Florida,1982–2002.Thirty-twoyears
YouthServicesAdvisoryCommittee.
as Librarian in various educational institu-
tions ranging from grade schools through Heidi Stohs: Instructor in Language Arts,
graduate programs. Library positions at grades 10–12, Solomon High School, Solo-
Miami-Dade Community College, the Uni- mon, Kansas. Received B.S. from Kansas
versity of Miami’s Medical School Library, State University; M.A. from Fort Hays
and Carrollton School in Coconut Grove, StateUniversity.
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Table of Contents
ADVISORS . . . . . . . . . . . . ii
WHY STUDY LITERATURE AT ALL? . . . . ix
(byThomasE.Barden)
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . xi
LITERARY CHRONOLOGY . . . . . . . xv
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . xvi
CONTRIBUTORS . . . . . . . . . xviii
BROWNIES
(byZZPacker) . . . . . . . . . . . 1
AuthorBiography . . . . . . . . 1
PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . . 2
Characters . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
HistoricalContext . . . . . . . . 7
CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . . 9
Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
FurtherReading . . . . . . . . . 16
CAROLINE’S WEDDING
(byEdwidgeDanticat) . . . . . . . . . 17
AuthorBiography . . . . . . . . 17
PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . . 18
Characters . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
v
T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . 131
HistoricalContext . . . . . . . . 26 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 132
CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . . 27 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 142
Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . . 29 FurtherReading . . . . . . . . 142
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . 41
FurtherReading . . . . . . . . . 41 LAST NIGHT
(byJamesSalter). . . . . . . . . . 143
THE DIAMOND AS BIG AS THE RITZ AuthorBiography . . . . . . . 143
(byF.ScottFitzgerald). . . . . . . . . 42 PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . 144
AuthorBiography . . . . . . . . 43 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 146
PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . . 44 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 147
Characters . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 148
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 HistoricalContext . . . . . . . 149
Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . 151
HistoricalContext . . . . . . . . 50
Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 152
CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . . 50
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . . 51
FurtherReading . . . . . . . . 165
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . 76
FurtherReading . . . . . . . . . 76
A NURSE’S STORY
(byPeterBaida). . . . . . . . . . 166
A GIRL LIKE PHYL
AuthorBiography . . . . . . . 166
(byPatriciaHighsmith). . . . . . . . . 77
PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . 167
AuthorBiography . . . . . . . . 77
Characters . . . . . . . . . . 170
PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . . 78
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Characters . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 174
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
HistoricalContext . . . . . . . 174
Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . 175
HistoricalContext . . . . . . . . 82
Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 176
CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . . 83
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 183
Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . . 84
FurtherReading . . . . . . . . 183
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 108
FurtherReading . . . . . . . . 108
PERFECTION
(byMarkHelprin) . . . . . . . . . 185
THE GIRLS
AuthorBiography . . . . . . . 185
(byJoyWilliams). . . . . . . . . . 109
PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . 187
AuthorBiography . . . . . . . 109
Characters . . . . . . . . . . 189
PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . 110
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 192
Characters . . . . . . . . . . 111
Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 113
HistoricalContext . . . . . . . 194
Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 114
CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . 196
HistoricalContext . . . . . . . 114
CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . 115 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 198
Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 116 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 207
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 124 FurtherReading . . . . . . . . 207
FurtherReading . . . . . . . . 124
THE PRICE OF EGGS IN CHINA
HERE’S YOUR HAT WHAT’S YOUR HURRY (byDonLee). . . . . . . . . . . 208
(byElizabethMcCracken). . . . . . . 125 AuthorBiography . . . . . . . 209
AuthorBiography . . . . . . . 125 PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . 209
PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . 126 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 211
Characters . . . . . . . . . . 127 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 212
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 213
Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 HistoricalContext . . . . . . . 214
HistoricalContext . . . . . . . 130 CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . 214
v i S h o r t S t o r i e s f o r S t u d e n t s : V o l u m e 2 5
T a b l e o f C o n t e n t s
Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 216 TRICK OR TREAT
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 225 (byPadgettPowell). . . . . . . . . 261
FurtherReading . . . . . . . . 225 AuthorBiography . . . . . . . 261
PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . 262
Characters . . . . . . . . . . 264
THE REMEMBERER Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 265
(byAimeeBender) . . . . . . . . . 226 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 266
AuthorBiography . . . . . . . 227 HistoricalContext . . . . . . . 266
PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . 227 CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . 268
Characters . . . . . . . . . . 228 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 270
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 286
Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 FurtherReading . . . . . . . . 286
HistoricalContext . . . . . . . 230
CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . 231 WHAT I SAW FROM WHERE I STOOD
Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 232 (byMarisaSilver) . . . . . . . . . 288
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 240 AuthorBiography . . . . . . . 288
FurtherReading . . . . . . . . 240 PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . 289
Characters . . . . . . . . . . 290
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 291
THE SHELL COLLECTOR Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 292
(byAnthonyDoerr) . . . . . . . . . 241 HistoricalContext . . . . . . . 292
AuthorBiography . . . . . . . 241 CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . 293
PlotSummary. . . . . . . . . 242 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 294
Characters . . . . . . . . . . 244 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 303
Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 246 FurtherReading . . . . . . . . 303
Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 247
HistoricalContext . . . . . . . 248 GlossaryofLiteraryTerms . . . . 305
CriticalOverview. . . . . . . . 249 CumulativeAuthor/TitleIndex . . . 317
Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 249 CumulativeNationality/
Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 260 EthnicityIndex. . . . . . . . . 325
FurtherReading . . . . . . . . 260 Subject/ThemeIndex . . . . . . 331
S h o r t S t o r i e s f o r S t u d e n t s : V o l u m e 2 5 v i i
Why Study Literature At All?
ShortStoriesforStudentsisdesignedtoprovide voice. Literature wonders about infinity, won-
readerswithinformationanddiscussionabouta ders why God permits evil, wonders what will
widerangeofimportantcontemporaryandhis- happentousafterwedie.Literatureadmitsthat
toricalworksofshortfiction,anditdoesthatjob wegetourheartsbroken,thatpeoplesometimes
verywell.However,Iwanttousethisguestfore- cheat and get away with it, that the world is a
wordtoaddressaquestionthatitdoesnottake strange and probably incomprehensible place.
up. It is a fundamental question that is often Literature, in other words, takes on all the big
ignored in high school and college English andsmallissuesof whatit means to behuman.
classes as well as research texts, and one that
So my first answer is that of the humanist we
causes frustration among students at all levels,
should read literature and study it and take it
namely why study literature at all? Isn’t it
seriouslybecauseitenrichesusashumanbeings.
enough to read a story, enjoy it, and go about
Wedevelopourmoralimagination,ourcapacity
one’sbusiness?Myanswer(tobeexpectedfrom
tosympathizewithotherpeople,andourability
a literary professional, I suppose) is no. It is
tounderstandourexistencethroughtheexperi-
not enough. It is a start; but it is not enough.
enceoffiction.
Here’swhy.
My second answer is more practical. By
First,literatureistheonlypartoftheeduca-
studying literature we can learn how to explore
tional curriculum that deals directly with the
and analyze texts. Fiction may be about die
actual world of lived experience. The philoso-
Lebenswelt, but it is a construct of words put
pher Edmund Husserl used the apt German
togetherinacertainorderbyanartistusingthe
term die Lebenswelt, ‘‘the living world,’’ to
mediumoflanguage.Byexaminingandstudying
denote this realm. All the other content areas
those constructions, we can learn about lan-
of the modern American educational system
guage as a medium. We can become more
avoidthesubjective,presentrealityofeveryday
life. Science (both the natural and the social sophisticated about word associations and con-
varieties) objectifies, the fine arts create and/or notations, about the manipulation of symbols,
perform, history reconstructs. Only literary and about style and atmosphere. We can grasp
study persists in posing those questions we all howambiguouslanguageisandhowimportant
askedbeforeourschoolingtaughtustogiveup context and texture is to meaning. In our first
onthem.Onlyliteraturegivescredibilitytoper- encounter with a work of literature, of course,
sonal perceptions, feelings, dreams, and the wearenotsupposedtocatchallofthesethings.
‘‘stream of consciousness’’ that is our inner Wearespellbound,justasthewriterwantedus
i x
W h y S t u d y L i t e r a t u r e A t A l l ?
tobe.Itisasseriousstudentsofthewriter’sart even better human beings. But I want to close
thatwebegintoseehowthetricksaredone. withawarning.Ifyourstudyandexplorationof
Seeing the tricks, which is another way of the craft, history, context, symbolism, or any-
saying ‘‘developing analytical and close reading thing else about a story starts to rob it of the
skills,’’isimportantaboveandbeyonditsintrin- magicyoufeltwhenyoufirstreadit,itistimeto
sicliteraryeducationalvalue.Theseskillstransfer stop.Takeabreak,studyanothersubject,shoot
to other fields and enhance critical thinking of somehoops,orgoforarun.Loveofreadingis
any kind. Understanding how language is used tooimportanttoberuinedbyschool.Theearly
to construct texts is powerful knowledge. It twentieth century writer Willa Cather, in her
makes engineers better problem solvers, lawyers novel My Antonia, has her narrator Jack
better advocates and courtroom practitioners, Burden tell a story that he and Antonia heard
politicians better rhetoricians, marketing and from two old Russian immigrants when they
advertising agents better sellers, and citizens were teenagers. These immigrants, Pavel and
more aware consumers as well as better partici- Peter, told about an incident from their youth
pants in democracy. This last point is especially
back in Russia that the narrator could recall in
important, because rhetorical skill works both
vividdetailthirtyyearslater.Itwasaharrowing
wayswhenwelearnhowlanguageismanipulated
story of a wedding party starting home in sleds
inthemakingoftextstheresultisthatwebecome
andbeingchasedbystarvingwolves.Hundreds
lesssusceptiblewhenlanguageisusedtomanip-
ofwolvesattackedthegroup’ssledsonebyone
ulateus.
astheyspedacrossthesnowtryingtoreachtheir
My third reason is related to the second. village.Inahorriblerevelation,theoldRussians
When we begin to see literature as created arti-
revealed that the groom eventually threw his
facts of language, we become more sensitive to
own bride to the wolves to save himself. There
goodwritingingeneral.Wegetastrongersense
was even a hint that one of the old immigrants
oftheimportanceofindividualwords,eventhe
might have been the groom mentioned in the
sounds of words and word combinations. We
story. Cather has her narrator conclude with
begin to understand Mark Twain’s delicious
his feelings about the story. ‘‘We did not tell
proverb‘‘Thedifferencebetweentherightword
Pavel’ssecrettoanyone,butguardeditjealously
and the almost right word is the difference
asifthewolvesoftheUkrainehadgatheredthat
betweenlightningandalightningbug.’’Getting
nightlongago,andtheweddingpartyhadbeen
beyondthe‘‘enjoymentonly’’stageofliterature
sacrificed, just to give us a painful and peculiar
gets us closer to becoming makers of word art
pleasure.’’Thatfeeling,thatpainfulandpeculiar
ourselves. I am not saying that studying fiction
pleasure, is the most important thing about lit-
will turn every student into a Faulkner or a
erature.Studyandresearchshouldenhancethat
Shakespeare.Butitwillmakeusmoreadaptable
feelingandneverbeallowedtooverwhelmit.
andeffectivewriters,evenifourartformendsup
being the office memo or the corporate annual ThomasE.Barden
report. ProfessorofEnglishandDirectorof
Studying short stories, then, can help stu- GraduateEnglishStudies,The
dentsbecome betterreaders,betterwriters,and UniversityofToledo
x S h o r t S t o r i e s f o r S t u d e n t s : V o l u m e 2 5
