The American Short Story Handbook

326 Pages·2015·3.658 MB·English

by  Nagel, James(Contributor)

The American Short
Story Handbook
Wiley Blackwell Literature Handbooks
Thisnewseriesoffersthestudentthoroughandlivelyintroductionstoliter-
ary periods, movements, and, in some instances, authors and genres, from
Anglo-SaxontothePostmodern.Eachvolumeiswrittenbyaleadingspecial-
ist to be invitingly accessible and informative. Chapters are devoted to the
coverageofculturalcontext,theprovisionofbriefbutdetailedbiographical
essays on the authors concerned, critical coverage of key works, and sur-
veys of themes and topics, together with bibliographies of selected further
reading. Students new to a period of study or to a genre will discover all
they need to know to orientate and ground themselves in their studies, in
volumesthatareasstimulatingtoreadastheyareconvenienttouse.
Published
TheScienceFictionHandbook
M.KeithBookerandAnne-MarieThomas
TheSeventeenth-CenturyLiteratureHandbook
MarshallGrossman
TheTwentieth-CenturyAmericanFictionHandbook
ChristopherMacGowan
TheBritishandIrishShortStoryHandbook
DavidMalcolm
TheCrimeFictionHandbook
PeterMessent
TheLiteraryTheoryHandbook,secondedition
GregoryCastle
TheAnglo-SaxonLiteratureHandbook
MarkC.Amodio
TheAmericanShortStoryHandbook
JamesNagel
The American Short
Story Handbook
James Nagel
TrimSize:152mmx229mm Nagel ffirs.tex V1-12/03/2014 1:03P.M. Pageiv
Thiseditionfirstpublished2015
©2015JamesNagel
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LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData
Nagel,James,author.
Americanshortstoryhandbook/JamesNagel.—Firstedition.
pagescm.—(WileyBlackwellliteraturehandbooks)
Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex.
ISBN978-0-470-65541-2(hardback)—ISBN978-0-470-65542-9(paper) 1. Shortstories,
American—Historyandcriticism—Handbooks,manuals,etc. I.Title.
PS374.S5N3362015
813’.0109—dc23
2014032718
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1 2015
Contents
Preface vii
Part1 Introduction 1
Part2 HistoricalOverviewoftheAmericanShortStory 9
TheAmericanStorytoWashingtonIrving 12
TheAgeofRomanticism 20
RealismandNaturalism 26
AmericanModernism 39
TheContemporaryAmericanShortStory 46
Part3 NotableAuthorsofAmericanShortStories 55
WashingtonIrving 57
EdgarAllanPoe 62
NathanielHawthorne 67
HermanMelville 71
MarkTwain 76
BretHarte 82
HenryJames 86
KateChopin 91
StephenCrane 96
O.Henry 101
SarahOrneJewett 105
CharlesW.Chesnutt 109
WillaCather 115
F.ScottFitzgerald 120
ErnestHemingway 126
JohnSteinbeck 132
WilliamFaulkner 139
vi Contents
JamaicaKincaid 144
TimO’Brien 150
LouiseErdrich 156
Part4 GreatAmericanShortStories 163
BenjaminFranklin,“TheSpeechofPollyBaker” 165
RuriColla,“TheStoryoftheCaptain’sWifeandanAgedWoman” 168
WashingtonIrving,“RipVanWinkle” 172
NathanielHawthorne,“YoungGoodmanBrown” 177
EdgarAllanPoe,“TheCaskofAmontillado” 180
HermanMelville,“Bartleby,theScrivener” 184
FrancesEllenWatkinsHarper,“TheTwoOffers” 189
HamlinGarland,“UndertheLion’sPaw” 192
CharlottePerkinsGilman,“TheYellowWallpaper” 196
HenryJames,“TheRealThing” 202
KateChopin,“Désirée’sBaby” 206
AmbroseBierce,“AnOccurrenceatOwlCreekBridge” 210
StephenCrane,“TheBlueHotel” 214
FrankNorris,“ADealinWheat” 218
EdithWharton,“TheOtherTwo” 222
WillaCather,“AWagnerMatinée” 226
JackLondon,“ToBuildaFire” 230
JeanToomer,“Blood-BurningMoon” 233
F.ScottFitzgerald,“BabylonRevisited” 236
ErnestHemingway,“IndianCamp” 241
JohnSteinbeck,“TheChrysanthemums” 245
EudoraWelty,“PetrifiedMan” 249
WilliamFaulkner,“BarnBurning” 253
FlanneryO’Connor,“TheRiver” 257
TillieOlsen,“HelpHertoBelieve”[“IStandHereIroning”] 261
RaymondCarver,“Cathedral” 265
LouiseErdrich,“TheRedConvertible” 269
SusanMinot,“Hiding” 273
AmyTan,“TheJoyLuckClub” 277
TimO’Brien,“SweetheartoftheSongTraBong” 281
JamaicaKincaid,“ColumbusinChains” 285
JudithCofer,“Nada” 289
AGlossaryfortheStudyoftheAmericanShortStory 293
SelectedBooksforFurtherStudyoftheAmericanShortStory 303
Index 307
Preface
InhercapacityasaneditoratBlackwell,EmmaBennettsuggestedtomethat
IdothisvolumeintheHandbookseriesthecompanywasdeveloping,and
Iamgratefulforherencouragementandsupport.Theentireproductionstaff
at Blackwell assisted me with tasks large and small and did so with grace,
courtesy,andprofessionalism,anditwasapleasuretoworkwiththem.
Myworkontheshortstoryhasbeenassistedbeyondmeasurebymyposi-
tionastheJ.O.EidsonDistinguishedProfessorofAmericanLiteratureatthe
UniversityofGeorgia,anappointmentIenjoyedformorethantwodecades
untilmyretirementin2013.Servingastheinauguralscholarinthatprofes-
sorshiphasbeenthegreatesthonorofmylife,andIamdeeplyhumbledby
thegenerosityoftheEidsonfamilyandtheUniversityofGeorgia.
My doctoral students at the University of Georgia, many of whom have
goneontofinepositions,contributedinmanywaystomyworkonAmerican
fiction, none more so than Katherine Barrow, who, as a graduate student,
served for many years as my research assistant. Her skills as a determined
scholar,abletoexplorethedarkandremoteregionsoftheuniversitylibrary,
willserveherwellthroughouthercareerinthefield.Amongmycolleaguesin
thedepartment,HughRuppersburgandHubertMcAlexanderofferedwise
counseloverthemanyyearsweworkedtogether,andtheyhavemydeepest
respectandgratitude.StevenFlorczyk,NicoleCamastra,RobertClark,Jon
Dawson,andKatherineBarrowallcompletedtheirPh.D.programswithme
during the research for this volume, and I have learned a great deal about
American literature, and life, from them. At Dartmouth College, where I
nowenjoythepositionofVisitingScholar,DonaldPeasehasofferedfriend-
ship, guidance, and a tour of the campus. William C. Scott was especially
gracious in providing encouragement and introductions to people on the
research staff of Dartmouth Library, and I am forever appreciative of his
generoushumanity.
viii
e Among my fellow scholars in the American Literature Association, and
c
efa especiallyintheSocietyfortheStudyoftheAmericanShortStory,anorga-
Pr nization I serve as president, I have my greatest debt for encouragement,
informed advice, and warm fellowship over more than three decades, par-
ticularly from Alfred Bendixen, Oliver Scheiding, Jeanne Reesman, Gloria
Cronin,DonaldPizer,JeromeLoving,andGaryScharnhorst.Mymostpro-
foundgratitudegoes,asalways,tomywife,Gwen,whoisaconstantsource
of humane good counsel and meticulous proofreading, and the example of
her dedication to her art is a source of inspiration every day, as it has been
forthelastfivedecades.