American short stories

writing into her short stories and novels. Many of her short stories have been converted to dramas because of their unexpected story lines. Years after publication, Jackson’s stories are still considered some of the greatest works in American literature. Throughout Shirley Jackson’s short stories “The Lottery”, “The Possibility of Evil”, and “Charles”, there are grim plot twists at the end of the stories that make the reader realize the real meaning of the story.…

the reader's attention. Many of the concepts discussed by Zinsser are can be seen in James Baldwin's collection of essays entitled Notes of a Native Son, which falls anything short of a boring memoir. Baldwin takes the reader on a journey as he discusses racial matters in American society, his identity as an African American, and critiquing protest novels, movies and America as a whole. The transparency and honesty with which Baldwin writes makes his work exceptional and captivating.…

Response to Sandra Cisneros “Pilón (2002)” In this short story “Pilón” written by Sandra Cisneros was very detailed from the begging of the story as a song stuck her memory that she went on to explain transformation as a little girl growing up going through puberty to her growing up as in emigrant. It only got better as the story went on. Cisneros shared the way she felt deep inside from beginning to end of the short story. Wishing she could be at a place in her life that knowing what she…

(1916-1965) was an acclaimed American writer most famous her short story, “The Lottery”. Jackson, born December 14, 1916 in San Francisco, California, had spent most of her childhood in the small town of nearby Burlingame, California. Not until the age of seventeen did Jackson move eastward to attend the University of Rochester were she then withdrew a year later. Fast-forward a year later, Jackson enrolled in Syracuse University in 1937 where there she published her first story, “Janice”. After…

In early American History Bret Harte and Mark Twain’s writings played a vital role in shaping and describing what could be called, “the American Dream”. In the early infrastructure stage of American history, much work had to be done to get the country where it needed to be to thrive. Such works as, “The Innocents Abroad”, by Mark Twain, told about a few different journeys that were taken to reach a “Holy Land”(Cite). This “Holy Land” represents the “American Dream” because it was an end point…

Both of these stories have an important message to show and teach about moral fortitude and attitude. For the story the “Gift of the Magi” the love of a couples have for each other and “Hills like White Elephants”, A white elephant symbolizes something no one wants. Compare the hill and symbolically of the baby. I choose “Hills like White Elephants” by Ernest Hemingway’s the story is set at a train station in Spain. And “The Gift of the Magi” O. Henry took place in the window of Sofronie Hair…

uses the imagery of the setting to symbolize the women’s indecision towards her abortion, captures the involvement of human interaction through subtlety and perception, and this short story represents in today’s society how women are still inferior to the opposite sex. First of all, symbolism is the main key in this short story. For example, the landscape represents light and darkness. On one side of the hills we have a beautiful view that has a rich green vegetation. “Across on the other side,…

understanding of the characters and their situation. The American and the girl, the two main characters of the story, are trying to decide between keeping and unborn child or terminating a healthy pregnancy. Although they each have their own thoughts about keeping the child, neither of them are trying to push away the other. The setting and verbal exchanges between them show that there is some disagreement in the relationship. The style of the story has two major aspects: dialogue to develop the…

Dogs on Hills In the short story, "Hills like White Elephants," by author Ernest Hemingway who was published in 1927 writes about a couple waiting for their train to arrive. An American man and the girl he calls "Jig" in Spain. Throughout this story the American is trying to convince Jig to have a particular operation. Which the readers later find out is an abortion. On another note, in the story, "The Lady with the Dog" written by Anton Chekhov who was published in 1899 talks about an older…

Does one dare to explore mysterious/wondrous short stories? Dan Chaon has an approach to the craft of writing that is both unique and different. Among the missing is a collection of short stories about everyday people, most of whom are somehow broken on the inside. Whether it’s a woman finding comfort from a blowup doll, a family driving into the lake committing mass suicide or a boy who imagines he’s a detective who investigates a man he believes is his future self. His work is ambitious and…