Short Stories
The Tell-Tale Heart By: Edgar Allen Poe
- Narrator is telling his own story- 1st person -old man lives with him -no problem with him but he wants to kill him because of his vulture blue eye -doesnt consider himself a madman because he proceeded with caution -tries to justify his actions -no problem with old man, just the "evil eye" -when watching the man sleep makes to much noise and wakens the old man -he stays still, the old man knows hes there but tries to convince himself otherwise -he dismembered the old man's body -hide the body under the floor boards -cops came because neighbors heard a screech -cops didnt expect anything -eventually got anxiety and started hearing the old man's heart beat -went mad and turned himself in
The White Herron By: Sarah Orne Jewett
-3rd person omniscient -sylvia, a 9 year old girl is leading her wayward cow, mistress moolly home -she lives on a farm with her grandmother Mrs. Tilley -Mrs tilley took sylvia in in her town home was to busy and sylvia was afraid of folks -sylvia is close with animals and the outdoor enviroments -she hears a boy's whistle who is a bird hunter looking for a place to stay a while looking for a white herron -sylvia reluctantly brings him to her grandmother -hunter is very gracious and polite, impressed by the modest farm -offers $10 for the location of the white herron -sylvia warms up to the "handsome stranger" and he gives her a jack0knife as a gift -she is unsettled with how he kills what he loves, but warms up to him -next day sylvia climbs up a giant pine tree to find the white herron -when up there she feels as if she is one with the birds and feels she can fly the clouds as well -the story changes perspectives as sylvia see the herron's nesting place -her natural instinct overcomes the appeal of the money and the hunter -she keeps the birds secret, does not want to give its life away -narrator gives the opinion that sylvia has shown herself worthy of keeping the secrets of nature and is better off with her life how it is, rather than following her womanly desires
Samuel By: Grace paley
-4 boys playing by subway -calvin, samuel, tom, and alfred -New York references -3 boys negro and the other something else -alfred pulled emergency brake -alfred mad at samuel for making fun of him -trained stopped and samuel lost handle, fell and cracked his head, died -samuels mother mourning samuel's death, couple years kater had another boy but saw that it was still not samuel, he is gone -man with a more sheltered childhood pulling break because always considered the "watcher" -woman showed courage to say something even though feared being embarrassed, also had a boy, mother's instincts -samuel, leader most confident -between the ages of 8-10 -told in 3rd person omniscient -theme: innocence lost
The Cask of Amontillado By: Edgar Allen Poe
-Begins talking about revenge -revenge against someone named fortunado -Montrasor very proud and cockey of him self -Montrausar takes fortunado down to the cask of Amontillado -fortunado tinjing mountrausor is a mason and was playing a sick joke -he was wrong -fortunado also very sick -montraeusor for a second feels small sense of remorse but goes away by making an excuse -narrator, montresor opens story by stating that he has been insulted by his acquaintance fortunado -decided to use fortunados fondness for wine against him - in order to lure him in, montrasor invited fortunado to try a wine so good it could pass for Amontillado -threatens that if fortunado is to busy he will ask a man named Luchesi (who is fortunados main competitor -fortunado is anxious to try it and proceeds to go to montrasur's vaults -montressor had strategically planned for his meeting by sending his servants away -as they acsend the vaults, walls are filled with nitre minerals, causing fortunado to start coughing -montrasor keeps offering him to turn around, but fortunado declines and continues to drink wine as an antidote -montrassor family motto " no one attacks me with impunity" -told in first person -montressor brings him deep into the vault and points where the wine is -as fortunado walks towards it, already intoxicated, montrssor locks his onto a stone -walks out and begins to stack stones -fortunado thinks he is playing a joke but quickly sees it is no joke and begins to mourn for help -montressor organized his bones in the 4th wall and labels "may he rest in peace"
Young Goodman Brown By: Nathaniel Hawthorne
-Goodman brown and wife faith have been married for 3 months -brown resident of salem and the story's protagonist Goodman Brown: -good christian boy -takes pride in his families history of piety and their reputation in the community as godly men -because of his curiosity he accepts an invitation from a mysterious traveler to observe an evil ceremony in a middle of the forest, one that shocks and disillusions him Faith: -goodman's wife -young beautiful and trusting -goodman originally doesnt believe faith abut her nightmares, seeing her at the evil ceremony in the forest prompts him to question his wife's righteousness The old man/Devil: -the man, possibly the devil, who tempts Goodman into attending the ceremony in the forest. -The man intercepts the ceremony, he sees through the salem villagers charade of christian piety and prides himself of the godly men he has been able to turn to evil The Minister: -minister of salem -respectable pillar of the community, appears to be a follower of the devil Goody Cloyse: -citizen of the Salem village who reveals herself to be a witch -setting: Salem, Mass -Style: Irony -told in 3rd person Brown's spiritual advisers: families backround, grandfather, father, and goody cloyse who taught him catechism
The Story of an Hour By: Kate Chopin
-Louise Mallard has heart trouble, which is why she must be informed carefully about her husbands death -Her sister Josephine tells her the news -Her husband Brently's friend Richard heard news of a railroad disaster and saw brently's name on the list of people who died -eventually Louise feels ecstatic with her newfound sense of independence -Josephine comes to her door and tries to get her to come out -she tells her to go away -fantasizes about the days ahead and hopes to live a long life -opens the door and sees jospehine with richard -the door opens and her husband brently comes in, he hadnt been on the train or even knew what happened -Lousie died of a heart attack when she sees him
The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven By: Sherman Alexie
-Name is victor -starts with "too hot yo sleep so i walked to 7-11 on third avenue" -narrator talks how he used to work as a seattle 7-11 graveyard shift, but got robbed to many times -had a white girlfriend in seattle, fought alot -talked how he drove into "wrong neighborhood" and was pulled over because people get nervous -while 7-11 worker scared pf narrator to rob him because of native american characteristics -Theme: one foot in the reservation one out of it first person -Setting: Spokane Indian Reservation in Washing state
The Darling By: Anton Chekhov
-Olenka, daughter of a retired collegiate assessor Plemyanikov -kulkin, who roomed in the wing of the same house, manager of Tivoli, an open air theatre -failing business due to insane amount of rain -olenka started to fall in love with kulkin -states that she is always in love with someone -onlenka and kulkin ended up marrying -became obsessed with theatre, followed kulkin's passion -followed everything kulkin did and believed in -kulkin fell ill and olenka found out about his death through telegram -Pustovalov, manager of lumber yard -olenka fell in loved and they were married shortly after -became obsessd with the lumber jack business and everything Pustovalov was into -"her husbands opinions were all hers" -Pustovalov went out to work without a hat, grew sick and died -became obsessed with the veterinarian's son, who also left her when his parents got back together and called for him -sasha eventually pushes her away as well
The yellow wallpaper By: Charlotte Perkins Gilman
-narrator begins her journal by marveling the grandeur of the house and grounds her husband has taken for their summer vacation -describes the house in romantic terms, even a haunted house and does not know how they were able to afford it -the house had been empty for so long -suffering from nervous depression -complains that her husband, who is also a doctor, belittles her both her illness and her thoughts of concern -her treatment is that she cannot do anything active, forbidden from working and writing -she thinks the opposite and has a secret journal -she talks about the house but describes some unpleasant things such as rings and thing in bedroom walls, bars on windows, and how she is disturbed by the yellow wallpaper -husband, John, very controlling -the bedroom was a nursery for children -the paper is torn off the wall in spots -husbands sister jennie is acting housekeeper and nurse for the narrator -fourth of july just passes and narrator says her family had just visited her -soon the wallapper dominates the narrators imagination -finds a smudge on wallpaper throughout room -she starts to see a woman in the pattern of the wallpaper -appears to be shaking the bars on the window -narrator says how she too creeps around at night -starts to peel the wallapaper away at night -when she is alone finally she goes on a frenzy, ripping and biting the wallapaper trying to free the woman -in the end the narrator is insane -convinced that theyre are many woman creeping around, she feels trapped as well -john breaks the lock and sees the full horror of the situation, he faints at the doorway and she ha to "creep over him everytime"
Paul's Case By: Willa Cather
-paul has been suspended from his highschool in Pitt -story opens with him meeting with the school's faculty members and principal -dressed in clothes that are shabby and debonair -red carnation wears in his buttonhole offends the faculty members, who think the flowers sum up pauls attitude -paul is tall and narrow shoulder -enlarged pupils that remind one of a drug addicts eyes -faculty talk bad about paul but he doesnt show any emotion -after paul leaves, the drawing master says aloud that paul's mother died in Colorado just after paul was born -paul goes straight o carnegie hall in Pitt where he works as an usher -excellent at his job -he is annoyed when his english teacher arrives and he must sit her -goes back home and becomes depressed of his middle class neighborhood -goes to hang with Charley Edwards, a young actor who lets paul hang around his dressing room -lies and brags that he is close with the people that work in carnagie hall, alienates him -takes a rain to NYC and buys expensive clothes, hats and shows -checks into waldorf, paying for room in advance -uses stolen money -next day meets a rich boy that goes to yale and goes out to the town till 7 am -even though it starts good the night ends in a bad tone -next day hungover looks at the gun he purchased the day before -cannot bring himself to shoot himself so instead takes a cab to train tracks and jumps in front of the train, killing himself
The Red Convertible By: Louise Erdrich
-takes place on a reservation -"first one to drive a convertible on my reservation" -red olds -owned it with his brother Henry Junior -owned it together until brother Henry Junior bought it out -now "younger brother lyman walks everywhere he goes" -Chippewa tribe -asked how Lyman came up with the share in the first place, has a nack of earning money -stated washing dishes for joliet cafe, promoted himself up to manager, than part owner than full owner -after one year of owning it, hit by tornado -he is only 16 -somewhere by montana, picked up a girl to bring her to alaska -name was susy -stayed there with susy until it became too cold and left - Henry had signed up for army -1970 got an over seas letter from Henry -came back from war 3 years later with PTS -Henry became jumpy and mean after the war, very quiet and couldnt laugh -Henry became obsessed with the TV, Lyman tried to shut it off but Henry pushed him -no reservation doctors could help because he was jealous of the mother, and did not want to take him to a regular doctor because afraid theyd keep him, also would become addicted to the drugs -even though the car was in mint condition Lyman banged it up to see if Henry would notice -took a month but Henry eventually became obsessed with fixing it -went to drive toward pembina and the red river -set a fire, Lyman shakes henry, says wake up -Henry wants Lyman to take the car, Lyman says no -they start fist fighting -they start to laugh -Henry starts to dance around and seems like his old self -than he jumps into the river which pulls him down -yell calmly that his boots are filling up, he is gone -setting: Native american reservation in North Dakota -Lyman afterwards pushes the car into the river -theme: warrior tradition, honor
An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge By: Ambrose Bierce
-told in 3rd person (limited omniscient) -begins upon a railroad bride in northern alabama -man is being executed by 2 federal private soldiers -rope tied hands and feet on the railroad tracks -man was going to be hanged off the bridge -man looked to be 35 years old and was a civilian, looked like a planter -hanging man was on a plank and when time, the sargent would step off of the plank releasing the man -there was no bandage over eyes nor sack over head -started to think about his wife and kids -last second he thinks of the idea to free his hands and take the rope off his neck and try to into the water to run away -Peyton Fahrquhar was a well to do planter of an old and highly respected alabama family -being a slave owner he was very dedicated to the south's cause -a southern soldier visited his house and as his wife fetched him water -the soldier explained that the yanks were rebuilding the railroads to make another advancement and heard news that anyone who shall interfere with the railroad or bridges shall be hung -intrigued to help, peyton asked questions of what help messing with the tracks and bridges would cost -as he dropped the rope snapped and he fell into the water -removed the ropes and noose and eventually gained complete physical ability -struggling to swim down the river and avoid soldier's gunfire -eventually washed up upon gravel on the safe southern side -he threw the sand on him as if they were rubies -eventually heard another shot which knocked him out of his dream and he continued to make through the forest -after walking through the forest eventually makes it to his home -as he walks in to greet his wife he feels a large blow to the back of his neck and first sees a bright light, than nothing but darkness - he was dreaming of his escape but in reality peyton was dead, his body hanging from the timbers of the owl creek bridge -theme: the blured line between reality and illusion
The Necklace By: Guy de Maupassant
-told in 3rd person omniscient -starts off talking about a pretty and charming girl who "by mistake of destiny" was born into a family of clerks -married to a little clerk at the ministry of public instruction -dressed plainly because she could not afford to dress up -was very unhappy because she felt as though she was better than her actual standing -felt jealous and out of place, "noticed the things that other girls in her social status wouldnt" made her angry -no jewels, no dress -her husband tries to surprised her with an invitation to a great ball thinking she would be delighted -instead she is upset,angry, and tears up, saying she is not equipped to attend such a ball because she does not even have any dresses she could wear -woman's name is mathilde -husband: Loisel -even though her husband was saving the money to buy him self a gun, he instead gives his wife 400 frances to buy a dress -the day of the ball she now complains that she does not have any stones or jewelry to wear, and wouldnt want to go to the ball -scared to look poor -went to her friends to borrow jewelry and picked out a diamond necklace -she was a success at the ball and caught the attention of everyone even the minister -set in paris, france -she lost the necklace -could not find the necklace so they had to borrow money to buy another- cost 40,000 frances -took 10 years to pay off debt -now she looks very old-aged bad from amount of housework to pay off debt -meets her friend again after 10 years and explains how she replaced the necklace and it took 10 years to do so -her friend tells her that her necklace was paste "fake" and one costed 500 frances -style and theme is the use of IRONY
The Gift of the Magi By: O. Henry (William Sidney Porter)
-told in 3rd person omniscient -begins with th character Della counting her $1.87, 60 cents of it being in pennies and Christmas was tomorrow -not well off, was earning $30 a week but now $20 -character introduced as James "Jim" Dillingham young and Dealla Dillingham young -story begins with della crying as well because of her money problems -wanted nothing but to give something nice to jim in honor of being his -they had two prized possessions, della's hair and Jims gold watch which was his grandfathers -della sold her hair for $20 in order to buy a gold chain for Jim's watch -Jim sold his watch in order to buy a hair comb that della had wanted for a while - Jim with chain but no watch and della with hair comb but no hair -explained as the wisest though because they had the true meaning of gift giving with sacrifice, they truly loved each other
Desiree Baby By:Kate Chopin
Characters: Armand Aubigny: Owner of L'Abri Desiree: a foundling, wife of Armand -Madame Valmonde: the woman who raised Desiree -Zanderine: a servant at L'Abri -La Blanche: a slave -takes plave in Louisiana before the American Civil War -3rd person omniscient -when Madame Valmonde drives over to see Desiree and her baby for the first time she is reminded of desiree when she was a baby - Her husband found Dsiree sleeping next to a pillar as he rode home -No one knew where she cam from so the Valmonde family adopted her -that was 18 years in the past, desiree is now a beautiful and gentle woman -Armand from Paris, grew up with her and eventually fell in love with her -eventually became husband and wife -child is a boy -after the baby is born, armand becomes dark and stern, leaving his wife for long periods of time -"the very spirit of the devil seem to suddenly takes hold of him when it comes to dealing with the slaves -armand begins to not love desiree because there is no evidence that she is white -armand wants desiree to go back with his mom -armand has his slaves start a bonfire, begins to throw the baby's stroller, desiree's gowns and other stuff into the fire -desiree "injured" Armand -Armand finds a letter from his mother saying thank god Armand will never know he belongs to the race that is cursed with the brand of slavery -Themes: Racism and Gender Bias -Judging by appearances -real love is color blind
