American Short Story Midterm
Omniscient narrator
3rd person narration where the teller of the tale often speaks with the voice of the author himself and is all knowing
Godfather Death
A poor man has twelve children, and works just hard enough to feed each of them every day. When his thirteenth and last child is born, the man decides to find a godfather for this child. He runs out into the highway, and finds God walking on the highway. God asks to be the godfather, promising the child health and happiness. The man, after finding out that the man is God, declines, saying that God condones poverty. Then the man meets the Devil on the highway. The Devil asks to be the godfather, offering the child gold and the world's joys. The man, after finding out that the man is the Devil, declines, saying that the Devil deceives mankind. The man, still walking down the highway, meets Death. The man decides to make Death the child's godfather saying that Death takes away the rich and the poor, without discrimination. The next Sunday, Death becomes the child's godfather. When the boy comes of age, Death appears to him and leads him into the woods, where special herbs grow. There, the boy is promised that Death will make him a famous physician. It is explained that, whenever the boy visits an ill person, Death will appear next to the sick person. If Death stands at the persons head, that person is to be given the special herb found in the forest, and cured. But, if Death appears at the persons feet, any treatment on them would be useless as they would soon die. The boy soon becomes famous, just as Death has foreseen and receives plenty of gold for his amazing ability to see whether a person would live or die. Soon, the King of all the lands becomes ill and sends for the famous physician. When the physician goes to see the King, he notices immediately that Death is standing at the foot of the bed. The physician feels pity for the king, and decides to trick Death. The physician then turns the King in his bed so that Death stands over the head. He then gives the King the herb to eat. This heals the King and speeds his recovery. Soon after, Death approaches the physician, expressing his anger for tricking him and disobeying Death's rules. But because the physician is Death's godchild, he does not punish him. Death then warns the physician that if he was to ever trick Death again, he will take the physician's life. Not much later, the King's daughter becomes ill and the physician goes to see her as well. The King promises his daughter's hand in marriage and the inheritance of the crown if the physician cures her. When the physician visits the princess, he sees Death at her feet. Ignoring this, he is captivated by the princess's beauty and thoughts of being her husband. The physician then turns the princess so that Death is at her head. He then feeds her the herb. Just as the princess is coming around, Death grasps the physician by the arm and drags him to an underground cavern. In this cave are thousands upon thousands of candles, each burned down to different lengths. Death explains that the length of each candle shows how much longer a person has to live. When Death shows the physician his candle, the latter notices that it is very short, showing that the physician doesn't have much longer to live. The physician pleads with his godfather to light a new candle for him, so that he may live a happy life as king and husband to the beautiful princess. Death reconsiders and gathers a new candle to relight the flame of his godchild. Just as he is about to light the new candle, Death takes his revenge on the physician by letting the flame of the first candle fall. As soon as the candle is extinguished, the physician falls dead to the ground.
The Storm
A small boy, Bibi, and his father, Bobinôt, wait out a major Louisiana storm at a local store. They're worried about the third member of their family, Calixta, but can't do anything. At home, Calixta realizes there's a storm brewing. An old boyfriend, Alcée, happens to be passing by and gets stuck at her house when the storm breaks. Calixta gets more and more worried about her family, but before she knows it she and Alcée are making out...then having sex. This totally distracts them from the storm. When the storm passes, Alcée leaves. Bibi and Bobinôt come home and never find out he was there. Calixta seems really glad to see them. After the storm, Alcée writes a letter to his wife, Clarisse, saying it's OK with him if she wants to stay longer on her trip. She is kind of relieved, because she could use a break from her husband and the romantic side of their relationship. So when the storm's over, everything has worked out pretty well for everybody.
Characters
living beings that inhabit a story
protagonist
main character of a story
The Fall of The House of Usher
An unnamed narrator approaches the house of Usher on a "dull, dark, and soundless day." This house—the estate of his boyhood friend, Roderick Usher—is gloomy and mysterious. The narrator observes that the house seems to have absorbed an evil and diseased atmosphere from the decaying trees and murky ponds around it. He notes that although the house is decaying in places—individual stones are disintegrating, for example—the structure itself is fairly solid. There is only a small crack from the roof to the ground in the front of the building. He has come to the house because his friend Roderick sent him a letter earnestly requesting his company. Roderick wrote that he was feeling physically and emotionally ill, so the narrator is rushing to his assistance. The narrator mentions that the Usher family, though an ancient clan, has never flourished. Only one member of the Usher family has survived from generation to generation, thereby forming a direct line of descent without any outside branches. The Usher family has become so identified with its estate that the peasantry confuses the inhabitants with their home. The narrator finds the inside of the house just as spooky as the outside. He makes his way through the long passages to the room where Roderick is waiting. He notes that Roderick is paler and less energetic than he once was. Roderick tells the narrator that he suffers from nerves and fear and that his senses are heightened. The narrator also notes that Roderick seems afraid of his own house. Roderick's sister, Madeline, has taken ill with a mysterious sickness—perhaps catalepsy, the loss of control of one's limbs—that the doctors cannot reverse. The narrator spends several days trying to cheer up Roderick. He listens to Roderick play the guitar and make up words for his songs, and he reads him stories, but he cannot lift Roderick's spirit. Soon, Roderick posits his theory that the house itself is unhealthy, just as the narrator supposes at the beginning of the story. Madeline soon dies, and Roderick decides to bury her temporarily in the tombs below the house. He wants to keep her in the house because he fears that the doctors might dig up her body for scientific examination, since her disease was so strange to them. The narrator helps Roderick put the body in the tomb, and he notes that Madeline has rosy cheeks, as some do after death. The narrator also realizes suddenly that Roderick and Madeline were twins. Over the next few days, Roderick becomes even more uneasy. One night, the narrator cannot sleep either. Roderick knocks on his door, apparently hysterical. He leads the narrator to the window, from which they see a bright-looking gas surrounding the house. The narrator tells Roderick that the gas is a natural phenomenon, not altogether uncommon. The narrator decides to read to Roderick in order to pass the night away. He reads "Mad Trist" by Sir Launcelot Canning, a medieval romance. As he reads, he hears noises that correspond to the descriptions in the story. At first, he ignores these sounds as the vagaries of his imagination. Soon, however, they become more distinct and he can no longer ignore them. He also notices that Roderick has slumped over in his chair and is muttering to himself. The narrator approaches Roderick and listens to what he is saying. Roderick reveals that he has been hearing these sounds for days, and believes that they have buried Madeline alive and that she is trying to escape. He yells that she is standing behind the door. The wind blows open the door and confirms Roderick's fears: Madeline stands in white robes bloodied from her struggle. She attacks Roderick as the life drains from her, and he dies of fear. The narrator flees the house. As he escapes, the entire house cracks along the break in the frame and crumbles to the ground.
The Tell Tale Heart
An unnamed narrator opens the story by addressing the reader and claiming that he is nervous but not mad. He says that he is going to tell a story in which he will defend his sanity yet confess to having killed an old man. His motivation was neither passion nor desire for money, but rather a fear of the man's pale blue eye. Again, he insists that he is not crazy because his cool and measured actions, though criminal, are not those of a madman. Every night, he went to the old man's apartment and secretly observed the man sleeping. In the morning, he would behave as if everything were normal. After a week of this activity, the narrator decides, somewhat randomly, that the time is right actually to kill the old man. When the narrator arrives late on the eighth night, though, the old man wakes up and cries out. The narrator remains still, stalking the old man as he sits awake and frightened. The narrator understands how frightened the old man is, having also experienced the lonely terrors of the night. Soon, the narrator hears a dull pounding that he interprets as the old man's terrified heartbeat. Worried that a neighbor might hear the loud thumping, he attacks and kills the old man. He then dismembers the body and hides the pieces below the floorboards in the bedroom. He is careful not to leave even a drop of blood on the floor. As he finishes his job, a clock strikes the hour of four. At the same time, the narrator hears a knock at the street door. The police have arrived, having been called by a neighbor who heard the old man shriek. The narrator is careful to be chatty and to appear normal. He leads the officers all over the house without acting suspiciously. At the height of his bravado, he even brings them into the old man's bedroom to sit down and talk at the scene of the crime. The policemen do not suspect a thing. The narrator is comfortable until he starts to hear a low thumping sound. He recognizes the low sound as the heart of the old man, pounding away beneath the floorboards. He panics, believing that the policemen must also hear the sound and know his guilt. Driven mad by the idea that they are mocking his agony with their pleasant chatter, he confesses to the crime and shrieks at the men to rip up the floorboards.
Independence
Chuang Tzu was one day fishing, when the Prince of Ch'u sent two high officials to interview him, saying that his Highness would be glad of Chuang Tzu's assistance in the administration of his government. The latter quietly fished on, and without looking round, replied, "I have heard that in the State of Ch'u there is a sacred tortoise, which has been dead three thousand years, and which the prince keeps packed up in a box on the altar in his ancestral shrine. Now do you think that tortoise would rather be dead and have its remains thus honoured, or be alive and wagging its tail in the mud?" The two officials answered that no doubt it would rather be alive and wagging its tail in the mud; whereupon Chuang Tzu cried out "Begone! I too elect to remain wagging my tail in the mud."
satire
what kind of stories did Irving like to write?
Romantic
what kind of writer is Hawthorne considered?
literary critic
what was Edgar Allen Poe known for being?
women and economics
what was Gilman concerned with?
Sin and repentance, morality, conformity, individual responsibility, man's responsibility to nature
what were some of Nathaniel Hawthorne's themes?
manners, customs, and habits of old NY
what were the subjects of Warton's works?
Kate Chopin
who had a scandalous relationship with a married farmer?
Irving
who is considered an "inventor" of the modern short story
Rufus Griswold
who made Poe famous?
Washington Irving
who was the first author to gain international fame?
Irving
who was the first writer who could support himself on writing alone?
Edith Warton
who was the most wealthy author we read?
The Story of an Hour
Louise Mallard has heart trouble, so she must be informed carefully about her husband's death. Her sister, Josephine, tells her the news. Louise's husband's friend, Richards, learned about a railroad disaster when he was in the newspaper office and saw Louise's husband, Brently, on the list of those killed. Louise begins sobbing when Josephine tells her of Brently's death and goes upstairs to be alone in her room. Louise sits down and looks out an open window. She sees trees, smells approaching rain, and hears a peddler yelling out what he's selling. She hears someone singing as well as the sounds of sparrows, and there are fluffy white clouds in the sky. She is young, with lines around her eyes. Still crying, she gazes into the distance. She feels apprehensive and tries to suppress the building emotions within her, but can't. She begins repeating the word Free! to herself over and over again. Her heart beats quickly, and she feels very warm. Louise knows she'll cry again when she sees Brently's corpse. His hands were tender, and he always looked at her lovingly. But then she imagines the years ahead, which belong only to her now, and spreads her arms out joyfully with anticipation. She will be free, on her own without anyone to oppress her. She thinks that all women and men oppress one another even if they do it out of kindness. Louise knows that she often felt love for Brently but tells herself that none of that matters anymore. She feels ecstatic with her newfound sense of independence. Josephine comes to her door, begging Louise to come out, warning her that she'll get sick if she doesn't. Louise tells her to go away. She fantasizes about all the days and years ahead and hopes that she lives a long life. Then she opens the door, and she and Josephine start walking down the stairs, where Richards is waiting. The front door unexpectedly opens, and Brently comes in. He hadn't been in the train accident or even aware that one had happened. Josephine screams, and Richards tries unsuccessfully to block Louise from seeing him. Doctors arrive and pronounce that Louise died of a heart attack brought on by happiness.
Herman Melville
who wrote "Bartleby, the Scrivener"?
The Grimm Brothers
who wrote "Godfather Death"?
Chuang Tzu
who wrote "Independence"?
Edith Wharton
who wrote "Roman Fever"?
W. Somerset Maugham
who wrote "The Appointment in Samarra"?
Nathaniel Hawthorne
who wrote "The Birthmark"?
Washington Irving
who wrote "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"?
Aesop
who wrote "The North Wind & The Sun"?
Kate Chopin
who wrote "The Storm"?
Kate Chopin
who wrote "The Story of an Hour?"
Edgar Allan Poe
who wrote "The Tell Tale Heart"?
Charlotte Perkins Gilman
who wrote "The Yellow Wallpaper"?
Edgar Allan Poe
who wrote the "Fall of the House of Usher"?
Washington Irving
who wrote the legend of sleepy hollow?
episodic plot
writer must transition between scenes of time and place (may rely on flashback)
The Yellow Wallpaper
The narrator begins her journal by marveling at the grandeur of the house and grounds her husband has taken for their summer vacation. She describes it in romantic terms as an aristocratic estate or even a haunted house and wonders how they were able to afford it, and why the house had been empty for so long. Her feeling that there is "something queer" about the situation leads her into a discussion of her illness—she is suffering from "nervous depression"—and of her marriage. She complains that her husband John, who is also her doctor, belittles both her illness and her thoughts and concerns in general. She contrasts his practical, rationalistic manner with her own imaginative, sensitive ways. Her treatment requires that she do almost nothing active, and she is especially forbidden from working and writing. She feels that activity, freedom, and interesting work would help her condition and reveals that she has begun her secret journal in order to "relieve her mind." In an attempt to do so, the narrator begins describing the house. Her description is mostly positive, but disturbing elements such as the "rings and things" in the bedroom walls, and the bars on the windows, keep showing up. She is particularly disturbed by the yellow wallpaper in the bedroom, with its strange, formless pattern, and describes it as "revolting." Soon, however, her thoughts are interrupted by John's approach, and she is forced to stop writing. As the first few weeks of the summer pass, the narrator becomes good at hiding her journal, and thus hiding her true thoughts from John. She continues to long for more stimulating company and activity, and she complains again about John's patronizing, controlling ways—although she immediately returns to the wallpaper, which begins to seem not only ugly, but oddly menacing. She mentions that John is worried about her becoming fixated on it, and that he has even refused to repaper the room so as not to give in to her neurotic worries. The narrator's imagination, however, has been aroused. She mentions that she enjoys picturing people on the walkways around the house and that John always discourages such fantasies. She also thinks back to her childhood, when she was able to work herself into a terror by imagining things in the dark. As she describes the bedroom, which she says must have been a nursery for young children, she points out that the paper is torn off the wall in spots, there are scratches and gouges in the floor, and the furniture is heavy and fixed in place. Just as she begins to see a strange sub-pattern behind the main design of the wallpaper, her writing is interrupted again, this time by John's sister, Jennie, who is acting as housekeeper and nurse for the narrator. As the Fourth of July passes, the narrator reports that her family has just visited, leaving her more tired than ever. John threatens to send her to Weir Mitchell, the real-life physician under whose care Gilman had a nervous breakdown. The narrator is alone most of the time and says that she has become almost fond of the wallpaper and that attempting to figure out its pattern has become her primary entertainment. As her obsession grows, the sub-pattern of the wallpaper becomes clearer. It begins to resemble a woman "stooping down and creeping" behind the main pattern, which looks like the bars of a cage. Whenever the narrator tries to discuss leaving the house, John makes light of her concerns, effectively silencing her. Each time he does so, her disgusted fascination with the paper grows. Soon the wallpaper dominates the narrator's imagination. She becomes possessive and secretive, hiding her interest in the paper and making sure no one else examines it so that she can "find it out" on her own. At one point, she startles Jennie, who had been touching the wallpaper and who mentions that she had found yellow stains on their clothes. Mistaking the narrator's fixation for tranquility, John thinks she is improving. But she sleeps less and less and is convinced that she can smell the paper all over the house, even outside. She discovers a strange smudge mark on the paper, running all around the room, as if it had been rubbed by someone crawling against the wall. The sub-pattern now clearly resembles a woman who is trying to get out from behind the main pattern. The narrator sees her shaking the bars at night and creeping around during the day, when the woman is able to escape briefly. The narrator mentions that she, too, creeps around at times. She suspects that John and Jennie are aware of her obsession, and she resolves to destroy the paper once and for all, peeling much of it off during the night. The next day she manages to be alone and goes into something of a frenzy, biting and tearing at the paper in order to free the trapped woman, whom she sees struggling from inside the pattern. By the end, the narrator is hopelessly insane, convinced that there are many creeping women around and that she herself has come out of the wallpaper—that she herself is the trapped woman. She creeps endlessly around the room, smudging the wallpaper as she goes. When John breaks into the locked room and sees the full horror of the situation, he faints in the doorway, so that the narrator has "to creep over him every time!"
The Birthmark
The narrator introduces Aylmer as a brilliant scientist and natural philosopher who has abandoned his experiments for a while to marry the beautiful Georgiana. One day, Aylmer asks his wife whether she has ever thought about removing the birthmark on her cheek. She cheerfully says no but grows serious when she sees that he asked the question seriously. Many people, she says, have told her the mark is a charm, and she has always thought maybe they were right. Aylmer says that because her face is almost perfect, any mark is shocking. Georgiana is angry at first, and then she weeps, asking how he can love her if she is shocking to him. The narrator explains that the birthmark in question is a red mark in the shape of a tiny hand on Georgiana's left cheek. The mark disappears when she blushes. Georgiana's male admirers love the birthmark, and many would risk their lives just to kiss it. Some women think the mark ruins her beauty, but the narrator says this is nonsense. Aylmer obsesses about the birthmark. For him, it symbolizes mortality and sin and comes to tower over Georgiana's beauty in his mind. He can think of nothing else. One night she reminds him of a dream he had. He spoke in his sleep, saying they must take out her heart. Aylmer remembers dreaming that he had removed the birthmark with a knife, plunging down until he had reached his wife's heart, which he decided to cut out. Georgiana says that she will risk her life to have the birthmark erased. Thrilled, Aylmer agrees to try. He professes complete confidence in his own abilities, likening himself to Pygmalion. He kisses his wife's unmarked cheek. They decide to move to the apartments where Aylmer has his laboratory. He has already made stunning discoveries about volcanoes, fountains, mines, and other natural wonders. Now he will resume his studies of the creation of life. As the couple enters the laboratory, Aylmer shudders at the sight of Georgiana, and she faints. Aminadab, Aylmer's grotesque assistant, comes out to help. He says he would not remove the birthmark if Georgiana were his wife. Georgiana wakes up in sweet-smelling rooms that have been made beautiful for her. Aylmer comforts her with some of his more magical creations: "airy figures, absolute bodiless ideas, and forms of unsubstantial beauty." He shows her moving scenes that mimic real life. Then he gives her a fast-growing flower that dies as soon as she touches it. Next he tries to create a portrait of her with a metal plate, but when the plate shows a hand, he throws it into acid. Between experiments, Aylmer tells Georgiana about alchemy. He believes that he could turn base metal into gold and create a potion that would grant eternal life if he wanted to, even though he says he knows that doing so would be wrong. He disappears for hours and then shows her his cabinet of wonders. One such wonder is a vial that holds a powerful perfume. Another is a poison that, depending on the dose, would allow Aylmer to kill someone instantly or after a long period of time. Georgiana is appalled, but Aylmer says the poison is more good than bad. He shows her another potion that can wipe away freckles, but he says her birthmark needs a much deeper cure. Georgiana realizes that Aylmer has been doctoring her food or making her inhale something in the air. Her body feels strange. She reads the books in his scientific library, as well as his accounts of his own experiments. She realizes that his achievements always fall short of the goals he originally sets. Still, the accounts of his studies make her worship him. Aylmer catches her crying over his journals, and although his words are kind, he is angry. She sings to him, restoring his spirits. A few hours later, Georgiana goes to the laboratory to find Aylmer. When he sees her, he grows angry, accuses her of prying, and tells her to go away. She stands her ground and refuses, saying he should trust her and not try to hide his fears. She promises to drink whatever he tells her to drink. Moved, Aylmer says the mark goes deep into her body, and its removal will be dangerous. In her room, Georgiana thinks about how noble it is that Aylmer refuses to love her as she is, insisting instead to create his ideal version of her. He brings her a potion that he says cannot fail. He shows her how it cures a geranium of blots. She drinks the liquid and sleeps. Aylmer watches her with tenderness but also as if he is watching a scientific experiment unfold. Gradually the birthmark fades. Aminadab laughs. Georgiana wakes, sees herself in the mirror, and tells Aylmer not to feel bad about rejecting "the best the earth could offer." Then she dies.
The Appointment in Samarra
There was a merchant in Bagdad who sent his servant to market to buy provisions and in a little while the servant came back, white and trembling, and said, Master, just now when I was in the marketplace I was jostled by a woman in the crowd and when I turned I saw it was Death that jostled me. She looked at me and made a threatening gesture, now, lend me your horse, and I will ride away from this city and avoid my fate. I will go to Samarra and there Death will not find me. The merchant lent him his horse, and the servant mounted it, and he dug his spurs in its flanks and as fast as the horse could gallop he went. Then the merchant went down to the marketplace and he saw me standing in the crowd and he came to me and said, Why did you make a threating getsture to my servant when you saw him this morning? That was not a threatening gesture, I said, it was only a start of surprise. I was astonished to see him in Bagdad, for I had an appointment with him tonight in Samarra.
tale
a story, usually short, that sets forth strange and wonderful events in more or less bare summary, without detailed character drawing
Roman Fever
Two American women, Mrs. Ansley and Mrs. Slade, get up from their table and stroll over to the parapet to look down upon the glorious view of of Rome. They hear their respective daughters, Barbara and Jenny, giggling at the bottom of the stairs, preparing to go socialize. The two older women contemplate the scene quietly and serenely. They decide that they will remain in their position throughout the afternoon because the view is so beautiful. Mrs. Slade thinks to herself that her friend is old-fashioned, and asks Mrs. Ansley if she remembers how they came to Rome when they were even younger than their daughters. Mrs. Ansley assents, and the two wonder if their girls will go off with the Italian aviators that they are courting. Mrs. Slade muses to herself about how little she and Mrs. Ansley actually know about one other. They met when they were children, and both of them grew into beautiful young women. In her youth, Mrs. Ansley was much more beautiful than her daughter Barbara is now. Mrs. Slade thinks of Mrs. Ansley and her (late) husband as "museum specimens of old new York" (6). After marrying, Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley lived near each other. Years later, they both became widows around the same time, left to raise daughters who are also similar in age. Mrs. Slade considers herself to be worse off after losing her husband, because being the wife of Mr. Delphin Slade was an honor and a prominent social role. People would always refer to Mrs. Slade as the beautiful wife of the famous lawyer. Now, she only has her daughter, Jenny, who is pretty but also quite safe and respectable. Mrs. Slade has a hidden desire to see her daughter do something adventurous, like have a torrid affair. Mrs. Ansley, meanwhile, observes her friend's apparent sadness, and pities her a bit. The women sit in silence, which is rather unusual. Even though they have known each other for years, they have never the opportunity to sit together quietly. This serene situation elevates the intimacy between Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley. Mrs. Slade ponders aloud how Rome has always symbolized something different for everyone. For their grandmothers, the city represented Roman Fever, for their mothers, the city was filled danger, and for their daughters, Rome represents freedom. Mrs. Slade and Mrs. Ansley muse that their own mothers had a hard time keeping their daughters inside, since both women were so young, vibrant, and eager to explore. Mrs. Ansley knits while they talk and Mrs. Slade is impressed that she can keep her stitches straight while engaged in conversation. Her thoughts stray to Barbara's likelihood of ensnaring the Italian aviator and thinks of poor Jenny, acting as a mere enabler for her friend's romantic aspirations. When Mrs. Ansley asks Mrs. Slade what she is thinking about, Mrs. Slade shares this image, and then marvels that Mrs. Ansley and her late husband, Horace, were able to produce a girl as dynamic as Barbara. Remaining still and expressionless, Mrs. Ansley calls Mrs. Slade's assessment of Barbara overly complimentary. Mrs. Slade tells Mrs. Ansley companionably that she wishes she had a brilliant daughter instead of an angelic one. Silence resumes. Mrs. Ansley knits and tells herself she has nothing to worry about. Mrs. Slade chides herself and says she should not be envious of Mrs. Ansley. Mrs. Slade stands up and walks to the edge of the parapet, watching the sunset. Mrs. Slade asks her companion if she is afraid of Roman Fever, and the other woman laughs and says no. Mrs. Slade asks about Mrs. Ansley's great-aunt who purposefully sent her younger sister out at night to gather flowers during the epidemic. According to her old story, Mrs. Ansley's great-aunt and her sister were in love with the same man and the great-aunt sent her sister out hoping she would catch Roman Fever, hoping to seduce the man herself. Mrs. Slade laughs at the story and says that she knows Mrs. Ansley only used to tell it to frighten her. Confused, Mrs. Ansley denies that fear was her intent. Mrs. Slade continues, talking about how difficult it once was to get inside the Colosseum and yet, lovers almost always tried to sneak in to have their trysts there. Mrs. Slade asks Mrs. Ansley if she knew about this ritual and Mrs. Ansley replies, "I -I daresay. I don't remember" (14). Mrs. Slade presses on, asking her friend if she remembers going out one night and catching a chill. Mrs. Ansley again claims not to recall but she is clearly hiding something. Suddenly Mrs. Slade bursts out that she cannot bear it any longer, and says that she knows Mrs. Ansley once went out to meet Delphin Slade when he was already engaged to her. Mrs. Ansley, unsteadily standing, tries to stop Mrs. Slade from continuing, but Mrs. Slade recites the contents of the letter that Delphin sent to Mrs. Ansley one night, asking her to meet him. Mrs. Ansley's face belies her internal struggle. She finally says she burnt that letter and wonders out loud how Mrs. Slade knows the contents of the letter by heart. Mrs. Slade calmly admits that she is the one who wrote the letter. Mrs. Ansley drops into her chair and tears form in her eyes. She says it was the only letter she had from Delphin and she had cherished it. Mrs. Slade asks cruelly if she happened to remember that she was engaged to Delphin while their affair was going on. Mrs. Ansley admits that she did indeed go to meet Delphin that night per the letter that Mrs. Slade sent. Mrs. Slade feels her wrath subside, and suddenly does not know why she is trying to wound her friend. She has to justify herself, though, and says that when she found out that Mrs. Ansley was in love with Delphin, Mrs. Slade saw the other woman's sweetness as a threat. She wanted Mrs. Ansley to get out of the way and wrote the false letter in a rage. She wonders aloud if her friend thinks she is a monster, and Mrs. Ansley says she does not know, and that even though the letter was not from Delphin, she still "care[s] for that memory" (17). Mrs. Slade pities her friend for cherishing the false letter for so many years. She gloats, reminding Mrs. Ansley that she was the one who ended up married to Delphin. She then explains that she did not mean to hurt Mrs. Ansley by telling her the truth, but thought she would be amused. Besides, she explains, Mrs. Ansley had married Horace so soon after, which seemed to reveal that whatever she had with Delphin was fleeting. The stars are coming out and night envelops the women. The hotel staff are getting ready for dinner. Mrs. Slade finally says, after a loaded silence, that she wrote the letter as a joke and was amused with the idea of Mrs. Ansley trying to get into the Colosseum at night and finding herself alone. Mrs. Ansley replies that Delphin actually did meet her at the Colosseum that evening. Mrs. Slade is shocked and accuses Mrs. Ansley of lying. However, with a clear voice, Mrs. Ansley assures Mrs. Slade that she did see Delphin that night because she sent a reply to the false letter. Astonished, Mrs. Slade admits that she never considered what might happen if Mrs. Ansley replied. Mrs. Ansley stands, saying it is cold and they better go, and she feels sorry for her friend. Mrs. Slade mutters her disbelief that her friend should feel sorry for her. Mrs. Ansley says it is because she did not have to wait that night and despite Mrs. Slade's tricks, she did meet Delphin. Mrs. Slade agrees with a short laugh, but strikes back that she had Delphin for twenty five years and Mrs. Ansley had nothing to remind her of Delphin except for a letter that he did not actually write. Mrs. Ansley turns to walk away and says, "I had Barbara" (20).
Climax
the moment of greatest tension
parable
a brief narrative that teaches a moral, but unlike the fable, its plot is plausibly realistic and the characters are human, not anthropomorphized animals or forces
fable
a brief story that sets forth a pointed statement of truth
round character
a character given more than one trait which may seem contradictory (FAT - feelings, thoughts, and actions)
dynamic character
a character that undergoes significant change throughout a story
flat character
a character with a bare outline of description
antihero
a negative term to designate one who occupies center stage but otherwise seems incapable of fitting the traditional heroic model
Poe's Frequent Subject
dead women Revenge Love and Hate Gender death the self vs. alternate self
The North Wind and The Sun
he story concerns a competition between the North wind and the Sun to decide which is the stronger of the two. The challenge was to make a passing traveler remove his cloak. However hard the North Wind blew, the traveler only wrapped his cloak tighter to keep warm, but when the Sun shone, the traveler was overcome with heat and soon took his cloak off. "Persuasion is better than force"
chloroform
how did Gilman die?
limited omniscient narrator
narrator who isn't in the story but knows what some of the characters are thinking
unreliable narrator
one who has given readers cause to doubt the validity of his or her words
antagonist
opposing character in a story who the protagonist is drawn into conflict
Plot
sequence of events with a beginning, middle, and end
The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
tells the story of Ichabod Crane and his hapless attempt to win the heart and hand of Katrina Van Tassel in the context of a comical ghost story. Ichabod comes to Sleepy Hollow, New York, from his home state of Connecticut, to be the schoolmaster of the village. Sleepy Hollow is a small, very quiet town said to be under some kind of enchantment. Its residents all seem to move a little slower, daydream a little more, and be more prone to believe in the supernatural. Sleepy Hollow, maybe for that reason or maybe because its residents are almost all descended from its original Dutch settlers, has more than its fair share of supernatural occurrences, or at least stories of them. Sleepy Hollow's most famous supernatural phenomenon is the ghost of the Headless Horseman, said to be a Hessian soldier who lost his head to a cannon ball during the Revolutionary War. The Horseman is seen most often riding by the church, where local historians say he was buried. He is believed to be always in search of his head. Ichabod is fascinated by this story, being especially interested (and prone to believe) in tales of the supernatural. Ichabod is a strict teacher but not a cruel one, doling out his punishment of the rod only to those who can handle it. Ichabod makes almost no money, and it is customary in the village for the farmers whose sons he teaches to feed and board him in rotation. Along with this, Ichabod makes some extra money teaching singing lessons—he prides himself greatly on his magnificent voice. This arrangement keeps him employed and gives him many opportunities to hear ghost stories from the farmers' wives and eat meals with the farmers' daughters. He also has an insatiable hunger and a taste for the finer things. Katrina Van Tassel, a beautiful young woman of eighteen, is one of Ichabod's students. She is also the only child of Baltus Van Tassel, one of the more successful farmers in the area. Ichabod is quickly taken in by her flirtatious charms, but it is when he first visits her father's abundant farm that he considers himself truly in love with her, or at least her likely inheritance. He quickly sets out to win her hand in marriage, coming by the Van Tassel farm frequently to woo her. Ichabod is not alone in his attentions to Katrina, however. Her beauty, charm, and wealth have entranced many other men in the village, especially the formidable Brom Van Brunt, also known as Brom Bones. Brom is notorious for his boisterous personality, love of pranks, and great skill at horseback riding—all of which make him something of a village hero. Brom has already scared off many of Katrina's other suitors, but Ichabod is harder to shake, avoiding physical confrontation with Brom, which is Brom's main method of intimidation. Without that option, Brom turns to his next best skill—pranks. He fills the school house with smoke, trains a dog to follow Ichabod around howling, and sets many other pranks to frustrate and humiliate Ichabod. One day, a messenger comes to the schoolhouse to invite Ichabod to a party at the Van Tassels'. At this party, he apparently finds himself the best man in the house, and when the party is over he stays behind. For some reason, however, Katrina disappoints him. Ichabod leaves crestfallen. He finds the path home dark and eerily quiet. He tries to keep himself from getting too scared, but soon after he has passed the possibly haunted Major Andre's tree, he sees a large, dark figure looming nearby. It does not respond to his call, but as he passes by, it starts to move and joins him on the path riding a large, dark horse. Ichabod is greatly disturbed and tries to shake off his pursuer, but he fails. Finally, he notices that the rider has no head on his shoulders; the head seems to be sitting on the saddle in front of the man. Ichabod tries to get his decrepit horse to run home as fast as it can, but he is not a skilled rider and the horse resists. They end up by the church, the scene of most of the stories of the Headless Horseman, and Ichabod races to the bridge where the ghost is said to disappear and not follow. Ichabod crosses the bridge and looks back, but he sees the Horseman, instead of disappearing, hurl his detached head at him. It knocks Ichabod off of his horse. The next day, Ichabod's horse returns to its owner's farm, but there is no sign of Ichabod. A search party finds hoof prints and Ichabod's hat, with a smashed pumpkin left next to it. Ichabod is never heard from again in Sleepy Hollow, although later on it seems that he is alive elsewhere and has told his story. Some of the townspeople believe that Brom Bones pulled off a great prank—which put Brom in the final position to marry Katrina—but the old women and local folklore maintain that he was taken by the Headless Horseman.
Bartleby, the Scrivener
the Lawyer, who runs a law practice on Wall Street in New York. The Lawyer begins by noting that he is an "elderly man," and that his profession has brought him "into more than ordinary contact with what would seem an interesting and somewhat singular set of men the law-copyists, or scriveners." While the Lawyer knows many interesting stories of such scriveners, he bypasses them all in favor of telling the story of Bartleby, whom he finds to be the most interesting of all the scriveners. Bartleby is, according to the Lawyer, "one of those beings of whom nothing is ascertainable, except from the original sources, and, in his case, those were very small." Before introducing Bartleby, the Lawyer describes the other scriveners working in his office at this time. The first is Turkey, a man who is about the same age as the Lawyer (around sixty). Turkey has been causing problems lately. He is an excellent scrivener in the morning, but as the day wears on—particularly in the afternoon—he becomes more prone to making mistakes, dropping ink plots on the copies he writes. He also becomes more flushed, with an ill temper, in the afternoon. The Lawyer tries to help both himself and Turkey by asking Turkey only to work in the mornings, but Turkey argues with him, so the Lawyer simply gives him less important documents in the afternoon. The second worker is Nippers, who is much younger and more ambitious than Turkey. At twenty-five years old, he is a comical opposite to Turkey, because he has trouble working in the morning. Until lunchtime, he suffers from stomach trouble, and constantly adjusts the height of the legs on his desk, trying to get them perfectly balanced. In the afternoons, he is calmer and works steadily. The last employee—not a scrivener, but an errand-boy—is Ginger Nut. His nickname comes from the fact that Turkey and Nippers often send him to pick up ginger nut cakes for them. The Lawyer spends some time describing the habits of these men and then introduces Bartleby. Bartleby comes to the office to answer an ad placed by the Lawyer, who at that time needed more help. The Lawyer hires Bartleby and gives him a space in the office. At first, Bartleby seems to be an excellent worker. He writes day and night, often by no more than candlelight. His output is enormous, and he greatly pleases the Lawyer. One day, the Lawyer has a small document he needs examined. He calls Bartleby in to do the job, but Bartleby responds: "I would prefer not to." This answer amazes the Lawyer, who has a "natural expectancy of instant compliance." He is so amazed by this response, and the calm way Bartleby says it, that he cannot even bring himself to scold Bartleby. Instead, he calls in Nippers to examine the document instead.
unified plot
the action is more or less continuous and takes place in a carefully limited locale
Point of view
the angle of considering things, which shows us the opinion, or feelings of the individuals involved in a situation
Rising action
the essential middle of a story
Theme
the overall meaning a reader derives from a story
falling action
the release of tension in a story
first person
the telling of a story in the grammatical first person "I"
setting
the time and place of a story
Exposition
the who, what, when, and where elements needed for a reader to follow the story
static character
unchanging character
intuition, imagination, and feeling
what did romantics emphasize?
postpartum depression
what do people believe Charlotte Perkins Gillman suffered from?
Gothic Literature
what is Poe known as the Father of?
The Poe Toaster
what is the thing for Poe's homage?
mom and grandma
who raised chopin?
Herbert Giles
who translated Independence?
