American short stories

author of many novels, short stories, and poetry. He was born and raised in the U.S. by his Mexican American family. In his writings, he creates characters and settings influenced or surrounded by cultures and ideas similar to those he grew up and lived with. He includes common characteristics of the Mexican American people that he became familiar with growing up. Growing up Soto’s life at home wasn’t ideal and he never had high hopes for it. Soto’s family was Mexican American so he was born into a

Brownies ZZ Parker’s short story, Brownies, is set in the suburban area of Atlanta at an all-girls camp (Camp Crescendo). Parker chose to narrate the story through one of the girls from the all black brownies troop, Laurel, who seems to be a lot more mature than her friends. The story is not like our usual discussion of racism, instead it is reverse racism in which a group of black girls racial hate and prejudice towards a group of white girls (Brownies troop 909). Throughout the story, one of the major

American Gothic literature is one of the most fascinating pieces of literature to read. The short story, “The Reaper’s Image”, is about a museum manager, Spangler, who wishes to purchase a so-called “haunted” mirror even after hearing the rumors about it. When they get to the mirror, Spangler tells himself and Mr. Carlin that he saw a something in the mirror because he does not want to admit that he saw the reaper. Just like the rumors of the glass Mr. Carlin told him about, Spangler leaves the room

Pieces of You is a fictional novel written by Daniel Armand Lee, comprised of ten short stories taking place in the late 1990s and early 2000s. The stories are personal accounts by different men in New York, ranging from young students to adults, written in Lee’s undergraduate years at Stanford University. Each short story allows the reader to connect with the narrator in varying hardships of life. The first short story, “Andante,” tells of the growing tensions between Jonathan, a college student attending

America is positive, others are not so positive. In Shirley Jackson’s short story, “The Lottery,” the tradition costs people their lives. Therefore giving winning the lottery a negative connotation. Through depictions of the nervousness of the adults and children as well as her descriptions of the objects associated with the lottery, Shirley Jackson, in her short story, suggests the horror of violence that concludes the story. Through depictions of the nervousness of the adults and children, Jackson

Irving” 141). Using “the pseudonym Jonathan Oldstyle”, he contributed “satirical letters …to a newspaper owned by his brother Peter” (141). The Sketch Book of Geoffrey Crayon, Gent was published “under the pseudonym Geoffrey Crayon” (May 520). The story, “Rip Van Winkle”, was credited as “a posthumous writing of Diedrich Knickerbocker” (Irving 1). Irving decided to “remain a bachelor” (Neider xii), when his fiancée, Matilda Hoffman died in 1809 (“Washington Irving”

Symbolism in short stories is when a person or object represents something else other than its literal meaning. Throughout “Young Goodman Brown,” “Hills Like White Elephants,” and “The Yellow Wallpaper,” there are many allegorical moments. In “Young Goodman Brown,” there was many people and objects with symbolic meanings. His wife Faith is an example of this symbolism. How she was “aptly named” Faith shows her representation for his trust in her and faith their marriage. He calls her lovingly names

“A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty, published in the Atlantic Monthly during February 1941, portrays an elderly, southern, African American woman’s endurance through a lengthy journey from her home to Natchez, Mississippi to obtain medicine for her ill grandson, who has lye poisoning. Throughout the journey, the protagonist, Phoenix Jackson, confronts several conflicts testing her. The tale describes the encounters of Phoenix Jackson during her travels using literary devices such as symbolism, conflict

Wolff's "Say Yes"      The author of the short story "Say Yes," Tobias Wolff, uses a number of symbols to express his different views on racism throughout the story. Wolff uses this literary device to express a message to his readers. Symbols, something representing something else by association resemblance or convention, are used efficiently in this short story. Wolff uses colors to symbolize a hatred for an alternative race in this short story. The husband more than once makes reference

Edgar Allan Poe was an American writer, editor, and literary critic, and his is best known for his poetry and short stories that include unfortunate scenarios with his characters that are all references from his own life; because of this it is necessary to apply a biographical approach to poe’s work. The repeated motif in Poe’s stories and poems is death. The time period Poe lived was common for diseases and deaths almost everyday; because of this Poe lost many loved ones including his parents and