Modern Short Stories

1. Modern Short Stories Common Theme: Alienation of the individual from the rest of society

2. Ernest Hemingway • Used his own experiences as an ambulance driver in WWI and later as a journalist during WWII • Felt war was the ultimate setting to observe human nature and “grace under pressure” • Explored how soldiers adapted to civilian life after service • Sense of alienation from civilians—can’t express what they experienced during the war and experiences can’t be understood by those who did not participate • Restlessness and dissatisfaction with life at home—life after the war will never be as exciting or dangerous

3. Ernest Hemingway • Style--Plain style (20th century version) • Hemingway wanted to write characters who spoke like regular people • Rebelled against stream of consciousness • Includes • Syntax: sentence structure is simple, straightforward sentences—no complicated clauses • Diction: word choice • Slang • Short, simple dialogue • Close attention to detail • Tone: Author’s attitude toward subject • Non judgmental; journalistic—observes and reports

4. William Faulkner • All his stories focused on the land and the people of northern Mississippi, won the Nobel Prize for Lit. in 1949 • Southern Gothic Tales—includes elements of • Disturbed or mentally unbalanced characters • Strange or terrifying events • Gloomy run-down settings • Style—made Faulkner difficult to read and cost him a bigger audience • Novels and stories were in stream of consciousness • Attempts to capture the moment by moment flow of thought in a character’s mind • Both tragic and comic overtones • Flashbacks and Events told out of chronological order—Reader must be able to piece together seemingly random events

5. William Faulkner • Themes • Mainly focused on the American South as a microcosm for following universal themes: • The passage of time—some adapt and others are left behind • Passions of the heart—are sometimes the most dangerous and ugliest of desires

6. William Faulkner • Literary Devices • 1st person narrator—represents the voice of the ENTIRE town of Jefferson • Preserves the manners of Southern life at the turn of the 20th century, including racist sentiments of whites toward African Americans • Narrator will not tell the events of Miss Emily’s life in chronological order

7. “A Rose for Emily” • Characterization • Physical descriptions • In her 60s—”a small, fat woman in black”, “she looked bloated”, “her eyes, lost in the fatty ridges of her face, looked like two small pieces of coal pressed into a lump of dough”—this is while she lives (secretly) with Homer’s decaying body upstairs • In her 20’s, when her dad was still alive—”a slender figure in white” • At 30, after her dad dies—”her hair was cut short, making her look like a girl again • When dating Homer (and buying the poison)—”a slight woman, thinner than usual, with cold, haughty black eyes in a face the flesh of with was strained across the temples”—she is desperate and losing it as she has realized Homer won’t marry her • In her 40s and 50s—”she had grown fat”, “her hair was turning gray” What does Miss Emily look like over time?

8. “A Rose for Emily” Characterization—Actions and Behavior • When her dad dies—she denies the death for 3 days and keeps the body in the house with her. • She’s a shut in for a while but re-emerges looking like a girl again • Dating Homer—”She carried her head high enough”, as if having a man gave her the confidence she needed to restore her aristocratic attitude • When Homer returns—she is not seen for some time, only at the windows in the house • Her final years—she totally isolates herself from the town, “refused to let them fasten metal numbers above her door”

9. “A Rose for Emily” • Foreshadowing • Emily’s response to her father’s death foreshadows…. • That she might keep Homer’s body later • The bad smell around Emily’s house foreshadows…. • The discovery of Homer’s body in the bedroom • The purchase of the poison foreshadows… • The murder of Homer

10. “A Rose for Emily” Sequencing the Events in Chronological Order • Emily’s father won’t allow her to date • Emily’s father dies • Homer Barron arrives in town • Emily asks the druggist for poison • Emily’s cousins visit; she purchases toilet set, suit, nightshirt • Homer Barron leaves/disappears from town. • The men secretly apply lime around her house to combat the smell • Emily gives painting lessons to town’s children • The new aldermen visit Emily about taxes • Miss Emily dies • Homer’s body is discovered

11. Katherine Anne Porter • Regarded as one of the greatest short story writers of the 20th century • Personal struggle to define herself as an individual, a Southern Woman, and a writer shaped all of her stories. • Started her only novel, Ship of Fools, in 1941—published in 1962: received the National Book Award and the Pulitzer Prize

12. “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” • Style: Stream of Consciousness • Narrative follows the thoughts of an 80 year old woman on her death bed • Free association of ideas, drifting in and out of consciousness • Both painful and pleasant memories • Memory of being jilted by George is most painful of all; “That was Hell. She knew Hell when she saw it”.

13. “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” • Discuss with your table groups and respond to the following • What was the pinnacle of the American Dream for a young woman at the turn of the 20th century? • Social Context of Story—Why was it so horrible to be “jilted” (left at the altar)? • As a result of her eventual marriage and the early death of her husband, how did Granny challenge traditional female roles? Give three examples • How is Granny Weatherall alienated from the world around her? • What is the symbolism behind the main character’s name? • Who “jilts” Granny a second time during this story? Who’s betrayal can she never forgive?

14. John Steinbeck • Grew up in Salinas Valley in California • Influenced by the suffering and exploitation of migrant farm workers • Led him to write his two most famous novels—Of Mice and Men and The Grapes of Wrath • Witnessed horrors and aftermath of WWII as a news correspondent • 6th American writer to win the Nobel Prize for Literature