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The purpose of Short Stories for Students (SSfS) is to provide readers with a guide to understanding, enjoying, and studying short stories by giving them easy access to information about the work. Part of Gale’s ‘‘For Students’’ Literature line,SSfS is specifically designed to meet the curricular needs of high school and undergraduate college students and their teachers, as well as the interests of general readers and researchers considering specificshort fiction. While each volume contains entries on ‘‘classic’’stories frequently studied in classrooms, there are also entries containing hard-to-find information on contemporary stories, including works by multicultural, international, and women writers.
SHORT STORIES for Students Advisors Susan Allison: Head Librarian, Lewiston High School, Lewiston, Maine. Standards Com- mittee Chairperson for Maine School Library (MASL) Programs. Board member, Julia Adams Morse Memorial Library, Greene, Maine. Advisor to Lewiston Public Library Planning Process. Jennifer Hood: Young Adult/Reference Librar- ian, Cumberland Public Library, Cumber- land, Rhode Island. Certified teacher, Rhode Island. Member of the New England Library Association, Rhode Island Library Associa- tion, and the Rhode Island Educational Media Association. Ann Kearney: Head Librarian and Media Specia- list, Christopher Columbus High School, Miami, Florida, 1982–2002. Thirty-two years as Librarian in various educational institu- tions ranging from grade schools through graduate programs. Library positions at Miami-Dade Community College, the Uni- versity of Miami’s Medical School Library, and Carrollton School in Coconut Grove, Florida. B.A. from University of Detroit, 1967 (magna cum laude); M.L.S., University of Missouri–Columbia, l974. Volunteer Pro- ject Leader for a school in rural Jamaica; volunteer with Adult Literacy programs. Laurie St. Laurent: Head of Adult and Children’s Services, East Lansing Public Library, East Lansing, Michigan, 1994–. M.L.S. from Western Michigan University. Chair of Michigan Library Association’s 1998 Michi- gan Summer Reading Program; Chair of the Children’s Services Division in 2000–2001; and Vice-President of the Association in 2002–2003. Board member of several regio- nal early childhood literacy organizations and member of the Library of Michigan Youth Services Advisory Committee. Heidi Stohs: Instructor in Language Arts, grades 10–12, Solomon High School, Solo- mon, Kansas. Received B.S. from Kansas State University; M.A. from Fort Hays State University. PDF Not Available Due to Copyright Terms PDF Not Available Due to Copyright Terms Table of Contents ADVISORS ii WHY STUDY LITERATURE AT ALL? ix (by Thomas E. Barden) INTRODUCTION xi LITERARY CHRONOLOGY .xv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . xvi CONTRIBUTORS .xviii BROWNIES (by ZZ Packer) .1 Author Biography . . . . . . . . 1 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . . 2 Characters . . . . . . . . . . . 4 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 Historical Context . . . . . . . . 7 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . . 9 Criticism 10 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 Further Reading . . . . . . . . . 16 CAROLINE’S WEDDING (by Edwidge Danticat) .17 Author Biography . . . . . . . . 17 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . . 18 Characters . . . . . . . . . . . 20 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 v Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 Historical Context . . . . . . . . 26 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . . 27 Criticism 29 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . 41 Further Reading . . . . . . . . . 41 THE DIAMOND AS BIG AS THE RITZ (by F. Scott Fitzgerald) .42 Author Biography . . . . . . . . 43 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . . 44 Characters . . . . . . . . . . . 45 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . 47 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48 Historical Context . . . . . . . . 50 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . . 50 Criticism 51 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . . 76 Further Reading . . . . . . . . . 76 AGIRLLIKEPHYL (by Patricia Highsmith) .77 Author Biography . . . . . . . . 77 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . . 78 Characters . . . . . . . . . . . 80 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81 Historical Context . . . . . . . . 82 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . . 83 Criticism 84 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Further Reading . . . . . . . . 108 THE GIRLS (by Joy Williams) 109 Author Biography . . . . . . . 109 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . 110 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 111 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 113 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 114 Historical Context . . . . . . . 114 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . 115 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 116 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 124 Further Reading . . . . . . . . 124 HERE’S YOUR HAT WHAT’S YOUR HURRY (by Elizabeth McCracken ) . 125 Author Biography . . . . . . . 125 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . 126 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 127 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 129 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 130 Historical Context . . . . . . . 130 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . 131 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 132 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 142 Further Reading . . . . . . . . 142 LAST NIGHT (by James Salter) 143 Author Biography . . . . . . . 143 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . 144 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 146 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 147 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 148 Historical Context . . . . . . . 149 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . 151 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 152 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 164 Further Reading . . . . . . . . 165 A NURSE’S STORY (by Peter Baida) 166 Author Biography . . . . . . . 166 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . 167 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 170 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 173 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 174 Historical Context . . . . . . . 174 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . 175 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 176 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Further Reading . . . . . . . . 183 PERFECTION (by Mark Helprin) . 185 Author Biography . . . . . . . 185 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . 187 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 189 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 192 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 193 Historical Context . . . . . . . 194 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . 196 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 198 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 207 Further Reading . . . . . . . . 207 THE PRICE OF EGGS IN CHINA (by Don Lee) . 208 Author Biography . . . . . . . 209 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . 209 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 211 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 212 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 213 Historical Context . . . . . . . 214 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . 214 Table of Contents vi Short Stories for Students: Volume 25 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 216 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 225 Further Reading . . . . . . . . 225 THE REMEMBERER (by Aimee Bender) . 226 Author Biography . . . . . . . 227 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . 227 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 228 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 229 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 230 Historical Context . . . . . . . 230 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . 231 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 232 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 240 Further Reading . . . . . . . . 240 THE SHELL COLLECTOR (by Anthony Doerr) . 241 Author Biography . . . . . . . 241 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . 242 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 244 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 246 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 247 Historical Context . . . . . . . 248 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . 249 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 249 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 260 Further Reading . . . . . . . . 260 TRICKORTREAT (by Padgett Powell) . 261 Author Biography . . . . . . . 261 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . 262 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 264 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 265 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 266 Historical Context . . . . . . . 266 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . 268 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 270 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 286 Further Reading . . . . . . . . 286 WHAT I SAW FROM WHERE I STOOD (by Marisa Silver) . 288 Author Biography . . . . . . . 288 Plot Summary . . . . . . . . . 289 Characters . . . . . . . . . . 290 Themes . . . . . . . . . . . 291 Style . . . . . . . . . . . . 292 Historical Context . . . . . . . 292 Critical Overview . . . . . . . . 293 Criticism. . . . . . . . . . . 294 Sources . . . . . . . . . . . 303 Further Reading . . . . . . . . 303 Glossary of Literary Terms . . . . 305 Cumulative Author/Title Index . . . 317 Cumulative Nationality/ Ethnicity Index. . . . . . . . . 325 Subject/Theme Index . . . . . . 331 Table of Contents Short Stories for Students: Volume 25 vii Why Study Literature At All? Short Stories for Students is designed to provide readers with information and discussion about a wide range of important contemporary and his- torical works of short fiction, and it does that job very well. However, I want to use this guest fore- word to address a question that it does not take up. It is a fundamental question that is often ignored in high school and college English classes as well as research texts, and one that causes frustration among students at all levels, namely why study literature at all? Isn’t it enough to read a story, enjoy it, and go about one’s business? My answer (to be expected from a literary professional, I suppose) is no. It is not enough. It is a start; but it is not enough. Here’s why. First, literature is the only part of the educa- tional curriculum that deals directly with the actual world of lived experience. The philoso- pher Edmund Husserl used the apt German term die Lebenswelt, ‘‘the living world,’’ to denote this realm. All the other content areas of the modern American educational system avoid the subjective, present reality of everyday life. Science (both the natural and the social varieties) objectifies, the fine arts create and/or perform, history reconstructs. Only literary study persists in posing those questions we all asked before our schooling taught us to give up on them. Only literature gives credibility to per- sonal perceptions, feelings, dreams, and the ‘‘stream of consciousness’’ that is our inner voice. Literature wonders about infinity, won- ders why God permits evil, wonders what will happen to us after we die. Literature admits that we get our hearts broken, that people sometimes cheat and get away with it, that the world is a strange and probably incomprehensible place. Literature, in other words, takes on all the big and small issues of what it means to be human. So my first answer is that of the humanist we should read literature and study it and take it seriously because it enriches us as human beings. We develop our moral imagination, our capacity to sympathize with other people, and our ability to understand our existence through the experi- ence of fiction. My second answer is more practical. By studying literature we can learn how to explore and analyze texts. Fiction may be about die Lebenswelt, but it is a construct of words put together in a certain order by an artist using the medium of language. By examining and studying those constructions, we can learn about lan- guage as a medium. We can become more sophisticated about word associations and con- notations, about the manipulation of symbols, and about style and atmosphere. We can grasp how ambiguous language is and how important context and texture is to meaning. In our first encounter with a work of literature, of course, we are not supposed to catch all of these things. We are spellbound, just as the writer wanted us ix to be. It is as serious students of the writer’s art that we begin to see how the tricks are done. Seeing the tricks, which is another way of saying ‘‘developing analytical and close reading skills,’’ is important above and beyond its intrin- sic literary educational value. These skills transfer to other fields and enhance critical thinking of any kind. Understanding how language is used to construct texts is powerful knowledge. It makes engineers better problem solvers, lawyers better advocates and courtroom practitioners, politicians better rhetoricians, marketing and advertising agents better sellers, and citizens more aware consumers as well as better partici- pants in democracy. This last point is especially important, because rhetorical skill works both ways when we learn how language is manipulated in the making of texts the result is that we become less susceptible when language is used to manip- ulate us. My third reason is related to the second. When we begin to see literature as created arti- facts of language, we become more sensitive to good writing in general. We get a stronger sense of the importance of individual words, even the sounds of words and word combinations. We begin to understand Mark Twain’s delicious proverb ‘‘The difference between the right word and the almost right word is the difference between lightning and a lightning bug.’’ Getting beyond the ‘‘enjoyment only’’ stage of literature gets us closer to becoming makers of word art ourselves. I am not saying that studying fiction will turn every student into a Faulkner or a Shakespeare. But it will make us more adaptable and effective writers, even if our art form ends up being the office memo or the corporate annual report. Studying short stories, then, can help stu- dents become better readers, better writers, and even better human beings. But I want to close with a warning. If your study and exploration of the craft, history, context, symbolism, or any- thing else about a story starts to rob it of the magic you felt when you first read it, it is time to stop. Take a break, study another subject, shoot some hoops, or go for a run. Love of reading is too important to be ruined by school. The early twentieth century writer Willa Cather, in her novel My Antonia, has her narrator Jack Burden tell a story that he and Antonia heard from two old Russian immigrants when they were teenagers. These immigrants, Pavel and Peter, told about an incident from their youth back in Russia that the narrator could recall in vivid detail thirty years later. It was a harrowing story of a wedding party starting home in sleds and being chased by starving wolves. Hundreds of wolves attacked the group’s sleds one by one as they sped across the snow trying to reach their village. In a horrible revelation, the old Russians revealed that the groom eventually threw his own bride to the wolves to save himself. There was even a hint that one of the old immigrants might have been the groom mentioned in the story. Cather has her narrator conclude with his feelings about the story. ‘‘We did not tell Pavel’s secret to anyone, but guarded it jealously as if the wolves of the Ukraine had gathered that night long ago, and the wedding party had been sacrificed, just to give us a painful and peculiar pleasure.’’ That feeling, that painful and peculiar pleasure, is the most important thing about lit- erature. Study and research should enhance that feeling and never be allowed to overwhelm it. Thomas E. Barden Professor of English and Director of Graduate English Studies, The University of Toledo Why Study Literature At All? x Short Stories for Students: Volume 25 . . 325 Subject/Theme Index . . . . . . 331 Table of Contents Short Stories for Students: Volume 25 vii Why Study Literature At All? Short Stories for Students. reprinted in Short Stories for Students, Vol. 1, ed. Kathleen Wilson (Detroit: Gale, 1997), pp. 89–90. Introduction Short Stories for Students: Volume 25 xiii