 Short Stories Tuesday, 31 March, 2015

You will need to pick one of these AWESOME short stories!  The Lottery  The Tell-Tale Heart  The Sneetches  The Landlady  The Necklace  A Worn Path

The Lottery, Shirley Jackson  Dystopian (explores social and political structures).  Published in  Said to have inspired The Hunger Games.  The macabre subject matter of “The Lottery” caused outrage and controversy when it appeared in the New Yorker in 1948, but many critics now consider it to be Jackson’s most famous work.

The Tell-Tale Heart, Edgar Allan Poe  Psychological thriller.  Published in  Inspired ‘The Tell-Tale Head’ -E08 S01 The Simpsons.  Event this is one of Poe's shortest stories, it is nevertheless a profound and, at times, ambiguous investigation of a man's paranoia.  Kat Von D named her cat Poe, after Edgar Allan Poe!

The Sneetches, Dr Seuss  Children’s Literature.  Published in  Dubbed one of the Top 100 picture books of all time.  There a many different interpretations of this short story. Some say that Dr Seuss what commenting on the events of the Holocaust. Others say, it was a commentary on racism, having been published after Dr. Martin Luther King’s, “I had a dream” speech, while others say the story is about social class. What do you think?

The Landlady, Roald Dahl  Horror.  Published in  This incredibly creepy story has been dramatized into a number of TV series’ episodes!  This short story makes a big impact. The beauty is in reading between the lines – what isn’t said is scarier that what is said. A great choice if you want chills running down your spine!

The Necklace, Guy de Maupassant  Mystery.  Published in  This short story is Ms. V’s favourite!  This short story is one of the finest examples of realist fiction, a style of writing first appearing in the mid nineteenth century that sought to expose the grittier realities of ordinary people’s lives.

A Worn Path, Eudora Whelty  Heroic Journey.  Published in  At first the story appears simple, but its mythological undertones and ambiguity gives a depth and richness that has been praised by critics. Welty has said that she was inspired to write the story after seeing an old African-American woman walking alone across the southern landscape.

Pick your short story!  Sit at the table with the short story you would most like to explore over the next 7 weeks,  Volunteer to read the story to your group (or take turns – your choice).  Each member of your group is to complete a bookmark.  Once your bookmark has been completed, please put it in the silver tray, with your peg attached to it.