1. Short Story Summaries and Review

2. Short Story: “The Necklace” Author: Guy de Maupassant Characters: Mme. Loisel—wife Mme. Forestier—friend M. Loisel—husband Plot Tidbit: Mme. Loisel is married to a middle class clerk and is unhappy with her life. She dreams of being rich and admired. M. Loisel gets invited to a fancy ball, but Mme. Loisel is still unhappy. M. Loisel gives his wife the 400 francs that he had saved for a rifle, so she could buy a nice dress. Still unhappy, Mme. Loisel borrows a diamond necklace from her rich friend, Mme. Forestier. The ball was everything Mme. Loisel dreamed of, and she was envied and admired all night. The Loisels left the part at 4:00 a.m. and realized the necklace was lost only after getting home. They told Mme. Forestier they were getting the necklace repaired to get enough time to buy a replacement (36,000 francs). M. Loisel used 18,000 francs from his inheritance and borrowed the rest. It took the Loisels ten years to pay the debt. They lived in poverty. After the ten years, Mme. Loisel told Mme. Forestier the truth about the necklace. Mme. Forestier informed Mme. Loisel the necklace was fake (worth only 500 francs). Literary Values Gained: Irony Surprise/Twist Ending Lessons Learned/Themes Always tell the whole truth, especially in a crisis. See the good things in life instead of dwelling on what you don’t have.

3. Short Story: “The Most Dangerous Game” Author: Richard Connell Characters: Sanger Rainsford General Zaroff Ivan Whitney Plot Tidbit: Rainsford is on a yacht and hears gunshots in the distance. He falls overboard and ends up on an island. He finds a mansion owned by General Zaroff. General Zaroff is a hospitable host, giving Rainsford a place to sleep and food to eat. General Zaroff and Rainsford talk about hunting. General Zaroff claims he was bored with hunting, so he had to invent a new animal to hunt. The animal is humans. General Zaroff collects the sailors he hunts from shipwrecks and keeps them in the cellar until he is ready to hunt them. Rainsford refuses to participate in the hunt, so General Zaroff gives Rainsford the same choice as he gives the sailors—be hunted or see Ivan. Rainsford manages to stay alive by using his hunting skills. In the end, Rainsford surprises Zaroff and kills him. Literary Values Gained: Conflicts-Internal: self and External: man, nature, society Man v. Man: Rainsford/Zaroff (Zaroff hunting Rainsford) Man v. Self: Rainsford (Nerve, nerve, nerve—fear) Zaroff (boredom/lack of fulfillment) Man v. Society: Zaroff (hunting humans) Man v. Nature: Rainsford (sea, dogs, jungle) Lessons Learned: Value/respect life Value systems are different for individuals because of environment and experiences Question ourselves and our beliefs

4. Short Story: “The Sniper” Author: Liam O’Flaherty Characters: The Republican sniper The enemy gunman Plot Tidbit: There is a civil war in Ireland (1920’s), and the Republicans and Free Staters are at war. The sniper is on top of the roof and lights a cigarette. An enemy gunman from across the street shoots at the sniper but doesn’t hit him. An old woman on the street shows a man in an armored car where the sniper is. The sniper shoots and kills both of them. The gunman across the street fires at the sniper again and hits him in the arm. The sniper fools the gunman into thinking he is dead, so the gunman stands up. The sniper, then, shoots and kills the gunman. The gunman’s body falls into the street. The sniper is curious who his enemy was and whether he knows him. The sniper turns over the dead man and discovers his brother. Literary Values Gained: Suspense Surprise ending Lessons Learned: Fighting for what you believe in? War…

5. Short Story: “The Possibility of Evil” Author: Shirley Jackson Characters: Miss Adela Strangeworth Plot Tidbit: Miss Strangeworth is respected in her small town, and she speaks kindly to the people of her town. Miss Strangeworth grows beautiful roses, but she will not allow people to have them. Because she feels she needs to protect her town from evil, Miss Strangeworth anonymously sends letters to people stating things she believes are true. Although she intends to inform people of “evil” or “wrong-doings,” she actually spreads untruths about people. One evening, Miss Strangeworth accidentally drops one of her letters at the post office. Linda and Dave are upset and conversing about why Dave is no longer allowed at Linda’s house (unknowingly victims of one of Miss Strangeworth’s letters). Dave finds Miss Strangeworth’s dropped letter and decides to deliver it for Miss Strangeworth. The next morning Miss Strangeworth finds a letter in her mail that reads, “Look out at what used to be your roses.” Literary Values Gained: Suspense Surprise Ending Irony Symbolism—rose and Miss Strangeworth Direct and Indirect Characterization Lessons Learned/Themes Good intentions can lead to wrong-doings. Don’t say or write something until you have considered the feelings of everyone involved. Don’t mistake gossip and rumors for truth. Don’t set unrealistic expectations of people.

6. Short Story: “The Censors” Author: Luisa Valenzuela Character Juan Plot Tidbit Juan receives Mariana’s address and writes and mails her a letter without thinking about what he is writing. In Juan’s country, mail is censored. Juan worries he may have put Mariana and himself in danger. He decides to become a censor, even though he doesn’t like censorship. While he is working as a censor, he reports a co-worker for attempting to organize a strike. This gets him promoted. Juan is a very good censor, and he becomes proud of the good job he is doing. Juan becomes consumed with his job. When he finally finds his letter, forgets his goal of intercepting the letter and censors it. He is killed the next day. Literary Values Gained Irony: Dramatic, Situational, and Verbal—WKS Author’s Purpose—Inform, Persuade, Express Opinion, Entertain Surprise Ending Suspense Lessons Learned Don’t get so wrapped up and consumed with something that you forget your goals. Good intentions can lead to bad results.

7. Short Story: “The Scarlet Ibis” Author: James Hurst Characters: The big brother, narrator Doodle Plot Tidbit: The narrator is a young boy who has a brother, Doodle, who is small and sickly. The narrator is forced to take Doodle with him to play. The narrator is disappointed with Doodle because he is not able to do the things a normal boy is able to do. The narrator sometimes scares Doodle just to be mean. Yet, the narrator also shares his favorite place, the swamp, with Doodle. Doodle is five and doesn’t walk. This embarrasses the narrator, so he decides to teach Doodle to walk. By fall, Doodle is able to walk across a room. Because the narrator doesn’t want Doodle to be different when he starts school, he pushes Doodle to run, swim, climb trees, fight, and row a boat. Doodle isn’t fully capable of doing these things. One day, the family discovers a red bird, a scarlet ibis, near their house. The bird dies, and Doodle is upset and buries it in the garden. Later that day, the narrator makes Doodle row the boat. A storm hits and it rains hard. The narrator is angry that Doodle is still weak and different, and he runs home ahead of Doodle. When he goes to find Doodle, Doodle is dead. He fell during the storm. Literary Values Gained: Foreshadowing—the bird dying Lessons Learned Unrealistic expectations and love can cause people to be cruel to people they love. Pride can blind love. Cherish life because it is fragile.

8. Short Story: “The Cask of Amontillado” Author: Edgar Allan Poe Characters: Montresor Fortunato Plot Tidbit: Fortunato had insulted Montresor, so Montresor decided he would seek revenge. Montresor approached Fortunato during the carnival and mentioned his purchase of Amontillado. Montresor manipulated the drunk Fortunato to check out the pipe of Amontillado by mentioning Luchesi, Fortunato’s competition. Fortunato went to Montresor’s mansion and entered the catacombs. Several times, Montresor suggested Fortunato leave the catacombs because of his cough. Fortunato, however, insisted on helping Montresor with the Amontillado. Deep within the catacombs, Montresor chains Fortunato inside a recess of a wall. Montresor, then, builds a wall with mortar and stone, sealing Fortunato to die. Literary Values Gained: Mood Point of view Suspense Fiction/Non-fiction connection—Poe’s ideas came from a true story (215) Lessons learned: Intoxication leads to lack of judgment and vulnerability. Smiling friends could be enemies. Revenge—What kind of person are you?