Short stories are a form of fictional prose that typically focuses on a single character or a small group of characters. They are known for their brevity and ability to convey a powerful message in a short amount of time. Short stories often explore complex themes ...Read More
Brief Description of Short Story
Short stories are a form of fictional prose that typically focuses on a single character or a small group of characters. They are known for their brevity and ability to convey a powerful message in a short amount of time. Short stories often explore complex themes and emotions, making them a valuable literary form for both writers and readers.
Importance of Writing Essays on This Topic
Writing essays about short stories allows students and writers to closely analyze the elements of storytelling, character development, and thematic exploration. It helps to develop critical thinking and analytical skills, as well as the ability to express ideas and interpretations effectively. Additionally, exploring short stories through essays can deepen one's understanding of human experiences and societal issues.
Tips on Choosing a Good Topic
- Consider the themes: Choose a topic that explores a specific theme or idea presented in the short story.
- Character analysis: Focus on the analysis of a particular character's development, motives, or conflicts within the short story.
- Narrative techniques: Explore the narrative structure, point of view, or symbolism used in the short story to craft an engaging topic.
Essay Topics
1. Argumentative
Essay Topics
- The impact of symbolism in "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson.
- Exploring moral dilemmas in "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe.
2. Reflective
Essay Topics
- How "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman portrays mental illness.
- The use of irony and satire in "A Good Man is Hard to Find" by Flannery O'Connor.
3. Comparative
Essay Topics
- Contrasting the themes of love and loss in "The Gift of the Magi" by O. Henry and "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant.
- Comparing the use of setting and atmosphere in "Hills Like White Elephants" by Ernest Hemingway and "The Storm" by Kate Chopin.
Concluding Thought
Exploring short stories through essay writing offers a unique opportunity to delve into the complexities of human experiences, societal issues, and the art of storytelling. By choosing engaging topics and critically analyzing the elements of short stories, writers and students can gain a deeper appreciation for the power of this literary form.
The short story, The Penal Colony, demonstrates various literary elements within the text. The three that I’ll be focusing on to explain in further detail includes the theme, the characters and imagery & symbolism. Although The Penal Colony was written in the third person, the...
In this excerpt of Walden, Henry David Thoreau addresses the millions of people that “are awake enough for physical labor” and tries to explain to them to properly open their eyes and appreciate nature more. He justifies nature’s importance through rhetorical questions, then through symbolism,...
Faulkner’s ‘Barn Burning’ is a character-driven story, as what moves it forward is Sarty’s internal growth as a character. We see him begin as a young child with strong trust in his beloved father and end as a young boy beginning to think for himself...
For years, society carried expectations for tasks that were appropriate for different sexes. The perception of male and female genders as different in terms of abilities led to the idea that women would fit working in the home while men went out in search of...
In Raymond Carver’s short story “A Small, Good Thing,” the Baker’s helplessness is caused by his apparent class status and by an unknown financial stability, which results in a sense of isolation and loneliness. The baker resolves his sense of helplessness when he realizes that...
The thirteenth of fifteen stories in James Joyce’s Dubliners collection, “A Mother,” can be seen as something of a break between the heavy, serious vignettes in its vicinity. It can be seen as a story to chuckle at; after all, the title character is an...
The Big Bad Wolf, Prince Charming, and The Beast: many fairy tales provide images of men varying from the courageous to the very evil. Each tale encodes messages for young girls about men, marriage, or sex as a type of socialization. Charles Perrault’s traditional version...
In Thomas Pynchon’s The Crying of Lot 49, standard hierarchical structures are abandoned in a setting of postmodern cultural chaos. The use of fragmented pop culture contributes to many aspects of the book, namely the sense of combined freedom in the search for meaning. Moreover,...
The opening words of the story “MS. Found in a Bottle” by Edgar Allan Poe are a quote from the French opera Atys, “Qui n’a plus qu’un moment a vivre N’a plus rien a dissimuler” (Poe 1). This translates roughly to the idea that a...
The crowd of villagers threw the stones at Tessie with all their might. “NO! Stop it! Please!” Tessie shouted with tears in her eyes. ”What’s happening?” Little Davy asked Mr. Hutchinson. With tears falling down his face, Mr.Hutchinson said “Oh, it’s nothing you have to...
How is it that one’s purpose or direction in life always seems to be predetermined? Nowhere is there a check point where it is appropriate to pick what one’s hopes and aspirations are and magically expect them to happen. The only plausible explanation for this...
The Painted Door is a short story written by Canadian author Sinclair Ross in 1941. The story is about a lonely farmer’s wife one winter, as her husband goes off for the day to check on his elderly father five miles away in the middle...
PROLOGUE Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay “How dare you respond to me like that? That’s arrant nonsense!! You just need to follow my instructions or we...
People don’t reveal they’re true self until its too late. When time goes by people finally show their true colors. In the short story by Joyce Carol Oates,” Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” Arnold Friend is portrayed as something like the devil...
On Wednesday October 10th, the Toronto Stock Exchange (TSX) saw its most significant decrease in eight months. The Composite index closed at 2. 15 per cent lower at 15, 517. 40, representing a drop of 336. 65. As the date for legalization of Cannabis approaches,...
Practical learning can be explained as the ideal avenue towards learning real-world experiences and providing ideas on how one can cope or change the current or future way of life. In the short story ‘The Lesson’ by Toni Cade Bambara, Miss Moore allows the selected...
Living in the 21th century, with unprecedented material abundance, we post-modern people, on the one hand, feel lucky to be blessed with the glories of this productive industrial era; on the other hand, however, we are frequently confronted with the problem of relocating ourselves in...
Most of Alice Munro’s major characters are women, whose social and interior lives are portrayed in great detail by their author. All of these women tend to give the reader an overview of what being a woman signifies in a society mostly ruled by men....
What happens to a dream deferred? According to James Joyce, perhaps nothing. Illustrated in his short story Eveline, this Dublin-born author both poses and responds to the age old-question of comfort versus risk. In a time of upheaval throughout the continent, Eveline serves as an...
Joel Chandler Harris’s short story “Free Joe and the Rest of the World” has long been classified as a prominent example of Plantation Tradition literature. Literature in this tradition often portrays African-Americans as clueless, “shiftless” beings who need white supervision to be happy and productive....
Through discovering a new perspective, an individual may become able to re-evaluate the values of their world and gain a new insight into their own beliefs or morals. These discoveries are meaningful on a personal and societal level, as they facilitate change. In his poem...
The potential for self-discovery, complemented by the capacity for transformation, lies latent within each man. When circumstances instigate a strong stimulus for change, man finds a way to actuate his innate potential. In Joseph Conrad’s The Secret Sharer, the overly rational captain finds himself lacking...
“ Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is customized to cater to your unique preferences + experts online Get my essay Marmais van der Vyver is the protagonist, an Afrikaner farmer who accidentally kills one of his farm boys. Other characters...
The Crusades were a two-hundred-year battle between the Christians and the Muslims the over control of the Holy Lands that were important to both religions. The Crusades were a series of Holy Wars that were fought between the European Christians and the Middle Eastern Muslims,...
Introduction The short story ‘’Rock‘’, written by Lindiwe Nkutha, is about Zibusiso, a girl that lives and grows up in poverty. Zibusiso stays in a shack in Soweto with her family. Zibusiso is called ‘’ rock “by the kids in the neighbourhood, because she is...
The faint sound of people talking, to the calmness and ghostly silence, was suddenly disrupted by a thundering sound. Out of nowhere a bullet soared in front of me, I crashed into shelves of cans causing chaos all throughout the grocery store. People were running...
The story Sister Lilith by Fanonne Jeffers is written in African American language where the narrator, ‘Lilith’ tries to reclaim her identity. The storyline is Afrofuturistic because human creation started in Africa and the concept of feminism was introduced by Lilith and it is now...
One of the hardest things one has to do in life is make decisions. When one is little, they are simple decisions like what to eat for breakfast. However, as one gets older the decisions become harder to make, and have a larger impact, whether...
In Thomas Mann’s “Death in Venice,” Gustave von Aschenbach is described as “the watcher” (73), who becomes interested in the young Tadzio, eventually leading to a dangerous obsession that causes his death. In the novella, Mann uses Aschenbach’s sudden passionate fascination with the young Tadzio...
In the works of Daisy Miller and The Beast in the Jungle, author Henry James provides readers with multiple explanations as to why it is important for one to live a full life. These two novellas share many broad similarities, including central thematic focuses, a...