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.
Born on December 14th, 1916 Shirley Jackson was a well-established American writer until her death on August 8th, 1965. She primarily wrote horror, mystery, and supernatural stories. Within her two-decade long career she wrote six novels, two memoirs, and over 200 short stories, with some...
The short story,” The Moths” written by Elena Viramontes is a story that uses many elements of literature to address points such as religion, death, family, and coming of age of a fourteen-year-old chicana. The girl finds spiritual knowledge and understanding of who she is...
Two people, one name: an inconspicuous, plain woman versus a poised young girl. A line is drawn between imagination and reality, but that line is blurred. In “Miriam” by Truman Capote, symbolism is incorporated to show that Mrs. Miller is living through the past in...
James Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is a tale of suffering. Placed in an environment that is “encircled by disaster” (Baldwin 1615), the narrator constantly attempts to escape from the suffering around him. He avoids all contact with those around him and becomes disconnected from who he...
“A sex symbol’s currency lies in her youth, her curves, in the suggestion that a sexual encounter lurks around the next corner.” (Sharon Krum, The Guardian) The power struggle between genders in society is something that can be seen every day, particularly in the media....
The discoveries can be transformative for individuals as they develop new ways of viewing themselves and society; however, sometimes broadening one’s understanding can have detrimental effects. Robert Gray and Katherine Mansfield, in their writings, portray how these negative discoveries may cause the persona to reject...
It is impossible to maintain a completely objective outlook on life, unaffected by personal needs, desires, and biases. Individual perceptions, no matter how grievously mistaken, strongly influence both trivial and crucial decisions. In Joseph Conrad’s “The Lagoon”, Arsat bases the momentous betrayal of his brother...
At the beginning of the ‘The Monkey’s Paw’, Jacobs describes the night as ‘cold and wet’, where as Jacobs describes the Whites’ home by saying ‘the fire burned brightly’. This contrast makes the reader associate the outside with dark, cold and bad while associating the...
“The Pedestrian” gives a glance into the future, where a man named Leonard Mead, goes for long walks every night by himself. The year is 2053, and Mr. Mead is the only pedestrian near his home. He has never seen another person out walking during...
In Michael Wolff’s essay “A life Worth Ending” gives his personal experience about how he dealt with his mother’s terminal illness that she struggled with while dealing with the healthcare system. Wolff’s Hi mother is suffering from dementia, which is slowly robbing her of the...
A few chapters in, I was hooked on the story. And as an avid reader who is experienced with finding books with terrible plot, bad writing and very cliched characters, I can guarantee you won’t find it in this story. Made-to-order essay as fast as...
In his article, “Let There Be Dark”, Paul Bogard argues that natural darkness should be preserved. Bogard’s argument is built on his appeal to a diverse scale of benefits natural darkness has to offer; he strengthens his plea by employing facts, a personal anecdote, and...
American literature varies from other literary works across the world. Every story seems to express a different theme, and yet somehow they all seem similar. The Gift of the Magi and The Story of an Hour, written within 15 years of each other, at first...
The characters whom inhabit Joyce’s world in “Dubliners,” often have, as Harvard Literature Professor Fischer stated in lecture, a “limited way” of thinking about and understanding themselves and the world around them. Such “determinism,” however, operates not on a broad cultural scale, but works in...
Introduction Edgar Allan Poe created an intriguing paradigm surrounding his theory on cosmic principles. He sees the universe as God’s artistic creation dispersed among humankind. Artists, namely poets, bring together the universe by breaking free of their physical world and its correlating corruption and materialism....
“There are still the poor, the defeated, the criminal, the desperate, all hanging in there with what must seem a terrible vitality.” Thomas Pynchon, “A Journey into the Mind of Watts” The challenge posed to any reader of “serious” literature is ultimately one of observation,...
As an aspiring Southern gentleman, Edgar Allan Poe longed for the glamour of fame and wealth, prominence and prosperity. To gain this through his writing, Poe understood that he must be able to sell his writing to make money, but he also must appeal to...
Junot Diaz’s book This Is How You Lose Her provides an insightful look into love and loss, mostly through the eyes of its narrator, Yunior. Within this collection are stories of Yunior’s infidelity and the relationships of those around him; this includes tales of his...
The narrator in the story “Volar” is a young girl who is facing various challenges associated with growing up. Some young children may struggle with the reality that they do not have as much power in the world when they are young. They are physically...
Introduction Stephanie Brennan was only 22 years old when she bought her first property in the Northern Beaches of Sydney. In under four years, she successfully acquired eight more properties and went on to become Australia’s youngest property tycoon. Can today’s millennials follow in her...
It may seem, as society portrays it, that we all possess different interests. However, is it possible to believe that there can be one thing that we all share in common, for example, our desires? Perhaps, it may seem impractical, but our desires contain the...
Fairytales can be seen as a means to communicate a certain message or lesson to its audience. In Angela Carter’s case, she uses her short story “The Tiger’s Bride”, an adaptation of the well known story “Beauty and the Beast” by Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villenueve, to...
Abstract On the date of August 21, 1831, a man by the name of Nat Turner lead of the most infamous slave revolts seen by any previous generation. This greatly known slave revolt took place in Southampton, Virginia and was orchestrated by Nat Turner himself....
The conflict between man and nature dates back to the beginning of time, when Satan in the form of a snake tempted Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. “The Rattler” tells the story of a man torn between his morals and sense of...
In the unforgiving austerity of the Wyoming plains, two men, liberated from the confines of society, find love in a time and place where their passion has dire consequences. In the short story “Brokeback Mountain” by Annie Proulx, the main character, Ennis Del Mar, is...
In “The Sisters” James Joyce creates an elusive mystery surrounding the death of James Flynn by withholding narrator insight into the events of the story. He achieves this by selecting a young boy as the narrator, whose age is not specified but is hinted at...
Angela Carter’s work in the short story collection “The Bloody Chamber,” makes frequent use of concrete objects as expressions of abstract concepts, among them freedom, bondage, and death in multiple forms, not only physical. Made-to-order essay as fast as you need it Each essay is...
Introduction Giovanni Boccaccio’s medieval masterpiece “The Decameron” is a collection of stories, chronicled over ten days, which highlights the best and worst of human nature. Boccaccio’s tales deal with themes such as adultery, love, premarital sex, devotion, trickery, and manipulation, among others. Yet this work...
Published in 1904, Edith Wharton’s “The Other Two” explores the infancy of divorce within New York’s middle-class society by utilizing the concept of the futile struggle to escape social forces that are out of one’s control. In addition to that, the story presents consequences of...
Growing up is not an easy task for many children, especially girls, because they are often voiceless, forgotten, and dehumanized. Given the numerous challenges faced by women, this essay discusses the challenges faced by the narrator in the short story “We Came All the Way...
