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.
In the short story, “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet, setting is a very important element of how the story is portrayed. Although readers are introduced to a setting that feels like thousands of years ago, the reader later figures out that...
Humans are made of the tangible; flesh and blood, muscles and bones, cells and nerves. The survival of man can be dissected into the purely scientific, the emotionless, the artless. The value of the anatomical can clearly not be understated, as such is the basest...
Although the title of Ryunosuke Akutagawa’s short story “In a Grove” may not be familiar, the story may well be. In 1922, Sincho magazine published “In a Grove” as a kind of ancient Japanese detective story, with the mystery at the center of the narrative...
A seemingly impenetrable solitude permeates human life in D. H. Lawrence’s two short stories, “Odour of Chrysanthemums” and “The Horse Dealer’s Daughter”. Inside Lawrence’s fictional worlds, the thematic isolation of individuals from one another (often compounded by a profound remoteness from one’s own self) situates...
Born in 19th century Poland, Joseph Conrad experienced a life out of the ordinary as a world traveller. Attracted by reading, maps and the dream of becoming a sailor, Conrad led a multi-skilled life, travelled the world and wrote masterpieces that only a man with...
In “Adventure” from Sherwood Anderson’s Winesburg, Ohio, the protagonist, Alice Hindman, embodies the truth of marriage. As Alice’s story demonstrates, however, marriage leads to two seemingly contradictory traits when it is taken as a personal truth to be lived. On the one hand, marriage means...
Once upon a time, there was a farmer called Alvi. He was not a rich farmer but he was very happy. He worked in the fields with his only cow from dawn until dusk. This provided Alvi with vegetables to eat and extra crops which...
We were in a hurry. I had less than an hour before the race and we were still stuck in Melbourne CBD traffic. Breathe. Sigh. My dad tried to get us through the gridlocked streets surrounding Albert Park. We were going to be late. Breathe...
“Open the door or we will set the room on fire. ” With a loud bang, the door was broken open, Ali and his brothers along with many other children and women were pulled out and made to stand under the tree. They started firing....
In Toni Morrison’s Recitatif, the author takes the reader on a journey of two women from childhood to adulthood. She leaves the reader to come to their own conclusions regarding the characters race, and motives throughout the story. This style of writing relates to the...
Short Story
Get a personalized essay in under 3 hours!
Expert-written essays crafted with your exact needs in mind
Henry S. Haskins once said, ‘Tradition is a prison with majority opinion the modern jailer.’ The quote is related to the short story, ‘The Lottery’ by Shirley Jackson because tradition is substantial and important to their community. They have been doing the lottery for years...
People oftentimes get judged based on physical characteristics of their life. Whether through appearance or possessions, people desire to communicate an impressive version of themselves to others. In the short story “Paul’s Case,” Willa Cather writes about the story of a teenage boy’s desire to...
Dubliners was published in 1914 and written by James Joyce, who was born in 1882. When applying feminist theory to the Dubliners short stories, one must keep in mind that although feminism had its start in the 19th century, many of the formative feminist essays...
Edgar Allen Poe is, perhaps, the most popular Gothic author in American history. Many of his stories show the darker side of humanity and provoke a sense of eeriness in the reader. But what exactly makes his stories creepy or uncanny? To answer this question...
Before the telephone was invented, people wrote letters to each other to stay in touch. Soldiers would write letters to their wives and families conveying their love and, even today, people write letters to better communicate. Writing is a way of expressing yourself, a way...
Although “hardboiled” narratives became a popular literary genre in the early- to mid-twentieth century, these writers were not the first to create characters and stories in this genre. Early creators of the tough detective were preceded by the first “hardboiled” literary detective, Edgar Allan Poe’s...
In his story “The Sun, the Moon, the Stars”, Junot Diaz presents to the reader a couple going through a tumultuous time in their relationship. News of Yunior’s infidelity had just come to light via a letter that his mistress sent to his girlfriend Magdalena....
The Necklace, a short story by Guy Maupassant, is about a woman who spends and wastes her life trying to repay something that was not even real. The author presents the main themes, greediness and selfishness, through the character of Mathilde, and how these, in...
The short story, “The ones who walk away from Omelas”, written by Ursula Le Guin, is about a supposed perfect society where the sacrifice of a boy is what provides the harmony, the equality and the prosperity to the citizens of this city. As a...
Raymond Carver’s short story, A Small Good Thing, and Ray Lawrence’s film, Jindabyne, miscellaneously explore the idea that individuals can experience isolation. Carver delineates a tale about two parents struggling with their son’s brain injury after a hit and run accident and the incessant phone...
In this essay I argue against Mencius’ claim that ‘a man is capable of becoming good’ due to the inherent goodness in his nature. I am against Mencius’ claim because of his assumption that human nature is inclined towards good morals. I opine that human...
The purpose of this essay is to analyze the short stories that we have been reading over the last couple of weeks; “The Return”, “A&P”, and “The Blue Chevrolet”. The coming of age theme throughout the short stories will be the main focus of this...
Marriage has always been an innate part of a person’s life. The perception of marriage differs from person to person. Upon analysing the two stories ‘The gift of the magi’ by O. Henry and ‘The kiss’ by Kate Chopin, we could see that the main...
Even though money can’t buy happiness, the lack of money is usually the cause of sadness. Poverty is, in fact, a widespread problem that can sometimes restrict and even imprison a person to the point that struggling seems pointless. In Dubliners by James Joyce, the...
In The Bloody Chamber, Carter espouses setting as a tool which contributes towards the reader’s emotional reaction when delving into the corrupt themes of her stories. We can therefore become more engaged with her stories as the settings allow ideas such as superstition and male...
Writing in Italy during the 14th century, Boccaccio is caught in the historical dichotomy between the blind adherence to the Church that permeated the Middle Ages and the emerging Humanism that characterized the Renaissance. It is clear that Boccaccio chooses to look forward, as he...
Throughout Edith Wharton’s “Roman Fever,” Mrs. Alida Slade experiences the consequences of an inflated ego as she fails to fully understand her companion, Mrs. Grace Ansley. She is consumed with egocentric priorities, like superiority, deception, and jealousy. While Slade’s egocentrism can be interpreted as purely...
Kathleen Mansfield Murry is known to be a prominent New Zealand Modernist short story writer who wrote stories under the pen name Katherine Mansfield. Miss Brill was published in the 1920’s and is set in post-World War I in France. In “Miss Brill,” Katherine Mansfield...
In Doris Lessing’s short story, “Through the Tunnel”, growing up is a difficult and sometimes painful process. Jerry shows he wants to be independent through the symbolism of the way he moves on from the safe beach, enters the wild rocky bay with uncertainty, and...
It is very truly said that the ‘Excess of Anything is Bad’. This quote is proved right in the short fiction A Perfect Day For Bananafish through the example given by Seymour about the banana fever to bananafish. This story involves many characters such as...
