Short+Story

=**__Short Stories__**=

**Title:** //A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings//
[]
 * Author:** Gabriel Garcia Marquez
 * Genre:** Magical Realism/Fiction
 * D escription:** Written in 1968, ‘‘Un señor muy viejo con alas enormes" ("A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings’’) is typical of a style known as ‘‘magical realism,’’ which is closely associated with its author, the Colombian novelist Gabriel Garcia Marquez. This imaginative style combines realistic, everyday details with elements of fantasy, blurring the reader's usual distinctions between reality and magic.
 * Themes:** Themes and topics include natural vs. supernatural, isolation, and being different in society.
 * Rationale:** Magical realism has been a popular and influential form, attracting a wide readership and a great deal of interest from literary scholars. Drawing on the stories and legends of his rural South American childhood, as well as his study of the sophisticated techniques of modernist writers, Garcia Marquez creates a rich and suggestive fictional landscape that challenges traditional modes of thought and focuses the reader's attention on the difficult, elusive work of making sense of the world.This story will serve as a great introduction to magical realism.
 * Lexile Level:** 10
 * Additional Resources: **

Gabriel Garcia Marquez
[] Website contains, biography, works, films and other links. = A genius says goodbye. Mr Gabriel García Marquez. = [] A four minute slide show of some of his greatest quotes. Accompanied by Enja.



**Author:** Franz Kafka

 * Genre:** Absurdist fiction

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 * Description:** //The Metamorphosis// is one of the most frequently analyzed works in literature. This elusive story, which chronicles the transformation of Gregor Samsa from a human being into an enormous insect, is renowned for its ability to inspire diverse, sometimes mutually exclusive interpretations. For this reason //The Metamorphosis// has come to be considered one of the central enigmas of the modern literary imagination. Nevertheless, critics generally praise Kafka's powerful and symbolic portrayal of alienation achieved through the literalized metaphor of man as insect.=====

**Themes:** Themes include father-son antagonism, transformation, alienation from humanity, absurdism
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 * Rationale:** This story will serve as a perfect introduction to symbolism (Gregor’s metamorphosis moving beyond a literal view of “he turned into a bug” into the idea that society/family/stress/environment led to his abstract reaction) for the students. Also, the students will be able to practice the analysis of many interrelated literary in conjunction with discussing the universal themes presented. The discussions about the meaning of isolation and being an outcast will enrich their understanding of the human condition. In addition, discussions about how human conditions/situations may lead to isolation in contemporary society, even within the microcosm of the school will help the students to broaden their understanding of exclusionism in their own everyday lives.
 * Lexile:** 10-12
 * Additional Resources:**

** Trailer on the film //Kafka// **
[] Kafka' (1991), directed by S. Soderbergh and starring Jeromhy Irons

**Description:**
This story is about a family on a road trip, with a grandmother who is disappointed to be going to Florida and complains that she would rather be going to visit relatives in Tennessee. The family gets into an accident and then encounters a group of strangers on the road.

**Themes/Topics:**
Themes and topics include family relationships, generation gaps, grace, faith, Christianity and Christ, existentialism, violence, and isolation.

**Rationale:**
Flannary O'Connor is an important 20th century American author. Her short stories, including "A Good Man Is Hard to Find", deal with important topics including family, faith, trust, betrayal, morality, and violence. Her work is also deeply rooted in the South and makes up an important piece of America's Southern literary tradition. This particular story examines faith, religion and morality without explicitly stating themes or morals. It offers a good opportunity for students to examine a text and draw conclusions. It is also an important example of Modernist literature by a talented female writer.

**Text Complexity:**
This is a text with complex themes and violent scenes. The language is simple. There is some dialectal dialogue. Lexile level N/A = Media Resources =

Flannery O'Connor
[] A current NY Times Article about O'Connor [] Website contains biography, works, essays and links to other resources [] A 47 minute lecture about O'Connor's work by Yale University
 * The Flannery O'Connor Resipatory **
 * The American Novel Since 1945 (ENGL 291) **

=**Title:** //Cathedral//= =**Author:** Raymond Carver= =**Genre:** Short Story, Fiction=

The story’s narrator informs the readers that a friend of his wife’s, a man who happens to be blind, is on his way to visit. The narrator is not enthusiastic about the visit because blind people make the narrator uncomfortable, mainly because the narrator has no real experience with the blind. In addition to his uneasiness with the blind, the narrator is uncomfortable with his wife’s relationship with the blind man. The wife and Robert, the blind man, have maintained a close relationship via tape recordings mailed back and forth, and the narrator finds this unsettling. Despite the narrator’s feelings about the visit, Robert shows up, and the three of them dine together, and Robert and the narrator get to know each other.(Read more at Suite101: [|Cathedral by Raymond Carver Study Guide: Overview and Analysis of Carver's Short Story | Suite101.com] [|http://jeris-swanhorst.suite101.com/cathedral-by-raymond-carver-study-guide-a148910#ixzz1aXIeNOZj] )
 * Description:**

The themes and concepts in //Cathedral// are difficult. The text is not complex and the sentences are, as is consistent with Carver's works, short and choppy. [] [] = Raymond Carver = [] An informative ten minute documentary of Carver's life and what influenced his writing. Carver reads segments from his stories.
 * Rationale:**
 * Themes:** Catharsis, Intimacy, Misconception
 * Text Complexity:** The themes in this text are not explicit and must be inferred by the reader. The text itself is written plainly, the difficulty is identifying the nuances between the lines.
 * Additional Resources:**

**Title:** The Lady, or the Tiger? **Author:** Frank Stockton **Genre:** Short Story **Description:** The semi-barbaric king of an ancient land used an unusual form of punishment for offenders in his kingdom. The offender would be placed in an arena where his only way out would be to go through one of two doors. Behind one door was a beautiful woman hand-picked by the king and behind the other was a fierce tiger. The offender was then asked to pick one of the doors without knowing what was behind it. If he picked the door with the woman behind it, then he was declared innocent but was also required to marry the woman, regardless of previous marital status. If he picked the door with the tiger behind it, though, then he was deemed guilty and the tiger would rip him to pieces. One day the king found that his daughter, the princess, had taken a lover far beneath her station. The king could not allow this and so he threw the offender in prison and set a date for his trial in the arena. On the day of his trial the suitor looked to the princess for some indication of which door to pick. The princess did, in fact, know which door concealed the woman and which one the tiger, but was faced with a conundrum —if she indicated the door with the tiger, then the man she loved would be killed on the spot; however, if she indicated the door with the lady, her lover would be forced to marry another woman, a woman that the princess deeply hated and believed her lover had flirted with. Finally she did indicate a door, which the suitor then opened. At this point the question is posed to the reader, "Did the tiger come out of that door, or did the lady?" The question is not answered, and is left as a thought experiment regarding human nature. **Rationale:** This story will serve several purposes. Since the reader has to infer the ending of the story students are asked to form predictions based on the evidence from the text as well as their opinions. Traditionally, American stories have clear endings with a resolution. Exposing students to literature that does not have a traditional ending is beneficial because students get to experience a different way of telling a story. This story is also an important read because it was published in 1882 and is still referenced today. After reading this story students might consider why this story has lasted the ages. Thinking about why The Lady or the Tiger? is still read today asks students to apply their critical thinking skills. In addition, even though the Lexile level of the text is at a 11th or 12th grade level the text is manageable for a 9th or 10th grade class. Some of the vocabulary may be less familiar to the students but with scaffolding the text is a worthwhile read for this age group. The ideas presented in the story are easy to comprehend and as a result the 9th/ 10th grade student should be able to tackle the text. **Lexile:** 1260 **Additional Resources:** //The Simpsons// episode "Kiss Kiss Bang Bangalore"



**Title:** The Gift of the Magi **Author:** O. Henry **Genre:** Short Story **Description:** Young married couple Della and James "Jim" Dillingham Young are very much in love with each other but can barely afford their one-room apartment due to Jim's recent pay cut. For [|Christmas], Della decides to buy Jim a chain for his prized pocket watch given to him by his father's father. To raise the funds, she has her long, beautiful hair cut off and sold to make a wig. Meanwhile, Jim decides to sell his watch to buy Della a beautiful set of combs made out of tortoiseshell and jewels for her lovely, knee-length brown hair. Each is surprised to find the gift they chose rendered useless, yet each is pleased with the gift that they received, because it represents their love for one another. The story ends with the narrator comparing the pair's mutually sacrificial gifts of love with those of the [|Biblical Magi]. **Rationale:** The Gift of the Magi is a classic short story that could help students better understand irony and allusion. In addition, the themes of sacrifice, love, materialism are raised and could serve as strong discussion points. **Lexile:** 940 **Additional Resources:** //Ironic// by Alanis Morissette [] is a wonderful comic approach to understanding irony through the incorrect usage in the //Ironic// song by Alanis Morissette