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PUBLISHER’S NOTE American Short Fiction is a new title in Salem Organization and Format Press’s Introduction to Literary Context series. The essays in American Short Fiction appear This series is designed to introduce students to the alphabetical by title of the work. Each is 6–8 pages world’s greatest works of literature—including in length and includes the following sections: novels, short fictions, novellas, and poems – not only placing them in the historical, societal, scien- • Content Synopsis – summarizes the plot, tific and religious context of their time, but illumi- describing the main points and prominent nating key concepts and vocabulary that students characters in concise language. are likely to encounter. A great starting point from • Historical Context – describes the relevance which to embark on further research, Introduction to the story of the moods, attitudes and condi- to Literary Context is a perfect foundation for Crit- tions that existed during the time period that ical Insights, Salem’s acclaimed series of critical the work took place. analysis written to deepen the basic understanding • Societal Context – describes the role that of literature via close reading and original criti- society played within the piece, from the cism. Both series – Introduction to Literary Con- acceptance of traditional gender roles to cell text and Critical Insights – cover authors, works phone etiquette. and themes that are addressed in core reading lists • Religious Context – explains how religion— at the undergraduate level. of the author specifically, or a group gener- Introduction to Literary Context: American ally, influenced the short story. Short Fiction is the second title in the series. The • Scientific & Technological Context – ana- first covered post- modernist American novels, and lyzes to what extent scientific and/or techno- future volumes will cover poetry, British fiction logical progress has affected the story. and world fiction. • Biographical Context – offers biographical details of the author’s life, which often helps Scope and Coverage students to make sense of the story. American Short Fiction covers 40 works written by • Discussion Questions – a list of 8–10 American and Canadian authors and published in the thoughtful questions that are designed to 19th and 20th centuries. The list of authors is diverse, develop stimulating and productive class- including Edgar Allen Poe, considered one of the room discussions. first short story writers, Antiguan– American author • Essay Ideas – a valuable list of ideas that will Jamaica Kincaid, and Pulitzer Prize winner Alice encourage students to explore themes, writ- Munro, considered the master of the contemporary ing techniques, and character traits. short story. Other than being described as a concen- • Works Cited trated form of narrative prose fiction, short fiction • For Further Study has no clear, distinctive characteristics. Even its length, traditionally defined as being readable in one Introduction to Literary Context: American sitting, might prove problematic in today’s speedy Short Fiction ends with a general Bibliography and culture. subject Index. vii L[LLB6KRUWB)LFWLRQB)0LQGG $0 ABOUT THIS VOLUME The literary history of all nations and cultures is For short-story writers the four stages of founded on the short story. Although the novel ulti- composition are usually distinct…. Before mately may be lauded as the pinnacle of an individ- seizing upon the germ of a story, the writer ual author’s literary achievement, the short story may find himself in a state of ‘generally inten- is the writers’ stepping stone to mastering their sified emotional sensitivity…when events that craft, and all renowned novelists have honed their usually pass unnoticed suddenly move you skills and developed their singular styles through deeply, when a sunset lifts you to exaltation, producing short fiction. The once flourishing liter- when a squeaking door throws you into a fit ary journals presented the short works of writers of exasperation, when a clear look of trust in who would find permanence or fade to obscurity, a child’s eyes moves you to tears.’ I am quot- so it has been the short story that proved the gaunt- ing again from Dorothy Canfield Fisher, who let that defined the literary artists of each genera- ‘cannot conceive,’ she says, ‘of any creative tion. Many of the writers presented in this volume fiction written from any other beginning.’ gained initial fame in such publications. While There is not much doubt, in any case, that many were bound for glory in both the long and the germ is precious largely because it serves short form, many 19th-century masters represented to crystallize a prior state of feeling. Then in this collection continued to create short fiction comes the brooding or meditation, then the after launching successful careers as novelists. rapidly written first draft, then the slow revi- For students running the gamut from grammar- sion; for the story writer everything is likely school fledglings through doctoral candidates, to happen in more or less its proper order. the short story retains its relevance as a learning For the novelist, however, the stages are often tool throughout the course of education. The same confused. The meditation may have to be holds true for the writer. The short story is the class- repeated for each new episode. The revision room of both the author producing the work and of one chapter may precede or follow the first the student studying the finished product. Children draft or the next. learn reading through what essentially amounts to illustrated short stories: even the most rudimentary The stories covered in this volume are an amal- volumes with a single word adorning each page gam of 19th- and 20th-century examples from the qualify. Thus, the short form is as ingrained in our top authors producing short fiction in their respec- literary DNA as eye color in the human genome. tive times. The 19th century is of particular inter- Noted American literary scholar Malcolm Cow- est as the period in which American fiction began ley, outlined what he asserted were the stages of to take form. Despite its hard-won independence, short story creation from the germination of the Americans continued to look to England and the original idea to the finished product in an interview continent for its artistic leads in the post-Revolu- with The Paris Review. Cowley’s take is interesting tionary period and into the early 1800s. Britain because it’s more concerned with the emotion and remained the center of English-language publish- psychological preparation involved rather than the ing, and while America had a thriving market for physical act: newspapers, pamphlets, and journals, those outlets ix L[LLB6KRUWB)LFWLRQB)0LQGG $0 x | About This Volume were almost exclusively the kingdom of nonfic- and chin and the exaggerated turmoil it creates tion with a smidge of poetry as the only form of in the community. The veil seems symbolic of creative writing. Fiction publishing was almost a the sin we all possess, and while Hooper wears nonentity as American authors had yet to find a his openly (acknowledging his sin), those around voice. him are oblivious to the invisible veils they wear Most scholars accept Washington Irving’s The themselves. Sketch Book, published in installments through- Although a contemporary of Hawthorne, Poe— out 1819 and 1820, as the first popular short story alcoholic, addicted to gambling, and worldly—was collection by an American author, although, ironi- the austere New Englander’s antithesis. As Haw- cally, the stories and essays in the volume were thorne’s stories are sermons in morality, Poe wrote written in England and are dominated by English to entertain his audience. His tales of the macabre themes. However, the collection also contained the riveted readers, and he is accepted as the father of distinctly American tales Rip Van Winkle and The the mystery; the most prestigious award bestowed Legend of Sleepy Hollow, two classics still widely to works in that genre by the Mystery Writers of read today. Their vast popularity proved that an America bears his name and likeness—the Edgar. American market for short fiction was possible Like Hawthorne, Poe also lost his father at a young although it would be several more years before it age but was adopted by a wealthy family. Raised as fully flourished. a gentleman, he initially pursued a military career In 1837 Nathaniel Hawthorne assembled the including several years attending West Point. short stories he’d previously published individu- Poe’s stepfather, however, later remarried, dash- ally to little avail for a collection dubbed Twice ing Edgar’s chances of inheriting the family for- Told Tales. Born and raised in New England, Haw- tune and forcing him to struggle through a string of thorne wore the yoke of Puritanism that prevailed odd jobs that proved as unsuccessful as his military throughout the Northeast. The majority of his endeavors. Poe also spent much time in seclusion well-known stories concern sin and guilt, recur- perfecting his craft. ring themes which crescendo in his most famous Hawthorne’s The Minister’s Black Veil and Poe’s work The Scarlet Letter (1850). Hawthorne’s sea The Tell-Tale Heart, one of the many Poe creations captain father died when he was young, leaving the covered here, are as opposite as their creators, yet family with the ample financial resources to allow close analysis reveals similarities. Hawthorne’s Nathaniel to pursue a writing career after graduat- Reverend Hooper’s decision to hide his eyes from ing college without ever laboring in a profession. humanity propels the story, while the nameless He toiled for years in near monkish seclusion writ- old man in Poe’s murder story loses his life solely ing and honing his fiction while developing his because he “had the eye of a vulture—a pale blue themes and perfecting his style.

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