Short Stories for Students – Volume 31 – Finals/ 3/30/2010 11:21 Page 1 SHORT STORIES for Students Short Stories for Students – Volume 31 – Finals/ 3/30/2010 11:15 Page 2 Advisors Erik France: Adjunct Instructor of English, Teachers of English (NCTE), Teachers and Macomb Community College, Warren, Writers, and NCTE Opinion Panel. Exam Michigan. B.A. and M.S.L.S. from Univer- Reader, Advanced Placement Literature and sity of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; Ph.D. Composition. Poet, published in North Amer- from Temple University. ican Review, Nimrod, and Michigan Quarterly Kate Hamill: Grade 12 English Teacher, Catons- Review, among other publications. ville High School, Catonsville, Maryland. Jody Stefansson: Director of Boswell Library and Joseph McGeary: English Teacher, Germantown Study Center and Upper School Learning Friends School, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Specialist, Polytechnic School, Pasadena, Ph.D. in English from Duke University. California. Board member, Children’s Litera- Timothy Showalter: English Department Chair, ture Council of Southern California. Member Franklin High School, Reisterstown, Mary- of American Library Association, Associa- land. Certified teacher by the Maryland State tion of Independent School Librarians, and Department of Education. Member of the Association of Educational Therapists. National Council of Teachers of English. Laura Jean Waters: Certified School Library Amy Spade Silverman: English Department Chair, Media Specialist, Wilton High School, Wil- Kehillah Jewish High School, Palo Alto, ton, Connecticut. B.A. from Fordham Uni- California. Member of National Council of versity; M.A. from Fairfield University. Short Stories for Students – Volume 31 – Finals/ 3/30/2010 11:16 Page 3 SHORT STORIES for Students Presenting Analysis, Context, and Criticism on Commonly Studied Short Stories VOLUME 31 Sara Constantakis, Project Editor Foreword by Thomas E. Barden Short Stories for Students – Volume 31 – Finals/ 3/30/2010 11:17 Page 4 Short Stories for Students, Volume 31 ª 2010 Gale, Cengage Learning Project Editor: Sara Constantakis ALL RIGHTS RESERVED. No part of this work covered by the copyright herein may Rights Acquisition and Management: Jermaine be reproduced, transmitted, stored, or used in any form or by any means graphic, Bobbitt, Margaret Chamberlain-Gaston, Jackie electronic, or mechanical, including but not limited to photocopying, recording, Jones, Robyn Young scanning, digitizing, taping, Web distribution, information networks, or information Composition: Evi Abou-El-Seoud storage and retrieval systems, except as permitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without the prior written permission of the publisher. 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Gale accepts no payment for listing; and inclusion in the publication of any organization, agency, institution, publication, service, or individual does not imply endorsement of the editors or publisher. Errors brought to the attention of the publisher and verified to the satisfaction of the publisher will be corrected in future editions. Gale 27500 Drake Rd. Farmington Hills, MI, 48331-3535 ISBN-13: 978-1-4144-6695-8 ISBN-10: 1-4144-6695-1 ISSN 1092-7735 This title is also available as an e-book. ISBN-13: 978-1-4144-7457-1 ISBN-10: 1-4144-7457-1 Contact your Gale, a part of Cengage Learning sales representative for ordering information. Printed in the United States of America 12345671413121110 Short Stories for Students – Volume 31 – Finals/ 3/30/2010 11:17 Page 5 Table of Contents ADVISORS ............ii WHY STUDY LITERATURE AT ALL? (by Thomas E. Barden) .........ix INTRODUCTION ..........xi LITERARY CHRONOLOGY .......xv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . xvii CONTRIBUTORS ......... xix BY THE WATERS OF BABYLON (by Stephen Vincent Bene´t) ........1 Author Biography . 2 Plot Summary . 2 Characters . 5 Themes . 5 Style . 7 Historical Context . 8 Critical Overview. 10 Criticism. 10 Sources . 23 Further Reading . 23 DAUGHTER OF INVENTION (by Julia Alvarez)...........25 Author Biography . 26 Plot Summary . 26 Characters . 28 v Short Stories for Students – Volume 31 – Finals/ 3/30/2010 11:17 Page 6 Table of Contents Themes . 29 Sources . 117 Style . 31 Further Reading . 117 Historical Context . 31 Critical Overview. 33 GOOD CLIMATE, FRIENDLY INHABITANTS Criticism. 33 (by Nadine Gordimer) ........ 118 Sources . 44 Author Biography . 119 Further Reading . 44 Plot Summary . 119 Characters . 122 ADEVOTEDSON(by Anita Desai) .....45 Themes . 123 Author Biography . 46 Style . 125 Plot Summary . 47 Historical Context . 126 Characters . 49 Critical Overview. 128 Themes . 50 Criticism. 128 Style . 52 Sources . 134 Historical Context . 53 Further Reading . 135 Critical Overview. 54 Criticism. 55 THE JEWELS Sources . 67 (by Guy de Maupassant)........ 136 Further Reading . 67 Author Biography . 137 Plot Summary . 138 END OF THE GAME (by Julio Corta´zar) ...68 Characters . 139 Author Biography . 68 Themes . 141 Plot Summary . 69 Style . 143 Characters . 71 Historical Context . 143 Themes . 72 Critical Overview. 145 Style . 73 Criticism. 146 Historical Context . 73 Sources . 153 Critical Overview. 74 Further Reading . 153 Criticism. 75 Sources . 84 AN OUTPOST OF PROGRESS Further Reading . 84 (by Joseph Conrad) ......... 154 Author Biography . 155 THE FENCE (by Hamsad Rangkuti).....85 Plot Summary . 156 Author Biography . 85 Characters . 158 Plot Summary . 86 Themes . 159 Characters . 87 Style . 161 Themes . 88 Historical Context . 162 Style . 89 Critical Overview. 163 Historical Context . 91 Criticism. 164 Critical Overview. 93 Sources . 175 Criticism. 93 Further Reading . 176 Sources . 99 Further Reading . 99 A RETRIEVED REFORMATION (by O. Henry)........... 177 THEGARDENOFSTUBBORNCATS Author Biography . 178 (by Italo Calvino).......... 100 Plot Summary . 179 Author Biography . 100 Characters . 181 Plot Summary . 101 Themes . 182 Characters . 103 Style . 183 Themes . 104 Historical Context . 185 Style . 105 Critical Overview. 188 Historical Context . 106 Criticism. 188 Critical Overview. 107 Sources . 196 Criticism. 108 Further Reading . 196 vi Short Stories for Students, Volume 31 Short Stories for Students – Volume 31 – Finals/ 3/30/2010 11:17 Page 7 Table of Contents TEARS OF AUTUMN (by Yoshiko Uchida). 197 Characters . 233 Author Biography . 198 Themes . 234 Plot Summary . 198 Style . 236 Characters . 200 Historical Context . 237 Themes . 201 Critical Overview. 239 Style . 203 Criticism. 239 Historical Context . 204 Sources . 247 Critical Overview. 206 Further Reading . 247 Criticism. 207 THE WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION Sources . 213 (by Agatha Christie)......... 248 Further Reading . 213 Author Biography . 249 Plot Summary . 250 THE TREASURE OF LEMON BROWN Characters . 253 (by Walter Dean Myers)........ 214 Themes . 254 Author Biography . 215 Style . 256 Plot Summary . 216 Historical Context . 257 Characters . 217 Critical Overview. 258 Themes . 218 Criticism. 259 Style . 220 Sources . 266 Historical Context . 221 Further Reading . 266 Critical Overview. 222 Criticism. 223 GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS.... 269 Sources . 229 Further Reading . 229 CUMULATIVE AUTHOR/TITLE INDEX . 281 WITH ALL FLAGS FLYING CUMULATIVE NATIONALITY/ETHNICITY (by Anne Tyler) .......... 230 INDEX............. 291 Author Biography . 231 Plot Summary . 231 SUBJECT/THEME INDEX ...... 299 Short Stories for Students, Volume 31 vii Short Stories for Students – Volume 31 – Finals/ 3/30/2010 11:17 Page 9 Why Study Literature At All? Short Stories for Students is designed to provide what will happen to us after we die. Literature readers with information and discussion about a admits that we get our hearts broken, that people wide range of important contemporary and his- sometimes cheat and get away with it, that the torical works of short fiction, and it does that job world is a strange and probably incomprehensible very well. However, I want to use this guest fore- place. Literature, in other words, takes on all the word to address a question that it does not take big and small issues of what it means to be up. It is a fundamental question that is often human. So my first answer is that of the humanist ignored in high school and college English classes we should read literature and study it and take it as well as research texts, and one that causes seriously because it enriches us as human beings. frustration among students at all levels, namely We develop our moral imagination, our capacity why study literature at all? Isn’t it enough to read to sympathize with other people, and our ability a story, enjoy it, and go about one’s business? My to understand our existence through the experi- answer (to be expected from a literary profes- ence of fiction. sional, I suppose) is no. It is not enough. It is a start;