The American Short Story Handbook PDF
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The American Short Story Handbook Wiley Blackwell Literature Handbooks Thisnewseriesoffersthestudentthoroughandlivelyintroductionstoliter- ary periods, movements, and, in some instances, authors and genres, from Anglo-SaxontothePostmodern.Eachvolumeiswrittenbyaleadingspecial- ist to be invitingly accessible and informative. Chapters are devoted to the coverageofculturalcontext,theprovisionofbriefbutdetailedbiographical essays on the authors concerned, critical coverage of key works, and sur- veys of themes and topics, together with bibliographies of selected further reading. Students new to a period of study or to a genre will discover all they need to know to orientate and ground themselves in their studies, in volumesthatareasstimulatingtoreadastheyareconvenienttouse. Published TheScienceFictionHandbook M.KeithBookerandAnne-MarieThomas TheSeventeenth-CenturyLiteratureHandbook MarshallGrossman TheTwentieth-CenturyAmericanFictionHandbook ChristopherMacGowan TheBritishandIrishShortStoryHandbook DavidMalcolm TheCrimeFictionHandbook PeterMessent TheLiteraryTheoryHandbook,secondedition GregoryCastle TheAnglo-SaxonLiteratureHandbook MarkC.Amodio TheAmericanShortStoryHandbook JamesNagel The American Short Story Handbook James Nagel TrimSize:152mmx229mm Nagel ffirs.tex V1-12/03/2014 1:03P.M. Pageiv Thiseditionfirstpublished2015 ©2015JamesNagel RegisteredOffice JohnWiley&SonsLtd,TheAtrium,SouthernGate,Chichester,WestSussex,PO198SQ,UK EditorialOffices 350MainStreet,Malden,MA02148-5020,USA 9600GarsingtonRoad,Oxford,OX42DQ,UK TheAtrium,SouthernGate,Chichester,WestSussex,PO198SQ,UK Fordetailsofourglobaleditorialoffices,forcustomerservices,andforinformationabouthowtoapplyfor permissiontoreusethecopyrightmaterialinthisbookpleaseseeourwebsiteat www.wiley.com/wiley-blackwell. TherightofJamesNageltobeidentifiedastheauthorofthisworkhasbeenassertedinaccordancewith theUKCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988. Allrightsreserved.Nopartofthispublicationmaybereproduced,storedinaretrievalsystem,or transmitted,inanyformorbyanymeans,electronic,mechanical,photocopying,recordingorotherwise, exceptaspermittedbytheUKCopyright,DesignsandPatentsAct1988,withoutthepriorpermissionof thepublisher. Wileyalsopublishesitsbooksinavarietyofelectronicformats.Somecontentthatappearsinprintmay notbeavailableinelectronicbooks. Designationsusedbycompaniestodistinguishtheirproductsareoftenclaimedastrademarks.Allbrand namesandproductnamesusedinthisbookaretradenames,servicemarks,trademarksorregistered trademarksoftheirrespectiveowners.Thepublisherisnotassociatedwithanyproductorvendor mentionedinthisbook. LimitofLiability/DisclaimerofWarranty:Whilethepublisherandauthorhaveusedtheirbesteffortsin preparingthisbook,theymakenorepresentationsorwarrantieswithrespecttotheaccuracyor completenessofthecontentsofthisbookandspecificallydisclaimanyimpliedwarrantiesof merchantabilityorfitnessforaparticularpurpose.Itissoldontheunderstandingthatthepublisherisnot engagedinrenderingprofessionalservicesandneitherthepublishernortheauthorshallbeliablefor damagesarisingherefrom.Ifprofessionaladviceorotherexpertassistanceisrequired,theservicesofa competentprofessionalshouldbesought. LibraryofCongressCataloging-in-PublicationData Nagel,James,author. Americanshortstoryhandbook/JamesNagel.—Firstedition. pagescm.—(WileyBlackwellliteraturehandbooks) Includesbibliographicalreferencesandindex. ISBN978-0-470-65541-2(hardback)—ISBN978-0-470-65542-9(paper) 1. Shortstories, American—Historyandcriticism—Handbooks,manuals,etc. I.Title. PS374.S5N3362015 813’.0109—dc23 2014032718 AcataloguerecordforthisbookisavailablefromtheBritishLibrary. Coverimage:GwenNagel,Freedom,NewHampshire,watercolor. Partopeningimage:©duncan1890/iStockphoto Setin10/13ptSabonLTStdbyLaserwordsPrivateLimited,Chennai,India 1 2015 Contents Preface vii Part1 Introduction 1 Part2 HistoricalOverviewoftheAmericanShortStory 9 TheAmericanStorytoWashingtonIrving 12 TheAgeofRomanticism 20 RealismandNaturalism 26 AmericanModernism 39 TheContemporaryAmericanShortStory 46 Part3 NotableAuthorsofAmericanShortStories 55 WashingtonIrving 57 EdgarAllanPoe 62 NathanielHawthorne 67 HermanMelville 71 MarkTwain 76 BretHarte 82 HenryJames 86 KateChopin 91 StephenCrane 96 O.Henry 101 SarahOrneJewett 105 CharlesW.Chesnutt 109 WillaCather 115 F.ScottFitzgerald 120 ErnestHemingway 126 JohnSteinbeck 132 WilliamFaulkner 139 vi Contents JamaicaKincaid 144 TimO’Brien 150 LouiseErdrich 156 Part4 GreatAmericanShortStories 163 BenjaminFranklin,“TheSpeechofPollyBaker” 165 RuriColla,“TheStoryoftheCaptain’sWifeandanAgedWoman” 168 WashingtonIrving,“RipVanWinkle” 172 NathanielHawthorne,“YoungGoodmanBrown” 177 EdgarAllanPoe,“TheCaskofAmontillado” 180 HermanMelville,“Bartleby,theScrivener” 184 FrancesEllenWatkinsHarper,“TheTwoOffers” 189 HamlinGarland,“UndertheLion’sPaw” 192 CharlottePerkinsGilman,“TheYellowWallpaper” 196 HenryJames,“TheRealThing” 202 KateChopin,“Désirée’sBaby” 206 AmbroseBierce,“AnOccurrenceatOwlCreekBridge” 210 StephenCrane,“TheBlueHotel” 214 FrankNorris,“ADealinWheat” 218 EdithWharton,“TheOtherTwo” 222 WillaCather,“AWagnerMatinée” 226 JackLondon,“ToBuildaFire” 230 JeanToomer,“Blood-BurningMoon” 233 F.ScottFitzgerald,“BabylonRevisited” 236 ErnestHemingway,“IndianCamp” 241 JohnSteinbeck,“TheChrysanthemums” 245 EudoraWelty,“PetrifiedMan” 249 WilliamFaulkner,“BarnBurning” 253 FlanneryO’Connor,“TheRiver” 257 TillieOlsen,“HelpHertoBelieve”[“IStandHereIroning”] 261 RaymondCarver,“Cathedral” 265 LouiseErdrich,“TheRedConvertible” 269 SusanMinot,“Hiding” 273 AmyTan,“TheJoyLuckClub” 277 TimO’Brien,“SweetheartoftheSongTraBong” 281 JamaicaKincaid,“ColumbusinChains” 285 JudithCofer,“Nada” 289 AGlossaryfortheStudyoftheAmericanShortStory 293 SelectedBooksforFurtherStudyoftheAmericanShortStory 303 Index 307 Preface InhercapacityasaneditoratBlackwell,EmmaBennettsuggestedtomethat IdothisvolumeintheHandbookseriesthecompanywasdeveloping,and Iamgratefulforherencouragementandsupport.Theentireproductionstaff at Blackwell assisted me with tasks large and small and did so with grace, courtesy,andprofessionalism,anditwasapleasuretoworkwiththem. Myworkontheshortstoryhasbeenassistedbeyondmeasurebymyposi- tionastheJ.O.EidsonDistinguishedProfessorofAmericanLiteratureatthe UniversityofGeorgia,anappointmentIenjoyedformorethantwodecades untilmyretirementin2013.Servingastheinauguralscholarinthatprofes- sorshiphasbeenthegreatesthonorofmylife,andIamdeeplyhumbledby thegenerosityoftheEidsonfamilyandtheUniversityofGeorgia. My doctoral students at the University of Georgia, many of whom have goneontofinepositions,contributedinmanywaystomyworkonAmerican fiction, none more so than Katherine Barrow, who, as a graduate student, served for many years as my research assistant. Her skills as a determined scholar,abletoexplorethedarkandremoteregionsoftheuniversitylibrary, willserveherwellthroughouthercareerinthefield.Amongmycolleaguesin thedepartment,HughRuppersburgandHubertMcAlexanderofferedwise counseloverthemanyyearsweworkedtogether,andtheyhavemydeepest respectandgratitude.StevenFlorczyk,NicoleCamastra,RobertClark,Jon Dawson,andKatherineBarrowallcompletedtheirPh.D.programswithme during the research for this volume, and I have learned a great deal about American literature, and life, from them. At Dartmouth College, where I nowenjoythepositionofVisitingScholar,DonaldPeasehasofferedfriend- ship, guidance, and a tour of the campus. William C. Scott was especially gracious in providing encouragement and introductions to people on the research staff of Dartmouth Library, and I am forever appreciative of his generoushumanity. viii e Among my fellow scholars in the American Literature Association, and c efa especiallyintheSocietyfortheStudyoftheAmericanShortStory,anorga- Pr nization I serve as president, I have my greatest debt for encouragement, informed advice, and warm fellowship over more than three decades, par- ticularly from Alfred Bendixen, Oliver Scheiding, Jeanne Reesman, Gloria Cronin,DonaldPizer,JeromeLoving,andGaryScharnhorst.Mymostpro- foundgratitudegoes,asalways,tomywife,Gwen,whoisaconstantsource of humane good counsel and meticulous proofreading, and the example of her dedication to her art is a source of inspiration every day, as it has been forthelastfivedecades.
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