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Before The Change by Alice Munro Short Story Analysis
It is the end of summer, 1960, and a young woman writes a letter to someone she shortens to ‘R’. She has returned home from the city to her father’s house in rural Canada where he lives with his housekeeper Mrs. Barrie after the death of the narrator’s mother many years ago.
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The Butler by Roald Dahl Short Story Analysis
“The Butler” is a lesser-known short story by Roald Dahl. Find it in Eight Further Tales of the Unexpected, included in The Collected Short Stories of Roald Dahl, first published 1992.
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The Art of Cooking and Serving by Margaret Atwood Short Story Analysis
“The Art of Cooking and Serving” is a short story by Canadian author Margaret Atwood, included in Moral Disorder and Other Stories (2006).
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The Bad News by Margaret Atwood Short Story Analysis
“The Daily News” utilises a simple ― relatable and realistic ― gender inversion to illuminate how the popular imagination regards men, women and communication in romantic relationships.
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All She Said Was Yes by Shirley Jackson Short Story Study
“All She Said Was Yes” is a short story by Shirley Jackson. This is the one with the Wednesday Addams character archetype who foresees the death of her own parents. But do they listen to her? No.
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The Summer People by Shirley Jackson Short Story Analysis
“The Summer People” is one of Shirley Jackson’s short stories about marginalised folk. In this instance, the main characters are marginalised because they are summer tourists New York City. They are also getting old and dispensable.
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The Man In The Woods by Shirley Jackson Short Story Analysis
In the early 1800s, the Grimm Brothers collected a fairy tale called “The Old Woman In The Woods” and included it for publication in Household Tales. Is Shirley Jackson’s “The Man In The Woods” a riff on that, or something different altogether? (Find Jackson’s story collected in Dark Tales.) I’ll be arguing that “The Man […]
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The Things They Left Behind by Stephen King Short Story Analysis
“The Things They Left Behind” is a post 9/11 short story by American writer Stephen King, first published in 2006.
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The Loaded Dog by Henry Lawson Short Story
“The Loaded Dog” is an Australian short story by Henry Lawson. The story is so memorable, the main imagery of a dog with a firecracker in its mouth has become Australian cultural iconography.
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Hairball by Margaret Atwood Short Story Study
“Hairball” is a dark and playful short story by Margaret Atwood. Find it in the Wilderness Tips collection (1991).
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The Cafeteria In The Evening And A Pool In The Rain by Yoko Ogawa
Many writers say this: Stories emerge from the imagination when two different ideas come together in a new way. So it is in the title of this story. What do cafeterias and pools have in common? Evenings and rain? Moving into a new house? “The Cafeteria In The Evening And A Pool In The Rain” […]
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The Lagoon and Other Stories by Janet Frame
If you’ve seen Jane Campion’s biopic about New Zealand’s most accomplished author, Janet Frame, you’ll already know that “The Lagoon and Other Stories” saved the author’s life.
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Red Card by S.L. Gilbow Short Story Study
“Red Card” is a 2013 short story by American writer S.L. Gilbow. If you enjoy the creepy suburban tales of Shirley Jackson, you’ll like this one.
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Hack Wednesday by Margaret Atwood Short Story Analysis
Margaret Atwood has a knack for writing prescient feminist pieces which remain relatable over decades. I wish she wouldn’t. I wish, for once, that Margaret Atwood were wrong about something (in fiction).
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Kiss Me Again, Stranger by Daphne du Maurier Short Story Analysis
“Kiss Me Again, Stranger” by Daphne du Maurier (1952) is as supernatural as a story gets without actually being supernatural.