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The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick Short Story Analysis
The Shawl (1980) is a short story by American writer Cynthia Ozick, born 1928. In 2014, Joyce Carol Oates joined Deborah Treisman at The New Yorker to read and discuss Ozick’s story. This horrific short story reminds me most of a narrative from another side of the same war: Grave of the Fireflies. Both are […]
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Deck the Halls by Shirley Jackson Short Story Analysis
“Deck the Halls” is a Christmas short story by American author Shirley Jackson which asks readers to challenge what it means to be charitable. Find it in the collection Just An Ordinary Day.
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Silicon Valley and Comedy Character Ensembles
The creators of Silicon Valley reveal to their audience early in the show the thinking behind their ensemble of “five guys”. This may or may not have some realworld application — I don’t know the real Silicon Valley. But even if it doesn’t ring one bit true, every time we do see this particular ensemble in real life tech teams,…
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All Summer in a Day by Ray Bradbury Short Story Analysis
All Summer in a Day is a short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in 1954. Find it in Ray Bradbury Stories Vol. 1. It’s interesting to see how science fiction evolves alongside our increased understanding of other planets. “All Summer In A Day” is a story of its time, written in an […]
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Foes by Lorrie Moore Short Story Analysis
“Foes” is a short story by American writer Lorrie Moore. The Guardian published it on the eve of the election which would see Obama to the presidency, and can be read in full here. It is also in Bark and in Collected Stories. This is such an American story, so Americans will have a more […]
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Which Is More Than I Can Say About Some People by Lorrie Moore Short Story Analysis
“Which Is More Than I Can Say About Some People” is a mother-and-daughter road trip short story by American writer Lorrie Moore. This story was published in The New Yorker in November 1993. Also find it in Birds of America (1999) and The Collected Stories. The title of this story comes from something the mother of this […]
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Holes In Art and Storytelling
Be careful what you cast out — the vacancy is quickly filled. Austin Osman Spare SAM AND DAVE DIG A HOLE HOLES BY LOUIS SACHAR Stanley Yelnats is under a curse. A curse that began with his no-good-dirty-rotten-pig-stealing-great-great-grandfather and has since followed generations of Yelnats. Now Stanley has been unjustly sent to a boys’ detention […]
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You’re Ugly, Too by Lorrie Moore Short Story Analysis
“You’re Ugly, Too” is a short story by American writer Lorrie Moore, first published in a 1989 edition of The New Yorker — Moore’s first for the New Yorker. Find it also in her short story collection Like Life (1990).
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Owl At Home by Arnold Lobel Analysis
Owl At Home is a 1975 picture book written and illustrated by Arnold Lobel. The book comprises five very short early reader stories about a kind, anxious and lonely owl. These owl stories, along with the frog and toad stories come from the second phase of Lobel’s creative career, in which he tapped into his […]
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The Jockey by Carson McCullers Short Story Analysis
American writer Carson McCullers published “The Jockey” in 1941, when she was just 24, which seems young, until you realise she’d published “Sucker” at the age of 17 and a novel at age 22. McCullers belonged to a generation who spent their youth living through world war. Surely that affords a measure of maturity. She […]
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I Live On Your Visits by Dorothy Parker Short Story Analysis
Dorothy Parker (1893-1967) is remembered as one of America’s greatest wits. If you watch Gilmore girls, you’ll be familiar with her name, as Rory is depicted reading a 1976 edition of The Portable Dorothy Parker. The creator of Gilmore girls, Amy Sherman-Palladino, was clearly a huge fan, naming her production company Dorothy Parker Drank Here. […]
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Dance In America by Lorrie Moore Short Story Analysis
“Dance In America” is a short story by Lorrie Moore and can be found in the collection Birds Of America, published in 1998. Find it also in The Collected Short Stories. “Dance In America” first appeared in The New Yorker in 1993. Louise Erdrich reads Lorrie Moores short story “Dance in America” and discusses Moore […]
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A Sound of Thunder by Ray Bradbury Analysis
“A Sound of Thunder” is a science fiction short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in 1952. He set this story 100 years into his future, and just 30 years into ours.
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Amos and Boris by William Steig Analysis
Some picture books have an Aesop fable at their base. Amos and Boris is one such picture book, written and illustrated by William Steig (1971).
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The Snowy Day by Ezra Jack Keats Analysis
The Snowy Day (1962) is a famous American picture book by American author Ezra Jack Keats.