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Raven and Crow Symbolism
What does the raven symbolise in art and literature? Also, how do different cultures view ravens, and how are ravens different from crows?
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Memorial by Alice Munro Short Story Analysis
Have you ever showed up to extend care to a loved one in their time of need, but in an uncomfortable reversal, the object of your care has made herself busy taking care of everyone else instead? “Memorial” is a short story by Canadian author Alice Munro. Find it in Something I’ve Been Meaning To Tell You (1974).
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Heirs of the Living Body by Alice Munro Short Story Analysis
“Heirs of the Living Body” is the second story in Lives of Girls and Women (1971), sometimes considered a novel, sometimes a collection of short stories. Each of these stories can be read in isolation, but all concern the life of a woman called Del Jordan growing up in the small fictional Ontario town of Jubilee. This story is about…
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Miles City, Montana by Alice Munro Short Story Analysis
“Miles City, Montana” is a short story by Alice Munro, and first appeared in the January 14, 1985 edition of The New Yorker.
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A Complicated Nature by William Trevor Short Story Analysis
“A Complicated Nature” is a short story by William Trevor, published in Angels At The Ritz And Other Stories (1975). Find it also in Collected Stories. A prim, starchy man who lives alone in his apartment faces a moral dilemma when the woman upstairs calls him, begging for a favour. She wants him to help […]
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The Night by Ray Bradbury Short Story Analysis
“The Night” is a second-person point of view short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in 1955.
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Loneliness by Bruno Schulz Short Story Analysis
“Loneliness” is a (very) short story by Polish Jewish writer Bruno Schulz, translated into English by Celina Wieniewska and published in The New Yorker in 1977. Although the story appeared to English audiences in 1977, long after WW2, Bruno Schulz lived from 1892-1942. This story appeared in one of Bruno Schulz’s two short story collections, published 1937.
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The Power of the Dog: How Did Phil Die? and Other Questions
The Power of the Dog is a 2021 film directed by Jane Campion, based on the same-named 1967 novel by Thomas Savage. Like a lyrical short story, this film is designed for a repeat viewing.
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Resources For Teaching The Black Death
This list includes non-fiction, historical fiction (some based on true stories) as well as podcasts, TV shows and even a song. I’m including resources for all ages in this list. HOOKS Ring a Ring o Roses Nursery Rhyme Ring a Ring o Roses, or Ring Around the Rosie, may be about the 1665 Great Plague […]
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The Secret Garden by Frances Hodgson Burnett
The Secret Garden is a novel by British-American Frances Hodgson Burnett, originally published in serialised form in America between 1910-11, the end of the Edwardian era in England. We now consider this a story for children, probably because the main characters are children. Surprising to me: this story was originally aimed at an adult readership.
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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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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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The Symbolism of Dolls In Storytelling
Dolls serve as comfort; they also creep us out. Which is it gonna be? And how do storytellers utilise their multivalent presence in our lives?
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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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Bravado by William Trevor Short Story Analysis
If you think you’re too old to write about contemporary young characters, take your cue from Irish short story master William Trevor, who wrote “Bravado”, about young people and night-clubbing culture, at almost 80 years of age.