Uni Gottingen 7225 951 401
2010 A 7337
An Introduction to
ELEVENTH EDITION
X. J. Kennedy
Dana Gioia
• '" .;; LongmanBoston Columbus Indianapolis New York San Francisco Upper Saddle. River Amsterdam
Cape Town Dubai London Madrid Milan Munich Paris Montreal TorontoDelhi Mexico City Sao Paulo Sydney Hong Kong Seoul Singapore Taipei Tokyo
Preface xvii
To the Instructor xxi
TIONI \ I . K I \ ( , WITH.-I//M" l(UI
READING A STORY 5
THE ART OF FICTION 5
TYPES OF SHORT FICTION 6
W. Somerset Maugham, The Appointment in Samarra 6A servant tries to gallop away from Death in this brief sardonic fable retold inmemorable form by a popular storyteller.
Aemp, The North Wind and the Sun 7The North Wind and the Sun argue who is stronger and decide to try their powers onan unsuspecting traveler. . . •
Bidpai, The Tortoise a n d the Geese 8A fable that gives another dimension to'Andrew Lang's quip, "He missed aninvaluable opportunity to hold his tongue."
Chuang Tzu, Independence 10The Prince ofCh'u asks the philosopher Chuang Tzu to become his advisor and getsa surprising reply in this classic Chinese fable.
Jakob and Wilhelm Grimm,.'Godfather Death nNeither God nor the Devil came to the christening. In this stark folktale,a young man receives magical powers with a-string attached.
PLOT 13
THE SHORT STORY is
John Updike, A & P 16
In walk three girls in nothing but bathing suits, and Sammy finds himself no longer anaproned checkout clerk but an armored knight.
' WRITING .effectively..'John Updike on Writing, Why Write?: 21
iv Contents
THINKING" ABOUT PLOT 22
CHECKLIST: Writing 'About Plot 22
WRITING ASSIGNMENT ON PLOT 22
MORE TOPICS FOR WRITING 23
> TERMS FOR review 23
POINT OF VIEW 25IDENTIFYING POINT OF VIEW 26
TYPES OF NARRATORS 26
STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS 28
William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily, 29Proud, imperious Emily Grierson defied the town from the fortress of her mansion.
Who could have guessed the secret that lay within?
Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart 36The smoldering eye at last extinguished, a murderer finds that, despite all his attempts
at a cover-up, his victim will be,heard.
Virginia Woolf, A Haunted House 40Whatever hour you woke a door was shutting. From room to room the ghostly couplewalked, hand in hand.
Eudora Welty, Why I Live at the P.O. 42Since no one appreciates Sister, she decides to live at thePost Office. After meetingher family, you won't blame her.
J a m e s B a l d w i n , S o n n y ' s B l u e s 5 1 ,. , . . .
Two brothers in Harlem see life differently. The older brother is the sensible family
man, but Sonny wants to be a jazz musician.
WRITING effectivelyJames Baldwin on Writing, Race and the African American Writer 73
THINKING ABOUT POINT 01 'VIEW 74 r
CHECKLIST: Writing About Pointof View 75
WRITING ASSIGNMENT ON POINT OF VIEW 75
MOKE TOPICS FOR WRITING 75
• TERMS FOR review 76
• C H A R A C T E R - 7 7 ^ / 7 ; ^ ; . ' . ' -•••- • •
T Y P E S O F C H A R A C T E R S 78
Katherine Anne Porter, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall 79For sixty years Ellen Weatherall has fought back-the memory of that terrible day, but
now once more the priest waits in the house.
Contents v
Katherine Mansfield, Miss Brill 86Sundays had long brought joy to solitary Miss Brill, until one fateful day when shehappened to share a bench with two lovers in the park. .
Naguib Mahfouz, The Lawsuit 90He thought he'd seen the last of his late father's second wife, but now she's back totrouble his peaceful existence.
Raymond Carver, Cathedral 93He had never expected to find himself trying to describe a cathedral to a blind man.
He hadn't even wanted to meet this odd, oldfriend of his wife.
.. WRITING effectivelyRaymond Carver on Writing, Commonplace but Precise Language l(M
THINKING ABOUT CHARACTER 105
CHECKLIST: Writing About Character .105
WRITING ASSIGNMENT ON CHARACTER 105
MORE TOPICS FOR WRITING 106
• TERMS FOR review 106
SETTING 107
ELEMENTS OF SETTING 107
HISTORICAL FICTION io«
REGIONALISM 109
NATURALISM 109
Kate Chopin, The Storm 110Even with her husband away, Calixta feels happily, securely married. Why then
should she not shelter an old admirer from the rain?
Jack London, To Build a Fire 114Seventy-five degrees below zero. Alone except for one mistrustful wolf dog, a manfinds himself battling a relentless force.
T. Coraghessan Boyle, Greasy Lake 125Murky and strewn with beer cans, the lake appears a wasteland. On its shore three
"dangerous characters" leam a lesson one grim night.
Amy Tan, A Pair of Tickets" 132A young woman flies with her father to China to meet two half sisters she never knew
existed. '•• , ':
WRITING effectivelyAmy Tan on Writing, Setting the Voice 145
THINKING ABOUT SETTING 146
vi Contents
CHECKLIST: Writing About Setting 146
WRITING ASSIGNMENT ON'SETTING !l47
MORE TOPICS I OR WRITING 147
• TERMS FOR review 147
TONE AND STYLE usTONE 149
STYLE 149
DICTION 150
Ernest Hemingway, A Clean, Well-Lighted Place 152All by himself each night,'the old man lingers in the bright cafe. What does he needmore than brandy?
William Faulkner, Barn Burning 155This time when Ab Snopes wields his blazing torch, his son Sarty faces a dilemma:whether to obey or defy the vengeful old man.
IRONY 167
O. Henry, The Gift of the Magi 169A ;young husband and wife find ingenious ways to buy each other Christmas presents,in the classic story that defines the word "irony."
Ha Jin, Saboteur 173When the police unfairly arrest Mr. Chiu, he hopes for justice. After witnessing theirbrutality, he quietly plans revenge. •
m WRITING effectivelyErnest Hemingway on Writing, The Direct Style 180
THINKING ABOUT TONE AND STYLE 181
CHECKLIST: Writing About Tone and Style 181
WRITING ASSIGNMENTS TONE,AND STYLE ,182 ':, .
MORE TOPICS FOR WRITING 182
• TERMS FOR review 182
THEME 183
PLOT VERSUS THEME 183
THEME AS UNIFYING DEVICE: 184
Contents vii
FINDING THE THEME 185
Stephen Crane, The Open Boat 185In a lifeboat circled by sharks, tantalized by glimpses of land, a reporter scrutinizes
Fate and learns about comradeship.
Alice Munro, How I Mel My Husband 202When Edie meets the carnival pilot, her life gets more complicated than she
expects.
Luke 15:11-32, The Parable of the Prodigal Son 214A father has two sons. One demands his inheritance now and leaves to spend it with
ruinous results.
Kurt Vonnegul Jr., Harrison Bergeron 215Are you handsome? Off with your eyebrows! Are you brainy? Let a transmittersound thought-shattering beeps inside your ear.
II WRITING effectivelyKurt Vonnegut Jr. on Writing, The Themes of Science Fiction 220
THINKING ABOUT THEME 221 • •
CHECKLIST: Writing About Theme 222
WRITING ASSIGNMENT ON THEME 222
MORE TOPICS FOR. WRITING 222
• TERMS FOR review 222
SYMBOL 223
ALLEGORY 22.3
SYMBOLS 224
RECOGNIZING SYMBOLS 225
John Steinbeck, The Chrysanthemums 226Fenced-in Elisa feels emotionally starved—rthen her life promises to blossom with thearrival of the scissors-grinding man.
John Cheever, The Swimmer 234A man decides to swim home through his neighbors' pools, but the water turns out to
be much deeper than he realized.
Ursula K. Le Guin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas 242Omelas is the perfect city. All of its inhabitants are happy. But everyone's prosperity
depends on a hidden evil. , , • .
Shirley Jackson, The Lottery 247Splintered and faded, the sinister black box had worked its annual terror for longer
than anyone in town could remember.
viii Contents
WRITING effectivelyShirley Jackson on Writing, Biography of a Story 253
THINKING ABOUT SYMBOLS 255
CHECKLIST: Writing About Symbols 255
WRITING ASSIGNMKNT-ON SYMBOLS 256Sample Student Paper, An Analysis of the Symbolism in Steinbeck's
"The Chrysanthemums'' 256MORE TOPICS FOR WRITING 258
• TERMS FOR review 258
8 READING LONG STORIES AND NOVELS 259
ORIGINS OF THE NOVEL 259
NOVELISTIC METHODS 261
READING NOVELS 26.3Leo Tolstoy, The Death of Ivan Ilych 264
The supreme Russian novelist tells how a petty, ambitious judge, near the end of his
wasted life, discovers a harrowing truth.
Franz Kafka, The Metamorphosis 301"When Gregor Samsa awoke one morning from troubled dreams, he found himself
transformed in his bed into a monstrous insect." Kafka's famous opening sentence
introduces one of the most chilling stories in world literature.
WRITING effectivelyFranz Kafka on Writing, Discussing The Metamorphosis 332
THINKING ABOUT LONG STORIES AND NOVELS 332
CHECKLIST: Writing About Long Stories and Novels 333
WRITING ASSIGNMENT FOR A RESEARCH PAPER 333Sample Student Research Paper, Kafka's Crcatness 334
MORE TOPICS FOR WHITING 339
• TERMS FOR review 339 . , •
LATIN AMERICAN FICTION 3,1
"EL BOOM" 341
MACIC REALISM 342
AFTER THE BOOM 3*3
Contents ix
Jorge Luis Borges, The Gospel According to Mark 344A young man from Buenos Aires is trapped by a flood on an isolated ranch. To pass
the time he reads the Gospel to a family with unforeseen results.
Octavio Paz, My Life with the Wave 348Meet the oddest couple ever, in this story by a Nobel Prize-winning poet.
Gabriel Garcia Mdrquez, A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings 352What do you do when a worn-out angel crashes in your.yard? Sell tickets or call the
priest?
Ines Arredondo, The Shunammite 357When Luisa went to visit her dying uncle, she had no idea that her life was about to
change forever.
m WRITING effectivelyGabriel Garcia Mdrquez on Writing, My Beginnings as a Writer 365
TOPICS FOR WRITING 366
• TERMS FOR review 367
10 CRITICAL CASEBOOKFlannery 0 'Connor 368
FLANNERY O'CONNOR 369
A Good Man Is Hard to Find 369Wanted: The Misfit, a cold-blooded killer. An ordinary family vacation leads to
horror—and one moment of redeeming grace.
Revelation 380Mrs. Turpin thinks herself Jesus's favorite child, until she meets a troubled college
girl. Soon violence flares in a doctor's waiting room.
Parker's Back 393A tormented man tries to find his way to God and to his wife—by having himselftattooed.
FLANNERY O'CONNOR ON WRITINGFrom "On Her Own Work" 407On Her Catholic Faith 409From "The Grotesque in Southern Fiction" 410Yearbook Cartoons 411
CRITICS ON FLANNERY O'CONNOR/ . O. Tate, A Good Source Is Not So Hard to Find: The Real Life Misfit 412Mary Jane Schenck, Deconstructing "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" 414LouisetS. Cou>a/i,, The Character of Mrs. Turpin in "Revelation" 415Kathleen Feeley, The Mystery of Divine Direction: "Parker's
Back" 417
•x Contents
11
a WRITING ''effectivelyTOPICS FOR WRITING 418
CRITICAL CASEBOOKThree Stories in Depth 419
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE 419
Young Goodman Brown 420Urged on through deepening woods, a young Puritan sees—or dreams he
sees—good villagers hasten toward a diabolic rite. ; ,
NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE -ON,.WRITING
Reflections on Truth and Clarity in Literature 429The Obscurest Man in American Letters 430
CRITICS ON HAWTHORNE
Herman Melville, Excerpt from a Review of Mosses from an OldManse 430 • • ' • - ' • , ' . • . • •' . . • ; ' • •
Edgar Allan Poe, The Genius of Hawthorne's ShortStories 431
CRITICS ON "YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN" , , ,;
Richard H. Fogle, Ambiguity in "Young Goodman Brown" 432, Paul J. Hurley, Evil Wherever He Looks 433
Nancy Bunge, Complacency and Community 434
CHARLOTTE-PERKINSGILMAN-436 • ;•The Yellow Wallpaper 436A doctor prescribes a "rest cure" for his wife after the'birth of their child. The new
"• mother tries'to settleih to life1 in the isolated and mysterious country house they
have rented for the summer. The cure proves worse than the disease in this Gothic
classic. . . ; . . , - : , - • . , • . , , [ • • • • • •
C H A R L O T T E P E R K I N S G I L M A J N f O N W R I T I N G ^ \t\
Why I Wrote "The Yellow;W;allpaper''; 447 : ; r ,,. . :W h a t e v e r Is 448 : . . • • . • : . ; , ,.' ; : ; 'T h e N e r v o u s B r e a k d o w n o f W o m e n 449
CRITICS ON: ftTHE YELLOW WALLPAPER" , -/• <•:,
' Juliann Fleenor, Gender arid Pathology in "The Yellow-Wallpaper" 450' Sandra M.'Gilbert'and Susan Gubdrj- Imprisonment arid Escape: The
1 Psychology of Confinement ''451' ' ! '.'"'' •'• !'s'-'!'.-Elizabeth Ammohs, Biographical Echoes in "The Yellow Wallpaper" 453
Contents xi.
ALICE WALKER 455
Everyday Use 455When successful Dee visits from the city, she has changed her name to reflect her
African roots. Her mother and sister notice other things have changed, too.
ALICE WALKER ON WRITINGThe Black Woman Writer in America 462Reflections on Writing and Women's Lives 463
CRITICS ON "EVERYDAY USE"Barbara T. Christian, "Everyday Use" and the Black Power
Movement 464Houston A. Baker and Charlotte Pierce-Baker, Stylish vs. Sacred in
"Everyday Use" 466Elaine Showalter, Quilt; as Metaphor in "Everyday Use" 469
WRITING effectivelyTOPICS FOR WRITING 470
STORIES FOR FURTHER READING 471
Chinua Achebe, Dead Men's Path 471The new headmaster of the village school was determined to fight superstition, but the
villagers did not agree.
Sherman Alexie, This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona 474The only one who can help Victor when his father diesis a childhood friend he's been
avoiding for years.
Margaret Atwood, Happy Endings 482John and Mary meet. What happens next? This witty experimental story offers five
different outcomes.
Ambrose Bierce, An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge 485At last, Peyton Farquhar's neck is in the noose. Reality mingles with dream in this
classic story of the American Civil War.
Willa Gather, Paul's Case 491Paul's teachers can't understand the boy. Then one day, with stolen cash, he boards
a train for New York and the life of his dreams.
Anton Chekhov, The Lady with the Pet Dog 505Lonely and bored at a seaside resort, a couple seeks a merely casual affair. How
could they know it might deepen and trouble their separate marriages!
Kate Chopin, The Story of an Hour 516"There was something coming to her and she was waiting for it, fearfully. What was
it? She did not know; it was too subtle and elusive to name."
Sandra Cisneros, The House on Mango Street 518 .-.Does where we live tell what we are? Alittle girl dreams of anew house, but things
don't always turnout the way we want them to.
xii Contents
Ralph Ellison, Battle Royal 519 - > vul"-'.\ \!-.'i\' '•''.'."\'.--\A young black man is invited to deliver his high school graduation speech to a
:. gatheringofa Southern town's Jeading.jwhite citizens..What promises,to be an honorturns into a nightmare of violence,, humiliation, and painful self-discovery.
Z o r a N e a l e H u r s t o n , S w e a t 5 2 9 ; '•.-, . ' • , ; ! , -• >; : / -'.S", }'•Delia's hard work paid for her small house. Now her drunken husband Sykes haspromised it to another woman. ' , , • ., ,'
J a m e s J o y c e , A r a b y 5 3 8 - - . • , . ., •• •. • ,.If only he can find her a token, she might love him in return. As night falls, a Dublin
' boy hurries to make"his dream come true.
F r a n z K a f k a , B e f o r e t h e L a w ^ 5 4 2 : .;A man from the country comes in search of the Law. He never guesses what willprevent him from-finding it in-this modern parable. ; r "
Jamaica Kincaid, Girl 543"Try to walk like a lady, and not like the slut you are so bent on becoming." An old-fashioned mother tells her daughter how to live.
Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies 545Mr. Kapasi's life had settled'into a quiet pattern—and then Mrs.<Das and her familycame into it.
D. H. Lawrence, The Rpcking-Horse Winner 559Wild-eyed "as if something were going to explode in him," the,boy predicts eachwinning horse, and gamblers rush to bet a thousand pounds.
Bobbie Ann Mason, Shiloh 569After the accident Leroy could no longer work as a truck driver. He hoped to make anew life with his wife, but she seemed strangely different. •.;
Lorrie Moore, How to Become a Wri ter 579After reading these "instructions," you may be asking yourself why anyone wouldwant to become a writer. • - < • .- •• •
Joyce Carol Oates, Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? 584Aione in the house, Connie finds herself helpless before the, advances of a spellbindingimitation teenager, Arnold Friend.
Tim O'Brien, The Things They Carried 595What each soldier carried into the combat zone was- largely determined- b)i necessity,but each man snecessities differed'.. •'. • . • !
Tillie Olsen, I S tand Here Ironing 607 ,, Deserted by her husband, forced to send away her child, a woman remembers how
both she and'her daughter managed tdsurvive.
Tobias Wolff, The Rich- Brother:; 613 ' ,., , . ,: Biood may be thicker than-waterj.but sometimes the tension between brothers is
t h i c k e r t h a n b l o o d . • : > , , , ' ' ; • > , , . .. • •-. •* •:..• ••.
Contents xiii
KITING
WRITING ABOUT A STORY 627
READ ACTIVELY 627
THINK ABOUT THE STORY 629
PREWRITING: DISCOVER YOUR IDEAS 630
Sample Student Prewriting Exercises 630-632
WRITE A ROUGH DRAFT 632
CHECKLIST: Writing a Rough Draft 634
REVISE YOUR DRAFT 634
CHECKLIST: Revising Your Draft 635
WHAT'S YOUR PURPOSE? COMMON APPROACHESTO WRITING ABOUT FICTION 635
Explication 636Sample Student Paper, Explication 637
Analysis 639 ' ' .Sample Student Paper, Analysis 640
The Card Report 642Sample Student Card Report 644
Comparison and Contrast 645Sample Student Paper, Comparison and Contrast 647
Response Paper 648Sample Student Response Paper 649
THE FORM OF YOUR FINISHED PAPER 651
• T O P I C S " F O R ' W R I T I N G 6 5 1 = , [[ : . • ' • • [ • .
WRITING A RESEARCH PAPER 654
BROWSE THE RESEARCH '654
CHOOSE A TOPIC 655„ ...,;
BEGIN YOUR RESEARCH .655•'"' Print Resources 655 ' ! ''
Online Databases 656Reliable Web Sources 656
xiv Contents
CHECKLIST: Finding Reliable Sources 657
Visual Images 657
CHECKLIST: Using Visual Images 658
EVALUATE YOUR SOURCES 659
Print Resources 659 ' 'Web Resources 659
CHECKLIST: Evaluating Your Sources 660
ORGANIZE YOUR RESEARCH ceo
REFINE YOUR THESIS 663
ORGANIZE YOUR PAPER 663
WRITE AND REVISE 663
MAINTAIN ACADEMIC INTEGRITY 664
ACKNOWLEDGE ALL SOURCES 664Quotations 665Citing Ideas 665
DOCUMENT SOURCES USING MLA STYLE 666List of Sources 666Parenthetical References 666Works-Cited List 667Citing Print Sources in MLA Style 668Citing Web Sources in MLA Style 669Sample List of Works Cited 670
HEI E R E N C E G L I D E FOR ( I I VI IONS
CRITICAL APPROACHES T O LITERATURE 678
FORMALIST CRITICISM 679 . . ,
Cleanth Brooks, The Formalist Critic 679Michael Clark, Light and Darkness in ''Sonny's Blues'', 680 ;
BIOGRAPHICAL CRITICISM 681
Virginia Llewellyn Smith, Chekhov's Attitude to Ronianric Love 682Emily Toth, The Source for Alcee Laballiere in "The Storm" 684
Contents xv
HISTORICAL CRITICISM 685
John King, The Argentine Context of Borges's Fantastic Fiction 685Kathryn Lee Seidel, The Economics of Zora Neale Hurston's
"Sweat" 687
PSYCHOLOGICAL CRITICISM 689
Sigmund Freud, The Destiny of Oedipus 690Gretchen Schulz and R. J. R. Rockwood, Fairy Tale Motifs in "Where
Are You Going. Where Have You Been?" 691
MYTHOLOGICAL CRITICISM 693
Carl Jung, The Collective Unconscious and Archetypes 694Edtnond Volpe, Myth in Faulkner's "Barn Burning" 695
SOCIOLOGICAL CRITICISM 696
Georg Lukacs, Content Determines Form 697Daniel P. Walkins, Money and Labor in "The Rockirig-Horse
Winner" 698
GENDER CRITICISM 699
Elaine Showalter, Toward a Feminist Criticism 700Nina Pelikan Straus, Transformations in The Metamorphosis 701
READER-RESPONSE CRITICISM 702
Stanley Fish, An Eskimo "A Rose for Emily" 702Michael J. Colacurcio, The End of Young Goodman Brown 703
DECONSTRUCTIONIST CRITICISM 704
Roland Barthes, The Death of the Author 705Barbara Johnson, Rigorous Unreliability 706
CULTURAL STUDIES 707
Vincent B. Leitch, Poststxucturalist Cultural Critique 708Mark Bauerlein, What Is Cultural Studies? 709
• TERMS FOR review 711
GLOSSARY OF LITERARY TERMS 712
Credits 728
Index of Major Themes 732
Index of Authors and Titles 734
Index of Literary Terms 738
