SHORT STORY SNAPSHOT UNIT REVIEW

Test Review

Jamaica Kincaid’s “Girl”

Flash fiction Gender Roles and Expectations Burden of being a “lady”– do all of these

things, otherwise you’re a… Allegory – Mother Daughter relationship

parallels the colonial relationship between England and the West Indies

Alice Walker’s “Everyday Use” The quilt is a symbol of culture and

heritage; both girls have different uses for it.

Story about different ways of valuing culture

Maggie represents the “everyday use” because she lives it

Dee represents the “superficial” use because she likes the way it makes her look

David Sedaris’s “Go Carolina” Comedic personal essay Distinct voice – reflects the teller Humor provides insight into the way

Sedaris sees the world and processes his experiences

“ I liked the idea that a part of one's body might be thought of as lazy — not thoughtless or hostile, just unwilling to extend itself for the betterment of the team.”

Amy Hempel’s “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson is Buried”

It’s all about the sentences. Emotion (sadness, guilt, fear, grief) conveyed

through subtext. Subtext: literally means below text—the deeper

meaning or implication; sometimes what is unsaid.

“We look like good-guy outlaws. Good or bad, I am not used to the mask yet. I keep touching the warm spot where my breath, thank God, comes out. She is used to hers. She only ties the strings on top. The other ones—a pro by now—she lets hang loose.”

O. Henry’s “A Retrieved Reformation”

Indirect characterization of Jimmy—he shows you what he’s like through his actions and dialogue.

Ironic twist: Ben Price catches Jimmy being good– calls him Ralph (shows he’s a new man)

Moral or lesson: People can reform/redeem themselves.

Flannery O’ Connor “Everything that Rises Must Converge”

Southern Gothic Elements: Irony The grotesque

Didactic message: the lesson that the author teaches her characters and the reader to help them reform or change behavior

In the story, Julian and his mother learn (the hard way) to be self aware (of their hypocrisy) and not pass judgment on others.

John Irving’s “Trying to Save Piggy Sneed”

Memoir – autobiographical narrative The role of the writer is “setting

fire to Piggy Sneed--and trying to save him-again and again; forever.”

Irving’s philosophy on writing: writers must 1.Exist in reality (where we make mistakes

and bad things happen) and 2. Create a better story (make what

actually happened more interesting/entertaining, more hopeful…just better).

John Updike’s A&P

Style: stream of consciousness first person narration; conversational tone

Genre/type of story: coming of age Themes: conformity vs. rebellion

Kurt Vonnegut’s “Fubar”

Fubar: fouled up beyond all recognition—not as a result of malice but the administrative confusion that is inevitable in large, complex organizations.

Irony: Fuzz’s job title and the nature of his work (setting, isolation from other people)

Epiphany and character development– shows that Fuzz is not actually Fubar (beyond repair)