Using the techniques for analysis discussed in weeks 1-3 write a short paper (750-1000 words) on any short story listed in the unit profile. The emphasis should be on identifying how the story's formal elements contribute to your interpretation.

This short paper will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. The level of demonstrated and appropriate (short story) analytical skills;
2. The sustained use of recommended theoretical concepts in developing an argument;
3. The careful editing for presentation (expression, spelling and grammar);
4. The proper acknowledgement of all sources using the Harvard (author-date) referencing style

Students will write a 1200 word essay answering one of the questions listed below that cover the stories from week 3 to 11. This paper should be uploaded to Moodle by the end of Week 8.

Assessable component

1. You are expected to address the specific concepts and issues of the topic statement.
2. Your answers and responses must demonstrate evidence of textual analysis, research and the development of an interpretation and argument. Plot description (merely retelling the story) is not acceptable.
3. Demonstrated evidence of library research is compulsory (at least three references in addition to the set texts).
4. It is recommended you use the five paragraph essay format (see Study Net: Five Paragraph Essay). For assistance with essay writing, go the Purdue University: Online Writing Lab
5. You may post your essay in the weekly discussion forum if you want to share your work. Comments and conversation is encouraged.

Total word length: 1200 words.

NB. Stories used for this assessment may not be used in the short answer papers or the essay (except in consultation with course coordinator).

Week 3

1. On one level Hawthorne’s ‘The minister’s black veil’ is a Christian parable about sin. But it can also be read a cautionary tale about the dangers of extreme beliefs. Paying close attention to the contrast between the opening and closing paragraphs, develop an argument about the effect of Reverend Hooper’s actions on the community.

2. In Bierce’s ‘An occurrence at Owl Creek bridge’, Peyton Farquhar resists dying with an elaborate fantasy. What is the broader significance of this fantasy in relation to traditional beliefs about the “afterlife” and how does the style of language throughout the story reflect his evolving mental state?

Week 4

1. According to Stone (1983, p. 5): 'The short story depends on concreteness, on sensual impressions that deliver their meaning without waste. Like the lyric, it is a lean form; it can tolerate little if any digression, and it stays within the world it creates. The action of the conventional short story is compressed within a short (usually continuous) time frame and space. The characters, few in number, are revealed, not developed. The background and setting are implied, not rendered. Like most drama, the short story’s action begins in media res. The story gets going as quickly as possible. ‘The overcoat’ by Gogol breaks all of these rules yet is considered to be the forerunner of the modern short story. Explain this in terms of the interplay of realism and fantasy and the story’s narrative structure.

2. How does desire function in de Maupassant ‘A country outing’? Analyse descriptions of the setting and character in formulating your response. Is the reader positioned to endorse or condemn the actions of Henri and Henriette?

Week 5

1. According to Rosemary Jackson (1981, p. 2), ‘fantasy characteristically attempts to compensate for a lack resulting from cultural constraints: it is a literature of desire, which seeks that which is experienced as absence and loss’. Test this theory by applying it to ‘The signalman’ by Charles Dickens.

2. What makes Kipling’s ‘At the end of the passage’ a ghost story? How do its fantastic elements challenge notions of literary realism and the ideologies of scientific rationalism and western imperialism?

Week 6.

1. Joyce writes naturalistically, with ‘scrupulous meanness’ (Stone 1983, p. 299) insofar as ‘language mirrors subject matter’. Yet he also developed modernist techniques such as the epiphany and intertextuality. Consider the use of these devices in ‘A painful case’ as you discuss its themes and issues.

2. Much modern fiction represents an attack on middle-class values. Mansfield’s ‘The garden party’ can be said to have a “coming of age” theme. Develop an argument about the significance of the story with an emphasis on the motif of the hat and narrative structure. What is conspicuous by its absence from the story?

Week 7

1. It has been said that ‘The hunger artist’ is an allegory about the way the modern world treats artists. Research modernism in the arts and find evidence in the text to support this reading.

2. ‘Mario and the magician’ is viewed as an allegory of the rise of fascism in Italy before WW2 but in what ways can it also be read as a critique of humanism? Consider this question by focusing on the length of this short story, the narrator’s discursive style and 'high-brow' tone of voice.

Week 8

1. The striking formal elements in Hemingway’s ‘Hills like white elephants’ are the direct observer point of view, symbolic description of the setting, and dialogical style of the narrative. How do these devices affect our understanding of the story’s themes and issues?

2. According to Stone (1983, p. 5) a short story is ‘compressed within a short (usually continuous) time frame and space'. Porter’s ‘The grave’ clearly breaks this 'rule'. Consider the implications of this subversion together with the story’s detailed focus on the psychology of the protagonist.

Week 9

1. In Cheever’s ‘A country husband’, the suburb of Shady Hill and its characters are described in affectionate detail. But as its name suggests, all is not as it seems. Middle class protagonist Francis Weed exploits a working class girl and assaults his wife. How is this critique of American society resolved (or not) in the enigmatic last sentence? ‘Then it is dark; it is a night where kings in golden suits ride elephants over the mountains’.

2. Jean Baudrillard describes postmodernism as ‘playing with the pieces’; J.F. Lyotard speaks of ‘incredulity towards meta-narratives’. How are these theories exemplified in Barthelme’s ‘At the end of the mechanical age’? Develop an argument focusing on the tone of the narrative and the characters’ use of language.

Week 10

1. Alain Robbe-Grillet's story 'The shore' has a camera-like direct observer point of view, and there is little plot or character development. But it can be said to conform to the typical short story plot structure. Explain what effect this create on the story's meanings.

2. 'Gogol's wife' is clearly absurd but its dark satire conceals a serious agenda relating to the treatment of women in "reality" and literature. Assuming that Caracas is a pun on characters, what does this suggest about characterization general? What techniques does Landolfi use to trick the reader into believing the story about Gogol?

Week 11

1. Explore the implications of Borges’ blurring of first and third person narrative modes in ‘Borges and I’ in terms of Barthes’ concept of “the death of the author”. Also consider ‘Everything and Nothing’ as a debate between essentialist and constructivist notions of identity. Consider the implications of the short, plot-less and essay-like form of both stories in relation to the idea that reality is a linguistic construct.

2. ‘Axolotl’ plays with the idea that identity is not fixed, that we can think ourselves into another state of being. Imagine this radical scenario were true (virtual reality suggests that it may soon be possible). What would we learn form the experience of becoming “other”, and what would it mean for society and the world? Consider too, how easily readers can be tricked into suspending disbelief by good writing.

The seminar/online presentation will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. The depth of understanding of the selected stories in the context of the chosen question;

2. The level of demonstrated and appropriate (short story) analytical skills;

3. The careful editing for presentation (expression, spelling and grammar);

4.The sustained use of recommended theoretical concepts in supporting argument;

5. The proper acknowledgement of all sources using the Harvard (author-date) referencing style

Answer one of the the following questions (N.B. you must not choose a story that you have already written on for other pieces of assessment, although you can refer to it in passing):

Word length: no less than 1500 words

• Rohrberger argues that ‘The short story writer makes symbols of objects, characters, events, settings, plots in an effort to move beyond surface levels and to suggest complex meanings’ (Story to Anti-Story 1979, p. 14). Evaluate this statement using close readings of at least two short stories to support your case?
• By analyzing several texts from various periods develop an argument about how changes in the form of the short story reflect changes in social, ideological and aesthetic contexts.
• Trace the evolution of contemporary views on identity (considering aspects such as class, gender, race, and sexuality) through analysis of a selection of short stories from the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.
• Choose one of the topics from Assessment Item 2 and develop a detailed argument in response. You cannot choose a story you have already used for another assessment.

This essay will be evaluated on the following criteria:

1. The depth of understanding of the selected stories in the context of the chosen question;
2. The level of demonstrated and appropriate (short story) analytical skills;
3. The sustained use of recommended theoretical concepts in developing an argument;
4. The careful editing for presentation (expression, spelling and grammar);
5. The proper acknowledgement of all sources using the Harvard (author-date) referencing style