Introduction Toni Morrison’s only short story, “Recitatif,” appeared in Confirmation: An Anthology of African American Women in 1983. The plot revolves around two girls who meet at a shelter for neglected and orphaned children, with race playing an important part. Morrison leaves readers wondering about their assumptions about the ethnicities of the characters by keeping … Read more
Introduction The short story “Miss Brill” was written by Katherine Mansfield, a modernist author born in New Zealand (1888–1923). The story was first released in the Athenaeum in 1920, and it was later collected by Mansfield in The Garden Party and Other Stories, published in 1922. This book, along with T. S. Eliot’s The Waste … Read more
Introduction The short story “Kew Gardens” was written by Virginia Woolf, an English novelist. It was initially made available to the general public in 1921 in the collection Monday or Tuesday, after which it was included in the posthumous collection A Haunted House (1944). It was first published privately in 1919. Its visual arrangement has … Read more
Introduction Memoirs of a Yellow Dog is a short story published in 1906 by American writer O’Henry. The story emphasizes the meaninglessness of life, the emptiness of emotions, and loveless marriages. It focuses on the American middle class, particularly in New York. It is the memoir of a yellow dog. He talks about his owners, … Read more
Introduction The short story “Good Country People” was written by Flannery O’Connor. It was released in 1955 as part of her collection of short stories, “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” which is recognized as an exemplary piece of Southern Gothic literature. The importance of religion in Southern society is reflected in O’Connor’s work, … Read more
Introduction Tillie Olsen’s 1956 short story ‘I Stand Here Ironing’ was initially published in Prairie Schooner under the title ‘Help Her to Believe’. It was republished under its more famous title in Olsen’s 1961 collection Tell Me a Riddle. The story is presented in the style of a monologue spoken by a woman ironing clothes … Read more
“Raymond’s Run” is a short story by Toni Cade Bambara that tells the story of a young girl named Squeaky who loves to run. Squeaky is a determined and confident girl who takes pride in her running abilities. She lives in a poor neighborhood in Harlem with her family and spends most of her time … Read more
In this short story, Girish Karnad narrates a love story between two women Rani and Nagamandala. The story is set in the Indian subcontinent of the early 20th century. The main character of the story, Rani lives in a house with her mother. She lives in a small room which is very close to the … Read more
Introduction Travelling is a nightmare for the narrator who always messes things up while travelling. Travelling Mess The narrator feels surprised by seeing people do things that he cannot. He is forgetful and confused all the time. One day, when the narrator went on a trip to England along with his family. He had come … Read more
BEYOND THE BAYOU by Kate Chopin and THE GARDEN PARTY by Katherine Mansfield are two of the most significant short stories in the history of English Literature. Both the stories portray post-war traumas, psychological conflicts, the hollowness of the society, Class conflicts, racism, interior monologues, nonlinear storytelling technique that make them modernist in approach and … Read more
