[lit-ideas] Re: Decisions, Decisions
- From: "Stan Spiegel" <writeforu2@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: <lit-ideas@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Sun, 17 Oct 2004 21:19:56 -0400
Ursula wrote:
I also have them write a paper on the philosophical themes in a work of
fiction. In other years, we've done Steppenwolf, Candide, The Picture
of Dorian Gray, and Mary Shelley's Frankenstein. This year, I'm leaning
towards Kafka's Metamorphosis. Any suggestions for short appropriate
(and appropriately short) fiction would also be appreciated.
Ursula Stange
in North Bay, ON
S.S. answers:
I'm not sure when you say short fiction if you're looking for short novels or
good short stories. Or both. Short Stories is a special interest of mine.
Kafka's Metamorphosis certainly would be a good choice. Even The Trial would be
a great choice as a short novel, given what we know about The Patriot Act and
Abu Ghraib.
I'd also recommend -- in the short fiction category --
* Hemingway's Old Man & The Sea ( a short novel), not to mention a wide
spectrum of his short stories: e.g., The Killers, The Short Happy Life of
Francis Macomber, etc.
* Dostoevsky's "Notes From Underground" is also quite a demanding piece of
short fiction along with
* "The Grand Inquisitor," which can be pulled out of The Brothers Karamazov as
a short self-contained piece.
* Henry James' ghost story "The Turn of the SCrew" is better as a short novel
than the dramatized version ever was.
Are you looking for just one piece of short fiction for everyone to read? Or
are you looking for a great anthology that everyone can dip into and pick one
short story out of it to write about? Houghton Mifflin publishes a series every
year called "The Best American Short Stories." The editors read thousands of
short stories from magazines around the country and pick out the best 20 or so
according to their own taste. EVery year the guest editors change. Is that
something that would be useful?
Stan Spiegel
Portland, Maine
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