Overview of Short Stories

Story #1--THE FATHER

This generation gap conflict between a father and his son follows the plot formula of rising action, climax, and denouement. The ending is unhappy but realistic--for a realistic world! John Purcell, the father, is the main problem in his relationship with his son and it is fitting that he should have an apiphany in which he realizes that fact. The epiphany signifies the frustration of the father's goal--to get closer to his son on the night of the big Scout Banquet.
The story is a moving one, making the reader take stock of their own relationships. By the end of the story, the reader is left with a feeling of hollowness and dismay at the tragic estrangement between the two characters.
OTHER STUDY POSSIBILITIES: Conflict, Character, Point of View, Irony.

Story #2--THE FRIDAY EVERYTHING CHANGED. Great story to initiate debate.

The main purpose of "the Friday Everthing Changed" is to reveal a significatn theme: that some traditional sex-role patterns unfairly limit the freedom of individuals. We see this clearly in the conflict over the water, but we see it as well in the patterns for playing softball. As organizers, the boys have every privilege. When the teacher Miss Ralston strikes a home run, she shatters the illusion that girls cannot play ball as well as boys, and show the girls that they need not accept the limitations that have placed on them---neither in softball nor in other aspects of life.
The reader sees that through Miss Ralston's actions, the girls have gained a greater self-awareness and freedom, and the boys have been given cause to rethink their attitude toward the girls. In a larger sense, this story addresses more than the problem of male-female relationships; it reveals the idea that patterns of any sort can resrtict the freedoim of an individual.
OTHER STUDY POSSIBILITIES: Theme, Conflict, Point of View, Setting.

Story #3--THE VELDT---The future is now!!!

A terrific story by Ray Bradbury, focusing on the limitation(or lack thereof) of technology in the future. Bradbury asks the question-What if humans were totally dependent on technology? In the story, he examines the negative effects of technology on the family. The children become agressive while the parents become essentially obselete and are nothing more than background annoyances to get in the childrens' way.
Bradbury's view of children as amoral beings susceptible to evil, flattery, and technologies is a familiar one that he has explored in other stories such as "Zero Hour" anbd "All Summer in a Day."
STUDY POSSIBILITIES: Setting, Atmosphere, Plot, Conflict, Form, Symbol.

Story #4--A TELEVISION DRAMA(The perfect compliment to The Veldt.

A story which shows the reader how disassociated people have become thanks to the advent of technology. the story makes a powerful comment through its detailed description of the central character's reactions to a violent incident in her own neighbourhood. As the main character Carolee witnesses the news gathering process(Radio and TV) the author forges a link between the reality of violent crime and the unthreatening remoteness of media crime reports.
In Carolee's final emotion, the theme of this story is vividly expressed: unless they have been involved personally, most people tend not to appreciate the horror of many media-reported events. This is the gap that technology has created for today's citizen. A flood of violent news every night on the television and the radio, essentially desensitizing us to the whole process.
OTHER STUDY POSSIBILITIES: Point of View, Theme, Setting, Character, Conflict.

Story #5--THE SEA DEVIL

This action packed tale rivets the reader's attention despite a lengthy rising action and a drawn-out life-and-death struggle between the man and a devil ray. the main conflict is between civilized humanity and primative nature. The author introduces the conflict with a deceptive sense of harmony and oneness with nature.
The climax of the story finds the man embroiled in a life or death battle with the ray. He is just able to escape with his life as his fate seemed to be sealed.
There is an ironic image at the end of the tale. Just as the man has escaped, a plane flies high overhead--a suggestion of mankind's superiority over nature. The same image also paradoxically suggests the ultimate insignificance of civilized people's achievements and the precariousness of their existence in a dark, unsympathetic universe. Perhaps the greatest lesson learned by the protaganist at the end of the story is that, despite all the progress of civilization, we should not take the kindness of primitive nature for granted.

*Overviews found and adapted from the Inside Sories I Teacher's Guide.*

Overview of Short Stories Just think of this as a cheaper alternative to Coles Notes!!

Back to Eng9 Home Page Back to Main Short Story Page	Because there are so many different short stories for one to choose from, it becomes very difficult to narrow down the selection. We have taken the liberty of selecting a few of our favourites from the classroom and attempted to give an accurate description of the plot of each, major literary terms or devices which arise in each, and a primary area of focus for the story. We hope this will help teachers to decide upon a story, and students if they are unclear about any aspect of the story they have read. These overviews make an excellent review when studying for the exam(Grade 9 classes)!!
	Story #1--THE FATHER This generation gap conflict between a father and his son follows the plot formula of rising action, climax, and denouement. The ending is unhappy but realistic--for a realistic world! John Purcell, the father, is the main problem in his relationship with his son and it is fitting that he should have an apiphany in which he realizes that fact. The epiphany signifies the frustration of the father's goal--to get closer to his son on the night of the big Scout Banquet. The story is a moving one, making the reader take stock of their own relationships. By the end of the story, the reader is left with a feeling of hollowness and dismay at the tragic estrangement between the two characters. OTHER STUDY POSSIBILITIES: Conflict, Character, Point of View, Irony. Story #2--THE FRIDAY EVERYTHING CHANGED. Great story to initiate debate. The main purpose of "the Friday Everthing Changed" is to reveal a significatn theme: that some traditional sex-role patterns unfairly limit the freedom of individuals. We see this clearly in the conflict over the water, but we see it as well in the patterns for playing softball. As organizers, the boys have every privilege. When the teacher Miss Ralston strikes a home run, she shatters the illusion that girls cannot play ball as well as boys, and show the girls that they need not accept the limitations that have placed on them---neither in softball nor in other aspects of life. The reader sees that through Miss Ralston's actions, the girls have gained a greater self-awareness and freedom, and the boys have been given cause to rethink their attitude toward the girls. In a larger sense, this story addresses more than the problem of male-female relationships; it reveals the idea that patterns of any sort can resrtict the freedoim of an individual. OTHER STUDY POSSIBILITIES: Theme, Conflict, Point of View, Setting. Story #3--THE VELDT---The future is now!!! A terrific story by Ray Bradbury, focusing on the limitation(or lack thereof) of technology in the future. Bradbury asks the question-What if humans were totally dependent on technology? In the story, he examines the negative effects of technology on the family. The children become agressive while the parents become essentially obselete and are nothing more than background annoyances to get in the childrens' way. Bradbury's view of children as amoral beings susceptible to evil, flattery, and technologies is a familiar one that he has explored in other stories such as "Zero Hour" anbd "All Summer in a Day." STUDY POSSIBILITIES: Setting, Atmosphere, Plot, Conflict, Form, Symbol. Story #4--A TELEVISION DRAMA(The perfect compliment to The Veldt. A story which shows the reader how disassociated people have become thanks to the advent of technology. the story makes a powerful comment through its detailed description of the central character's reactions to a violent incident in her own neighbourhood. As the main character Carolee witnesses the news gathering process(Radio and TV) the author forges a link between the reality of violent crime and the unthreatening remoteness of media crime reports. In Carolee's final emotion, the theme of this story is vividly expressed: unless they have been involved personally, most people tend not to appreciate the horror of many media-reported events. This is the gap that technology has created for today's citizen. A flood of violent news every night on the television and the radio, essentially desensitizing us to the whole process. OTHER STUDY POSSIBILITIES: Point of View, Theme, Setting, Character, Conflict. Story #5--THE SEA DEVIL This action packed tale rivets the reader's attention despite a lengthy rising action and a drawn-out life-and-death struggle between the man and a devil ray. the main conflict is between civilized humanity and primative nature. The author introduces the conflict with a deceptive sense of harmony and oneness with nature. The climax of the story finds the man embroiled in a life or death battle with the ray. He is just able to escape with his life as his fate seemed to be sealed. There is an ironic image at the end of the tale. Just as the man has escaped, a plane flies high overhead--a suggestion of mankind's superiority over nature. The same image also paradoxically suggests the ultimate insignificance of civilized people's achievements and the precariousness of their existence in a dark, unsympathetic universe. Perhaps the greatest lesson learned by the protaganist at the end of the story is that, despite all the progress of civilization, we should not take the kindness of primitive nature for granted. Overviews found and adapted from the Inside Sories I Teacher's Guide.

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