Modern Short Stories
British Literature (Theme and Symbolism)
D.H. Lawrence (18851930)
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Literary achievements overshadowed by controversy
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Born in Nottinghamshire in 1885
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Unorthodox positions on politics and morality
Left school to become a clerk and contracted pneumonia.
After recovering, he decided to become a teacher.
Thought to be a German spy during WWI
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Left England shortly after the war.
Travelled abroad to multiple countries
 Became settings for many of his works.
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Wrote Women in Love and Lady Chatterly’s Lover
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Died of Tuberculosis shortly after completing Lady Chatterly’s Lover
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After his death, Lawrence’s works were praised for its vivid setting and
psychological insight.
Reading Fiction
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When we read fiction, we need to identify and interpret symbols, in
order to then understand a work’s theme(s).
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What is a symbol?
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A person, object, or action that conveys meaning beyond its literal
significance
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What is a theme?
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A central idea or concern
“The Rocking-Horse
Winner”
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What style or form of narrative might this story most closely
resemble?
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Why does Paul start betting on horse races?
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How does Paul see “luck”? What is his attitude toward “luck”?
“The Rocking-Horse
Winner”
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What style or form of narrative might this story most closely
resemble?
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Why does Paul start betting on horse races?
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Fairy Tale style
 Supernatural aspects?
Relieve his mother’s stress anxiety
 Worries about wealth and status
How does Paul see “luck”? What is his attitude toward “luck”?
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People can create their own luck
 Rides his horse to create luck
Luck is a place people can go and find money
 It is where Paul discovers the winners of the races
“The Rocking-Horse
Winner”
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How does the British class system affect this stories themes?
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What is the primary symbol? What might it symbolize?
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What could be a theme (central idea or concern) of this text?
“The Rocking-Horse
Winner”
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How does the British class system affect this stories themes?
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What is the primary symbol? What might it symbolize?
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Highly stratified with very little social mobility
 Because of this, the mother is very scared of losing her status.
The Rocking-Horse:
 Futile struggle of Materialism
 Desperate measures to gain wealth
 Unrealistic attachments to ideals of wealth and status
What could be a theme (central idea or concern) of this text?
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Materialism can warp people psychologically
Futility of finding happiness in wealth or status (money)
Graham Greene (19041991)
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He was born in Hertfordshire in 1904.
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Son of a schoolmaster
Studied at Oxford University
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Shortly after, Greene converts to Catholicism
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As a religious convert, Greene explored the themes of pain, fear, despair, and
alienation.
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After working as an copy editor, Greene mainly worked as a freelance journalist.
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His job allowed him to develop his unique style and skill with his writing
 Strong powers of observation, sensitivity to atmosphere, and simplicity of language
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Many of his novels focus on spiritual crisis and burn with intense concern for
salvation.
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Greene’s best fiction focuses on the psychology of human character, rather than
plot.
“A Shocking Accident”
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What is the “shocking accident”?
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After his father’s death, how does Jerome view his father and his
death?
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How do others view Jerome’s father’s death?
“A Shocking Accident”
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What is the “shocking accident”?
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What is the tone of this short story?
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Comic/ Absurd, but why?
After his father’s death, how does Jerome view his father and his death?
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Jerome’s father is killed by a pig falling on his head
Jerome worships and idolizes his father
Jerome does not find his father’s death comical and when he recounts the tale to
others, he attempts to remove the absurdity to provide his father with some dignity
in death.
How do others view Jerome’s father’s death?
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As comical/ funny
 Is the death “shocking”?
 The death is ridiculous, not necessarily shocking.
 People would normally express shock because of the seriousness of the
event, yet most people struggle to hold back laughter.
“A Shocking Accident”
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What is Jerome’s question after hearing the news about his father?
What does this do for his relationships with others?
What is ironic about Jerome’s connection with Sally?
What is a theme of this text?
“A Shocking Accident”
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What is Jerome’s question after hearing the news about his father?
What does this do for his relationships with others?
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What is ironic about Jerome’s connection with Sally?
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Jerome: “What happened to the pig?”
This response isolates or distances him from others who find humor in the
circumstances surrounding his father’s death
Sally does not laugh at the story and responds with the same question as
Jerome, concerning the pig.
It is ironic because the same response that separated him from everyone else,
connects him with Sally.
What is a theme of this text?
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Life is absurd. Modern life is unpredictable and bizarre.
James Joyce (1882-1941)
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Born in Ireland in 1882.
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Family and teachers wanted him to become a priest, yet Joyce pursued his own way as a
writer.
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In 1904, he left Ireland to travel and began working on some of his greatest
achievements.
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He is known for his innovations in plot, character, and language.
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Joyce is said to be “one of the re-inventors of modern fiction.”
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His main works are Dubliners, A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, Ulysses, and
Finnegan’s Wake.
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He was thought to have been schizophrenic, making living with him very difficult.
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It is believed that without the aid of his family and close friends, many of is works would
never have been completed.
He died of a perforated ulcer in 1941.
“Araby”
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What is epiphany?
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A character’s sudden insight, which forms the climax of the story. (It is
often labeled as a plot device)
“Araby”
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How is the setting described? Infer as to what this may tell us about
the plot of the story.
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On whom does the young boy have a crush? How do we realize he
likes this girl?
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After speaking with the girl, the boy says if he goes to “Araby,” he will
do what? How does this affect the boys other activities?
“Araby”
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How is the setting described? Infer as to what this may tell us about the
plot of the story.
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On whom does the young boy have a crush? How do we realize he likes
this girl?
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Grim, dark
 Lives on a “blind,” or dead-end street
The setting weighs heavily against the boy and his chances for success
Mangen’s sister
He watches her leave her house everyday. He looks forward to watching her leave
every morning.
After speaking with the girl, the boy says if he goes to “Araby,” he will do
what? How does this affect the boys other activities?
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He will buy her a gift.
He is unable to focus at school and is restless at home.
“Araby”
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The boy says “he could interpret those signs” of his uncle when he
came home. What is the uncle doing? What is he trying to tell us
about his uncle? How does the boy feel while this is taking place?
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What occurs when the boy finally reaches the bazaar?
“Araby”
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The boy says “he could interpret those signs” of his uncle when he
came home. What is the uncle doing? What is he trying to tell us
about his uncle? How does the boy feel while this is taking place?
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Talking to himself and throwing his coat on the coat rack.
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He is drunk.
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This makes the boy anxious with what may happen.
What occurs when the boy finally reaches the bazaar?
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He overpays, finds almost nobody there, and the people that are there seem
bored.
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He expects this place to be exotic, but nothing meets his expectations.
“Araby”
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What epiphany does the boy come to?
“Araby”
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What epiphany does the boy come to?
 Broadly: The Futility of human pursuits.
 Specifically: The boy will never be able to satisfy his
desires.
 The futility of finding a gift parallels the futility of
winning the girl’s affection.
Joseph Conrad (18571924)
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Conrad is one of the greatest writers in English literature, yet English was his
3rd language. (1st- Polish; 2nd- Russian)
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Conrad was born Jozef Teodor Konrad Korzeniowski in Poland in 1857 and
became an orphan at the age of 11. (Born into Polish nobility)
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When he was 17, he fled Russian-occupied Poland for France and later England.
He spent the next 6 years as an apprentice seaman
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In 1886, Conrad became a master mariner and an English citizen.
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Most of Conrad’s works literally focus on voyage at seas, yet symbolically the
voyages are focused on self-discovery.
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He commonly focused on loyalty and the limits of self-knowledge.
Joseph Conrad died in 1924 of a heart attack.
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Before his death England’s Prime Minister offered Conrad a British knighthood,
yet he declined.
“The Lagoon”
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Why does Arsat ask the white man if he has medicine?
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What is Arsat’s state of mind during this scene with the white man?
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What does Arsat’s brother do while Arsat and Diamelen run to the
canoe?
“The Lagoon”
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Why does Arsat ask the white man if he has medicine?
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He hopes to save/ cure Diamelen
What is Arsat’s state of mind during this scene with the white man?
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Disturbed: He is confused whether or not he made the correct decision.
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Anxious: He is anxiously hoping for a cure for Diamelen.
What does Arsat’s brother do while Arsat and Diamelen run to the
canoe?
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He shoots at the men in chase.
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He is captured by them.
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He is killed by the men in chase.
“The Lagoon”
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What motivates Arsat to allow his brother to stay behind?
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What is Arsat’s purpose in telling his story?
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Following Diamelen’s death, Arsat says, “I can see nothing,” and
the white man replies, “There is nothing.” What does each
statement mean?
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What is the theme of this narrative?
“The Lagoon”
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What motivates Arsat to allow his brother to stay behind?
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What is Arsat’s purpose in telling his story?
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His love for Diamelen
He is torn by the guilt of leaving his brother top run away with Diamelen.
Following Diamelen’s death, Arsat says, “I can see nothing,” and
the white man replies, “There is nothing.” What does each
statement mean?
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Arsat means: Life means nothing now that Diamelen is dead.
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White Man: There are no illusions to cling to.
What is the theme of this narrative?
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Conrad is saying that all human life is illusion.