English 142 Literary Forms: Short Fiction
Rachel Hall
Welles 225B
hall@geneseo.edu
Office hrs: T 4-5 R 11:30-12:30
Course Description:
Our focus this semester will be on the genre or literary form of the short story. We
will look at some of the earliest examples of the short story and will conclude our
study with an examination of contemporary short stories, including a prize-winning
collection by visiting writer, Diane Simmons. Throughout, we will discuss the stories
in terms of their elements: character, plot, theme, setting, language. We will also
read with an eye to understanding the genre’s limits and boundaries. What, besides
length, differentiates a story from a novel? What similarities does the story share
with poetry? Or memoir? And how have writers, filmmakers, and other visual
artists adapted the short story for their purposes and endeavors?
Required Texts:
40 Short Stories: A Portable Anthology, 3rd edition, Beverly Lawn
Little America, Diane Simmons
Selected readings on Mycourses
Grading Requirements:
Assignment #1: 25%
Assignment #2: 25%
Class participation: 25%
Comprehensive final exam: 25%
Online Discussion Forum:
This is a place to examine your responses to the stories we read for class and begin
to explore your thoughts about the characters, setting, use of image, etc. These
posts should prepare you for more thorough class discussions. You don’t need to
have everything figured out when you post, but your post shouldn’t be exclusively
questions either. Friendly critical debate is good—encouraged even. And while the
online forum is informal, I expect standard usage and punctuation. Please refrain
from using texting abbreviations or emoticons. I will be reading the forum, though
not commenting, and it will not be uncommon for the comments to find their way
into our class discussions.
You are expected to post for each story we read. The posts needn’t be long, but they
should reflect original thought and reflection. At the end of the semester, I will ask
you to review your posts and choose the five you feel are the strongest, print them,
and submit them for a portion of your class participation grade.
Learning Outcomes:
1. Demonstrate the ability to write sustained, coherent, persuasive arguments
about the short story
2. Demonstrate the ability to discuss the short story form with appropriate
critical vocabulary
3. Demonstrate understanding of the conventions of the short story and
development of the genre through history
T1/17 Class Intro
R1/19 Discuss “Young Goodman Brown”
T1/24 Discuss “Bartleby the Scrivener”
R1/26 Discuss “The Necklace” and “Story of an Hour”/Discussion
Leaders:_______________ and _________________
T1/31 Discuss “The Blunder” and “Lady with a Pet Dog” (Mycourses)/Discussion
Leaders:______________ and ____________________
R2/2 Discuss “The Yellow Wallpaper” and “Paul’s Case” Discussion
Leaders:______________ and ____________________
T2/7 Discuss “Araby” and “The Dead” (Mycourses) Discussion Leaders:______________
and ____________________
R2/9 Discuss “The Metamorphosis”/ Discussion Leaders:______________ and
____________________
T2/14 Discuss “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” and “The Rocking Horse Winner”
Discussion Leaders:______________ and ____________________
R2/16 Discuss “Winter Dreams” /Assignment #1 due/ Discussion
Leaders:______________ and ____________________
T2/21 Discuss “Hills Like White Elephants” and “Indian Camp” (Mycourses)/
Discussion Leaders:______________ and ____________________
R2/23 Discuss “The Chrysanthemums” and “Battle Royale” / Discussion
Leaders:______________ and ____________________
R2/28 Discuss “The Lottery” / Discussion Leaders:______________ and
____________________
T3/1 Discuss “Sonny’s Blues”/ Discussion Leaders:______________ and
____________________
R3/6 “A Good Man Is Hard to Find” and “Free Radicals”/ Discussion
Leaders:______________ and ____________________
T3/8 “A&P” and “Varieties of Religious Experience” (Mycourses)/ Discussion
Leaders:______________ and ____________________
T3/13 Spring Break
R3/15 Spring Break
T3/20 Discuss “Cathedral” and “What We Talk About When We Talk About
Love”(Mycourses)/ Discussion Leaders:______________ and ____________________
R3/22 Discuss “In the Cemetery Where Al Jolson Is Buried” and “The Harvest”
(MyCourses)/ Discussion Leaders:______________ and ____________________
R3/27 Discuss “Brokeback Mountain” and film version/ Discussion
Leaders:______________ and ____________________
T3/29 Discuss “The Things They Carried” and “The Amish” (Mycourses)/ Discussion
Leaders:______________ and ____________________
T4/3 Discuss “Killings” (Mycourses) and In the Bedroom (film) /Discussion
Leaders:______________ and ____________________
R4/5 Discuss “The Bear Came Over the Mountain” and Away From Her (film)
Discussion Leaders:______________ and ____________________
T4/10 Discuss Little America/ Discussion Leaders:______________ and
____________________
R4/12 Discuss Little America/Visiting Writer Diane Simmons, fiction reading, time
and place TBA
T4/17 GREAT Day
R4/19 Discuss Little America / Discussion Leaders:______________ and
____________________
T4/24 Discuss “Death by Landscape” and “The Shawl”/Assignment #2 due
R4/26 Discuss “Two Kinds” and The House on Mango Street”/ Discussion
Leaders:______________ and ____________________
T5/1 Discuss “What You Pawn” and “How to Become a Writer”/Greatest Hits Posts
due/ Discussion Leaders:______________ and ____________________
M5/7 Final Period, 8-11 a.m.