It’s odd to me that had some of the selections been different, or more age-appropriate, this might have fostered a love of reading the short story rather than dread for so many. The essay questions at the end of the story seemed hard for many of the students to understand, much less formulate answers to in order to show what they learned from the story. As high school freshmen in the 14-15 year-old age range, and with our limited knowledge of the world, it was difficult for some to be able to grasp symbolism or foreshadowing among other story elements. I realized later on that some people never grasp it, no matter how old they are. Reading with that kind of intuitive understanding is not something everyone is able to do.
Being forced to read something for a grade rather than enjoyment was something I didn’t understand. For one thing, I enjoyed reading. As with any kid, some things held my interest more than others. But I never could fathom some of my classmates who actually said, “I hate to read.”
I had some favorite short stories, even out of the ones we were forced to read. Who could forget Whitney and Rainsford in Richard Connell’s THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME? Frank Stockton’s THE LADY OR THE TIGER? Or, TO BUILD A FIRE, by Jack London?
Those stories were what inspired me to want to write “like that” and I often wondered in later years, seeing my kids’ English books and the stories they contained, where our next generation of writers would come from? There was certainly nothing “inspiring” in those stories. I was wishing there were some of the stories from “the good ol’ days” in their books, even though at the time I had been their age, many of my classmates had detested those same stories that I loved so much.
But one day, my daughter came home from school and said, “Mom, we read a story today that was so good! It’s about a guy who is trying to survive in the cold and he tries to build a fire…” And a few years later, my son couldn’t wait to tell me about a story they’d read about an island, where men were hunted…
Not everyone who loves to read wants to become a writer. So I’m wondering…was there a particular short story that you read when you were younger that made you want to write? Or even just made you become an avid reader? Since so many of us write westerns, was there a western short story that influenced you when you were younger? The one that I loved was not really a short story, but a short novel, Fred Gipson’s OLD YELLER. In later years, another one that stood out was Shirley Jackson’s THE LOTTERY.
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Cheryl,
ReplyDeleteIt was a tough choice to narrow down my Number 1 favorite short stories from among my favorites, which include: "The Interlopers", O'Henry's, Poe's, "The Most Dangerous Game", Washington Irving's, Nathaniel Hawthorne's, "The Barnum Museum", "The Monkey's Paw", "The Necklace"...
Ultimately, "The Man who Shot Liberty Valance" by Dorothy M. Johnson is my favorite short story. Yes, it did, and still does, influence my writing. Bert Barricune and Ransome Foster are both reluctant heroes, who do the right thing when push comes to shove. And Liberty Valance... He is bad to the bone. ;-)
I loved the movie The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, but I did not love the short story. Maybe because the characters as Johnson wrote them in the story were not at all like the characters in the movie. Her story Lost Sister is one of my all time favorites, though. Oh, I loved The Interlopers, The Most Dangerous Game...all those you mentioned--it's funny how much we hate some of those stories as young teens and then later on realize how wonderful they truly are. I think so often that at that age we don't have the life experience to "identify" with the characters in the stories (I'm thinking of A Jury of Her Peers and Hills Like White Elephants, etc.) But gosh, there were so many great ones I remember loving even at the time (Bartleby the Scrivener was not one of those...)
DeleteI love short stories. Being brevity-challenged I'm always in awe of people who can pack a powerful punch with so few words. Katherine Mansfield and Edna O'Brien are amongst my longtime favourites. Agatha Christie did a few too.
ReplyDeleteI think a mystery short story would be the very hardest genre to write! I remember thinking, "I could never write a short story." But my first one was A Night For Miracles and I really surprised myself with that--it turned out much better than I ever thought it would and let me see that I COULD do it. It really boosted my confidence. But not to the point of thinking I could pull off a short story in certain genres...like mystery. LOL Thanks for stopping by Christine!
DeleteDandelion Wine by Ray Bradbury. It was later expanded into a novel, but I first found it as a short in a magazine. It is really a metaphor for packing all of the joys of summer into a single bottle. Especially through the eyes of a 12 year old youth in the small town simple innocence of yesterday.
ReplyDeleteRick, I will look that up and read it. I love Ray Bradbury's short stories and gosh, he was a master at that. I remember one he wrote, I think it was called THE GIFT about a family going into space on Christmas...very short, but just packed with emotion. I'm looking forward to Dandelion Wine! Thanks so much for stopping by!
DeleteHands down, "Paladin of the Lost Hour" by Harlan Ellison. There are many close seconds, but this story stays with me in ways others haven't. It hits emotions on so many levels. Doris
ReplyDeleteOh, gosh, Doris. Another one I have not read yet! And Harlan Ellison is such a master storyteller. I look forward to it.
DeleteLet me know what you think. Of course, I'm going to check out the other stories others recommend. Doris
DeleteI will--I always love seeing other people's responses because it gives me a whole new reading list. LOL
DeleteI love short stories and I have quite a few favorites. The Chrysanthemums by John Steinbeck (I gave credit to Hemingway for it, but it's by Steinbeck), A Rose for Emily by William Faulkner, and The Open Boat by Stephen Crane (actually, I like his quirky poetry best). But my number one top favorite if I had to choose would be an Irish story, Earthly Magic by Barbara Samuel. It's about a bard who loses his voice under a fairy spell while he tries desperately to save the woman he loves from being carried away by a particularly powerful, but wicked fairy king. I was so impressed by the way Samuel showed the bard's feelings by his actions without him speaking a single word.
ReplyDeleteI want to wish you all the best with Found Hearts, Cheryl. I know it's got to be a good one.
Oh, goodie, Sarah! More stories to add to my list. Though I'm not a big Faulkner fan (probably because I have not read any of his work since being forced to in college!) I will give it another try. 40 years can sure make a difference on your perspective. LOL Found Hearts is kind of an older story, but I love it. Thanks so much for stopping by, Sarah!
DeleteFunny you should comment about having to write an essay after having finished reading a story for English-Lit class. My issue was with the poems, the classics. We were to interpret the meanings and symbols in the poem....but in order to get a good mark, the teacher wanted our thoughts to coincide with hers or whoever set up the curriculum. I love poetry but hated the exercise and I think that's why the kids hated poetry. My fave poem was and still is The Highwayman. I read a lot of Readers Digest short stories, but I think my most memorable short stories to read were by Edgar Allen Poe. I loved the drama, the need-to-know right now and they were quick reads. The Raven was fascinating, but The Cask of Amontilado probably remains my all-time favorite. For a sheltered teen like me to read about a person being "buried" alive behind a brick wall was horrifyingly stunning....a far cry from the juvenile mysteries I used to read. Shoeless Joe is another favorite ss. I admire writers who write short stories because every one I write begs to turn into a novel. One of my short stories placed second when we had the Winter games here in southern Alberta. I still think mine was better than the gal who took gold lol. As usual, your posts are always interesting reading, as well as the comments.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth, I've had teachers like that too, who really weren't interested in knowing what you thought, but wanted you to repeat back what you "should have" learned in their classes. I suppose it does make grading easier, but what about original thought? And on poems, too, I think there can be many things that the write "might have" meant. I remember hearing that Robert Browning said, at one point, something like "When I wrote that, God and I both knew what it meant; now God alone knows." But that saying has been attributed to other writers who came along before him, so it's got to be a widely-held thought, and one that I can totally understand when it comes to "interpreting" poetry sometimes. I love The Highwayman, too. And I really love the version of it that Lorena McKennitt (I'm sure I spelled her name wrong) sings on her CD. I was like you about The Cask of Amontillado--think we read that in 8th or 9th grade and I was just so shocked. Yes, some stories when you begin writing them, you just know that they're going to become novels. That's what happened with RIDE THE WILD RANGE--I had started it as a short story, but quickly discovered that young Will Green had a LOT more to say than could be covered in a short story! Thanks for stopping by today, Elizabeth!
DeleteI'm a little late, but 'Metamorphosis' by Franz Kafka. Such a strange story. I never forgot it LOL.
ReplyDeleteKristy, I remember reading that one, too! Yes, it was very odd and memorable, wasn't it?
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