Hemingway's Short Stories is a collection of the author's work representing novellas and short fiction. The stories deal with a range of Hemingway's usual subject matter, including Africa, exploration, hunting, bullfighting, masculinity, male friendship, war, and sexual exploits. The stories fit into the Modernist camp of literature as a reaction to the tribulations of World War I and the impact it had on Hemingway's generation. Many of his stories are directly concerned with the war.
A&P and Other Stories is a collection of stories by John Updike. Updike's stories deal with issues of family, religion and sexuality. They attempt to give life to the mundane and pay special attention to the Protestant middle class through humor and sensuousness. "A & P" is a story about a clerk, Sammy, working at a grocery store and who admires three girls in swimsuits shopping at his store. After his boss scolds the girls, Sammy quits his job and tries to go after the girls but finds them gone.
The Burning Plain and Other Stories is a collection of short fiction by Mexican writer Juan Rulfo. Stories like "Tell Them Not To Kill Me!" chronicle the dark times experienced by many Mexicans during the crimes and upheaval of the Mexican Revolution. Many of Rulfo's stories deal with the violence and lawlessness of the revolution. His famous story "You Don't Hear the Dogs Barking" follows a man carrying his estranged grown-up son in search of a doctor after the younger man is wounded in combat.
The Country of the Pointed Firs and Other Stories is a collection of works by Sarah Orne Jewett. Her stories are notable as works of regionalism, focusing on specific locations in America. Rather than focusing on plots, her works feature vignettes that draw out subtle descriptions. Her most famous story, "The Country of the Pointed Firs," describes a narrator who returns to Dunnett, Maine to finish a book. She moves in with Mrs. Todd, who distracts her and moves into a schoolhouse instead, describing some of the people she meets.
A White Heron and Other Stories is a collection of short fiction by Sarah Orne Jewett. The title story follows the struggle of a girl named Sylvia, transplanted suddenly from her life in the city to the marshy tranquility of her grandmother's country home. Sylvia sees a rare white heron and is later asked to locate it by a hunter looking to kill and stuff it. He promises friendship and money, but Sylvia ultimately chooses to protect the bird.
Young Goodman Brown and Other Hawthorne Short Stories most often concern the hypocrisy of religion as opposed to the purity of true spirituality. These morality tales, which range from a parable about the dangers of vanity to an eerie tale of a demonic ceremony in which a young husband discovers that even his wife is sinful at heart, convey a Gothic sensibility, and often leave the reader unsure of what is real and what is imagined. Major themes include religion, sin, doom, and fear.
Flannery O'Connor's Stories are an example of modern Southern Gothic literature. These stories are often concerned with the idea of the materialism and pettiness of modern life as opposed to true enlightenment and understanding; religion also plays a role in many of these tales. They explore the world of the changing South, and often delve into the complexities of race relations, depicting the gray areas of ignorance and misunderstanding. Major themes in these stories are death, spiritual epiphanies, and salvation.
Kate Chopin's Short Stories are a collection of progressively feminist works. Although written in the late 1800s, these stories take a realistic and dark look at life in the antebellum South and the plight of women in the 19th century. The author writes of racism, emotion, and women's struggle to be viewed as human beings in an unfriendly era. The stories emphasize sexuality, identity, and freedom (or lack thereof), and are distinctive for their simple yet emotional style.
The Lottery and Other Stories is a collection that intermingles science fiction and fantasy with stories of the ordinary world and the prejudice that occurs therein. The book deals with racism, sexism, and the smothering confines of life for women in the mid-20th century; it also examines the horrors of post-WWII society. In the titular story, for example, a seemingly normal village quickly turns to vicious violence in the name of tradition and propriety. This collection examines the absurdity of modern life and the darkness that dwells within ordinary people.
Maggie: A Girl of the Streets and Other Stories a collection of stories by Stephen Crane. The title story, is Maggie's attempts to rise from poverty. Growing up in Manhattan with her domineering parents and brother Jimmie, Maggie eventually finds a menial job and begins to date Jimmie's friend Pete. Jimmy and his family disapprove, slandering and destroying the relationship, eventually convincing Pete to abandon her. Pete goes on to happiness and success, while Maggie becomes a prostitute and dies.