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A student has asked me the following question: I am doing a research on the conflict between individual and society in American short stories. I now had a few short stories having this theme, but they are not enough to survey. Can you suggest some more short stories? Posted by jamie-wheeler on Feb 23, 2008. |
American Literature Group
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There should not be much of a problem finding stories. Man vs. society is the foundation of much of American letters. Some of my favorites are: "The Rules of the Game" by Amy Tan http://www.enotes.com/rules-game "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow" by Washington Irving http://www.enotes.com/legend-sleepy "A&P" by John Updike http://www.enotes.com/and-pa "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner http://www.enotes.com/rose-emily "Indian Camp," by Ernest Hemingway http://www.enotes.com/indian-camp "The Lottery," by Shirley Jackson http://www.enotes.com/lottery I'm sure others can recommend even more for you.
Posted by jamie-wheeler on Feb 23, 2008. |
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How about these? "The Lottery" (Jackson), "Battle Royal" (Ellison), "The Cop and the Anthem" (O. Henry), "My Kinsman, Major Molineux" (Hawthorne), "The Man That Corrupted Hadleyburg: (Twain, "The Blue Hotel" (Crane), "The Displaced Person" (O'Connor), "The Outcasts of Poker Flat" (Harte), "Unlighted Lamps" (Anderson), "Bernice Bobs Her Hair" (Fitzgerald), or "A Rose for Emily" (Faulkner). Some of these are a bit of a stretch, I realize, because man vs. society is probably not the primary conflict. Posted by cybil on Feb 23, 2008. |
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Desiree's Baby, by Kate Chopin http://www.enotes.com/desirees-baby The Secret Life of Walter Mitty by James Thurber http://www.enotes.com/secret-life/ The Outcasts of Poker Flats by Bret Harte http://www.enotes.com/outcasts-poker Bartleby the Scrivener by Herman Melville http://www.enotes.com/bartleby-scrivener
Posted by linda-allen on Feb 23, 2008. |
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Some of my favorites are "Hands" by Sherwood Anderson "The Worn Path" by Eudora Welty "The White Heron" by Sarah Orne Jewett Is that last one a bit of a stretch? I'm thinking values of the individual as expressed by the little girl, vs. values of society as brought in by the visitor... Posted by dymatsuoka on Feb 23, 2008. |
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If it's the individual, as opposed to man, against (patriarchal) society, then Charlotte Perkins Gilman, The Yellow Wallpaper, would be great. It would make a good comparative study with Kate Chopin's The Awakening. Posted by julierunacres on Feb 23, 2008. |
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How about these? "The Most Dangerous Game" by Richard Connell "The Red Headed League" by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle "By the Waters of Babylon" by Stephen Vincent Benet "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty "The Necklace" by Guy de Maupassant "An Occurrance at Owl Creek Bridge" by Ambrose Bierce "In the Vault" by H.P. Lovecraft "Rappacinni's Daughter" by Nathanial Hawthorne "Young Goodman Brown" by Nathanial Hawthorne
Posted by amethystrose on Feb 23, 2008. |
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Thanks a lot for all of your help! Posted by nancynguyen on Feb 23, 2008. |
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How about "The Shawshank Redemption" by Stephen King? Posted by amy-lepore on Feb 24, 2008. |
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Of all the ones listed, I would most recommend "Bartleby". With the mirror effect of Bartleby on the narrator, known only by his position as a lawyer and not by any name, readers can really see the destructive nature of urban society and capitalism. Posted by sullymonster on Feb 24, 2008. |
