English Short Stories

The Tresspasser

AUTHOR: Bonnie Jo Campbell

SPEAKER: Narrator

THEMES: Class/Privilege, Disability, Family

CH: daughter, tresspasser, mother, father, 4 other crackheads

San

AUTHOR: Lan Samantha Chang

SPEAKER: Daughter

THEMES: Family, gambling, emotional abuse, American dream, abandonment

CH: Daughter, father, mother

Selling the General

AUTHOR: Jennifer Egan

SPEAKER: Dolly

THEMES: Family, War, Propoganda, Fame, (satire)

CH: Dolly, Lulu, General B, Kitty Jackson, Other Generals

Everyday Use

AUTHOR: Alice Walker

SPEAKER: Mama, mother of Dee and Maggie

THEMES: Family, Perspective, Race/Heritage, historic, preservation vs. use, modern vs. historic

CH: Mama, Dee, Maggie

A Very old Man with Enormous Wings

AUTHOR: Gabriel Garcia Marquez

SPEAKER: Narrator

THEMES: Religion, hypocrisy,

CH: Pelayo, Elisenda, Old Man, Father Gonzaga, Neighbor woman, Spider Woman

In the Cemetery Where Al Johnson Was Buried

AUTHOR: Amy Hempel

SPEAKER: Grieving friend

THEMES: Death, grief, humor,

CH: grieving friend, dying friend, nurses

Story of An Hour

AUTHOR: Kate Chopin

SPEAKER: Narrator

THEMES: Gender roles, death, marriage, freedom

CH: Ms. Louise Mallard, Mr. Brently Mallard, Richard, Josephine

This Blessed House

AUTHOR: Jhumpa Lahiri

SPEAKER: Narrator (through Sanjeev)

THEMES: Family, Religion, Marriage, Expectations, Popularity, communication, opposites

CH: Sanjeev, Twinkle

I'm A Mad Dog Biting Myself for Sympathy

AUTHOR: Louise Erdrich

SPEAKER: First-person

THEMES: Mental illness (?), loneliness, Race, Perspective, Upbringing, family, fate vs. free will --> change, communication, innocence vs corruption

CH: Narrator, stolen child, ex-girlfriend Dawn, toucan (wants to be heard), Mason Joseph Andrews baby

Sonny's Blues

AUTHOR: James Baldwin

SPEAKER: Sonny's Brother

THEMES: Race, class/privilege, mental illness, drugs, religion

CH: Sonny, Sonny's brother, the mom, the dad, Sonny's Bro's wife, Creole

The Lesson

AUTHOR: Toni Cade Bambara

SPEAKER: first person

THEMES: Class/privilege, financial struggle, Race

CH: Sylvia, Miss Moore, Big Butt, Sugar, Mercedes, Flyboy, Parents of Kids