Read a minimum of three of the five short stories on the syllabus:
Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown”
Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues”
Joyce’s “Araby”
Cheever’s “The Swimmer”
Jackson’s “The Lottery”
Read closely (beyond just the plot) for elements that might appear such as unreliable narration, allegorical figures, epiphanies, internal monologues, presentations of speech (is dialogue written out or summarized in description?), etc.
Here’s a reading challenge for James Joyce’s short story, “Araby.” Joyce said that all of his works of fiction, from the short stories in Dubliners (1915) to the longer novels–A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man (1917), Ulysses (1922), and even the gibberish of Finnegan’s Wake (1939)–contain moments he calls “epiphanies.”
Here’s a link with an example of an epiphany in Joyce’s fiction: http://theliterarylink.com/joyce.html
And here is a good explanation of what Joyce means by the idea of an epiphany as a major moment of character development and anagnorisis (a Greek term meaning a “revelation”): https://jamesjoyce.ie/epiphanies/
Can you find the epiphany (epiphanies) in “Araby”?
I’m including this excerpt to make my ideas a little clearer:
“North Richmond Street, being blind, was a quiet street except at the hour when the Christian Brothers’ School set the boys free. An uninhabited house of two storeys stood at the blind end, detached from its neighbours in a square ground. The other houses of the street, conscious of decent lives within them, gazed at one another with brown imperturbable faces.”
After re-reading Araby, I’ve realized that the basis of the entire story is summed up within the first paragraph. These are a few observations I made.
The Boys being let out from school, disrupting the peace of the ordinarily quiet street represent the halt in normality to the narrator’s life (at the entrance of love), the sudden disturbance to normalcy is due to blissful (and ignorant) youth. The house detached from its neighbors may be a metaphor alluding to the narrator’s detachment from life due to love. This idea is supported by the location of the house, being at the “blind end”, nodding to blindness within the narrator. Later, the other houses are described to have “brown imperturbable faces”, a similar description is used when describing the figure of Mangan’s sister. This may mean that one of the houses represents the narrator’s love interest, in which their love will never be, due to the narrators’ “detached[ment] from its neighbors in a square ground”.
Aside, blindness is mentioned quite a few times within the first paragraph. Sticking to the comparisons I previously made, this is a nod to blind love possessed by the narrator. Infatuation festers based on physicality as opposed to character. Like the separated houses looking upon one another, becoming one is never a possibility.
In Hawthorne’s “a Young Goodman Brown” the short story seems to discuss the ambiguity present within human nature. Good and evil. The name of the main character “Goodman” alludes to him being “good” and moral and religious as he is. The name of his wife “Faith” can also relate to this idea of “holy” and “good.” As he goes on his journey into the forest, he thinks of her as he encounters people such as “Goody Cloyse” whom has a “good” name yet she is revealed to be a witch interacting with a man she identified as the “devil” himself who possesses a snake-like staff. Serpents represent evil and create an uncomfortable, scary and ominous atmosphere. Goody Cloyse from the village was a religious older woman whom would quiz children on the Bible and such. She did not seem like the type of person to be headed to a ceremony of the devil. Goodman Brown encounters many village people who he believed to be “good people” and held to a higher standard ethically and respectfully. The “devil” tells Goodman whom refuses the snake like staff and states that he is from a family of long generations of Christians, (probably because it is evil and he is good) that he personally knew his father and grandfather. His wife, whom he tells before he leaves to pray and don’t worry as he will only be gone a short night was there as well. Once he returns home, he cannot look at her the same. He cannot look at any of the villagers the same. He even questions his family as they have even encountered the devil. Faith tells Goodman before he leaves that she thinks bad thoughts when he is away. This may be the devil preying upon her and tapping into her “bad” side. Goodman is a “good man” and can protect and shield her from that. She lacks faith when he is away and throughout his journey Goodman has faith in Faith. Until, his faith is broken when he sees her partake in the devil’s activities. Whether this was real, imagined or a dream the central message is that people are not what they appear to be and human nature is ambiguous. People possess good and bad within them and are capable of either or both. They are able to appear good, but can have ulterior motives and bad intentions.
In “The Lottery,”I find it ironic that Mr. Summers, who’s described as a cheerful man, is actually the one who hosts the lottery, that stones people to death. In addition, the date of when it took place is on June 27th which is during the summer season, and his last name is also Summers.
The story says that Mr. Summers spoke frequently to the villagers about making a new box, but no one liked to upset even as much tradition as was represented by the black box. I wonder if this narrative is distorted in that it’s given by a third person who I’m not sure is part of the village. The way I interpret it is that maybe instead of people being lazy to make a new black box, it’s because they don’t like this tradition and are unwilling to make a new one.
Another ironic part in the story is when Mr. Summers was reading the name of the people to draw the lottery and Tess Hutchinson’s husband’s name was called, she says “Get up there, Bill,” Mrs. Hutchinson said, and the people near her laughed.” In class, someone was saying that Tess is speaking out against the lottery so that’s why she got stoned but in this part, it seems like she doesn’t really care about the lottery or actually supportive of it instead of actually speaking out against it. Later when she gets picked, then she speaks out against it so it’s almost like if she never got picked, she’s okay with it, just like Old Man Warner.
A main idea of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is that of a scapegoot. The townspeople participate in the act of stoning someone to death yearly as tradition. They blame the first settlers of the village for starting such tradition. The villagers feel obligated to follow and keep such a tradition, however no logic is used whether or not they should follow it, but they do blindly without asking questions. That is everyone except Tessie. She kept saying “it isn’t fair” and nobody listened to her. She was also late to the lottery and forgot what day it was, showing she does not prioritize this tradition. This could be why she was chosen to die. She pleads that Bill was rushed and a lot of things with the process is not fair, however Bill accepts the tradition for what it is, as do the others. The story also demonstrates mob mentality; the idea that people can ignore logic and act harshly if they are part of a larger group that behaves in such a way. Tessie went against the masses. She was the odd man out and as a result was chosen for the lottery in which she would meet her death. However, this raises the question of if her family had not been picked would she have attempted to speak out or remain apart of that mob mentality? The ending says “although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” which shows they had forgotten the original ritual and could have concocted their own tradition, far from the original. Mrs. Delacroix is an example of one person quickly turning on someone else as she was a friend of Tessie’s however after Tessie is chosen to die she “selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands“ to throw at Tessie. Tessie cries “it isn’t fair” as stones are thrown at her. The people use the tradition as a scapegoat for such barbaric behavior when they are not even following the original tradition, but rendered it to be this way.
A main idea of “The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson is that of a scapegoot. The townspeople participate in the act of stoning someone to death yearly as tradition. They blame the first settlers of the village for starting such tradition. The villagers feel obligated to follow and keep such a tradition, however no logic is used whether or not they should follow it, but they do blindly without asking questions. That is everyone except Tessie. She kept saying “it isn’t fair” and nobody listened to her. She was also late to the lottery and forgot what day it was, showing she does not prioritize this tradition. This could be why she was chosen to die. She pleads that Bill was rushed and a lot of things with the process is not fair, however Bill accepts the tradition for what it is, as do the others. The story also demonstrates mob mentality; the idea that people can ignore logic and act harshly if they are part of a larger group that behaves in such a way. Tessie went against the masses. She was the odd man out and as a result was chosen for the lottery in which she would meet her death. The ending says “although the villagers had forgotten the ritual and lost the original black box, they still remembered to use stones” which shows they had forgotten the original ritual and could have concocted their own tradition, far from the original. Mrs. Delacroix is an example of one person quickly turning on someone else as she was a friend of Tessie’s however after Tessie is chosen to die she “selected a stone so large she had to pick it up with both hands“ to throw at Tessie. Tessie cries “it isn’t fair” as stones are thrown at her. The people use the tradition as a scapegoat when they are not even following the original tradition, but rendered it to be this way.
Excellent response, Tania! I especially like the details you point out about Mrs. Delacroix, a fair-weather friend if ever there was one.
The plot of Young Goodman Brown can be closely compared to the story of Adam and Eve. Hawthorne’s short story has many symbolic references to the biblical story. Goodman Brown and his wife, Faith represent Adam and Eve. The traveler that accompanies Goodman during the trip in the forest carried a staff that “bore the likeness of a great black snake”. In the bible the Devil is represented by a snake. In the bible, it was a snake that tempted Eve to eat the forbidden fruit of the garden. In this short story, the traveler tempted Goodman Brown to walk with him through the forest and invited him to the evil ceremony. Goodman Brown eventually gave into the invitation in fear that Faith was danger. When Goodman Brown arrives to the ceremony, it is revealed that many of the religious members of the village are all wicked in their own forms. This can be compared to when Adam and Eve ate the forbidden fruit and realized their naked forms. When the truth was revealed their lives changed forever. Adam and Eve were forced to leave the Garden of Eden and faced punishment. Similarly, Goodman Brown has now seen the truth about the people of his village. After the traumatizing experience, Goodman no longer finds peace in his life. In a sense, all truths come with consequences.
The first time I read The Lottery was freshman year of high school. Reading it for a second time just might be as unsettling as the first. The story unfolds into something much darker and grim beyond imagination. The calmness of the environment tricks you from seeing the darker reality of what really the lottery is. As the audience we see the power of conformity and how dangerous this mindset can be. We see a range of generations participate in this morbid tradition. We see school children “selecting the smoothest and roundest stones” and making large piles to guard from the “raids of other boys.” Their behavior shows how they see it as a game and not treating it as the cruel tradition it is. On the other side of the age group we see Old Warner at age 77 harshly criticizing nearby villages for giving up the lottery, although best bet he doesn’t remember the significance behind the event either. And finally, the youngest generations are taught to participate as well. At the end when the villagers surround Tessie Hutchinson, someone hands little Davy “a few pebbles.” Tessie’s own son is told to stone his mother. If little Davy is taught that’s its morally right to stone his mother because of a tradition, what does the future hold? It’s a repeating cycle. This theme of conformity is seen in historical events whether its Salem witch trials, Nazi Germany and segregation.
Upon reading the lottery, I could automatically tell that this story contains a much darker story than that it was illustrating. Its ironic that he starts the story off describing it as any other ordinary day, with the day being sunny and flowers were blooming. Upon reading it more, we see that the event the villagers know as “the lottery” is more sinister than led to believe. The black box itself is described to be “shabby” and “faded”. This presumably is used to represent the old tradition that is known as stoning a person to death every year. By showing how worn out the box is, we can see that no one has strayed from the tradition, and don’t plan on changing it. Despite how cruel and bizarre this tradition is, the villagers choose to follow it without any hesitation.
The character Mr. Summers is yet another form of irony. The name “summers” usually would represent brightness and ideally have a good connotation towards it. However, he is one of the most feared man due to his power and his hosting of the lottery. There is no explanation provided from Jackson that would provide reason for these villagers following Summers, yet they do. This adds further to the idea that they will willingly follow tradition, despite what it is about. They are blindly following, just because it has been enforced so long ago.
Blindness and innocence are very important, as they reflect what modern day society Is like. The same way that the villagers kill innocent people every year, our society simply discriminates those who are different. Tessie had done nothing wrong to be killed, yet because she opposed the tradition and wanted change, she was chosen and stoned to death. In our society, many minorities- people of color and members of the LGBTQ community- are simply opposed and face hardships. They do nothing harmful, but because society has always been in favor of white people over POC and heterosexual couples over homosexual couples, they stray from the traditional view that society has in mind.
Cheevers The Swimmer, somewhat coming off as a manic fever dream, perfectly illustrates the fall from suburban bliss. Within the first few words, stating “I drank too much last night”, Cheever immediately protends to the cause of Neddy Merrill’s downfall.
Imagery plays a large role in both plot and character development and is heavily reliant on descriptions through the lens of heightened senses. Colors are described vividly, as are smells, noises, and tactile sensations. These hyperintense sensations similarly match the perception of an environment when drunk. While Cheever may just be a highly visual and descriptive writer, I believe this story is told from the jaded lens of a drunken Neddy Merrill (therefore leading to highly vivid imagery).
Neddy’s trek from pool to pool appears to be an attempt to cleanse himself from self dilution. With every pool, Neddy inches closer to the truth. He drowns his sorrows away in alcohol but manages to keep afloat (when swimming). Inside he is drowning, but because of his forgetful and repressive tendencies, he continues to swim. Repression is similarly seen when expressing his love for storms, this usually a symbol of foreboding.
Baldwin’s “Sonny’s Blues” is about the emotional journey two brothers embark on in an attempt to mend their relationship that seems like it was broken from the start. Much of the short story focuses on the younger brother , Sonny, the struggles he endured alone yet the short story is in the voice of the older brother, giving a slight biased perception of what is told. There is a stark contrast between the two brothers, the older brother is an algebra teacher with a family while Sonny is an aspiring jazz musician who has succumbed to not only using heroin but who has also been arrested for selling it. The older brother finds out about what Sonny has been up to, thinking about how the system that surrounds them leaves little option for the people in their neighborhood to find a way that leads them out of systematic poverty and into a better life. However, the older brother never contacts Sonny, not until his daughter Grace dies and Sonny takes it upon himself to contact his brother to offer his condolences. The brothers have always had a difficult relationship, it is clear throughout the text that neither one agrees with the other life choices and arguing/fights were a constant as well as going through prolonged periods of not speaking to the other (even when the possibility that the other could have passed away in war). It is at this stage that the brothers try to fix their relationship and do their best to understand each other’s way of thinking. Sonny is very different from his family, wishing to be free and to do what he likes even if it does not bring him economic stability; he simply wishes to be happy and not worry about things he deems beyond him. Sonny is offered to live with his brother and family, yet the older brother is constantly plagued with the worry of whether or not his brother will return to using heroin going as far as to thinking about searching his room. After seeing a street performance from the corner of his house, Sonny comes homes and invites his brother to see his band preform and to gain some insight to who Sonny is. The brother agrees although hesitant, but soon recognizes who his brother is and his resilience after watching his brother struggle to preform and soon let go of the struggle. The short story to me is a very poignant one, something very human and realistic. One’s relationship with their family is often the hardest relationship in a person’s life and like these two brothers, being a family does not ensure that a bond will even exist. Racism and systematic oppression was also seen, themes that stuck out to me as it some of the misfortunes that occur to not only the family but those they knew were because the chance for a better opportunity was simply never presented nor was the choice to live without any trauma (as seen with their father having to live with the fact that he saw his younger brother get killed by white men).
When reading “The Lottery” by Shirley Jenkins, I noticed a theme of how blindly following traditions can lead to destruction and after some thought I realized how it connect to a larger theme by the end. In the story Mrs. Hutchinson is killed off through no fault of here own, and is killed by society blindly following the annual tradition of drawing a lottery. By the end Mrs. Hutchinson has an epiphany about he horrors of the lottery and tries to change society’s mind by saying “It isn’t fair, it isn’t right”. Prior to her being drawn for the lottery It Mrs. Hutchinson is completely indifferent about the lottery going as far as to forget about it when she shows up late to the ritual. After getting drawn she realizes the horrors of this tradition and what it is like to be the one chosen. Before being chosen it can be implied that like the rest of society viewed the ritual as just something they should follow because the founders did it, and since there was little reason to stop, they just continued. This complete acceptance has caused society to view an annual murder to be the norm and has just become just another thought for the men or gossip for women. The men according to the story “began to gather, surveying their own children, speaking of planting and rain, tractors and taxes” while knowing about the murder about to take place, while the women “greeted one another and exchanged bits of gossip” presumably about who may be chosen. Clearly the lottery has become normalized, and while the younger generation has slowly began to see the horrors society has allowed, the elderly hold on the tradition which halts progress. the epiphany Mrs. Hutchinson experiences reflect these thoughts and before she dies tries to reason with society, but she stoned to death before she can say much else. Progress cannot be made if those with ideas continue being silenced by those in power, is the main theme I got out of reading this short story.
The Short Story called the Lottery is a story that impacted the readers in many ways as it left some to be shocked or saddened by what happened. In the story it basically talks about a village and how villagers are anticipating on whose name gets called out and how theirs a black box that holds a lot of power considering it affects the way people are feeling(in this case it is fear). Eventually Tessie was picked on to be killed and stoned to death because its a ritual in the village in hopes of thinking that it will bring good spirits to the town and tradition they refuse to change or question. This is just basically an example of sacred violence and condones cruel actions with no valid reason. The biggest thing this story showed however is how society affects on feelings and thoughts and how people tend to go along with it because they are just brain washed into believing certain things society or people tell them rather than finding the logic behind it.
John Cheever’s The Swimmer seems to be an allegory for the main character’s life falling apart. The story starts of normal, but the farther from home he gets, the more we see problems start to develop in his life that he did not even know about, such as his house being sold and something happening to his family. This may symbolize the fact that he has drifted to far from home (metaphorically), become to engrossed in other things, and neglected his family so much that he doesn’t even know what is happening to them. The references to drinking seem to be a reference both to a drinking habit that is the cause of his problems, and also the way that he attempts to escape or forget about them.
Near the end, when he confronts his former mistress, comes the point when he can no longer escape what his life has become. This is when he cries, no longer able to repress his emotions. As he attempts to return home, he finds the door locked and the house empty.
The epiphany that the main character in James Joyce’s Araby has at the end seems like a mature one for that age. He realizes that his love for Mangan’s sister was superficial, which leads him to despair. This may be the first time in his life that he is confronted with a contradiction in his own identity. The intense longing he felt for someone else that defined much of his existence turned out to be false. The love he felt for Mangan’s sister seems to have similarities to a knights love for a maiden that one finds in Medieval and Renaissance folklore. This is in the sense that he is admiring her from afar but does not dare speak to her. Likewise, his attempt to buy her something from the Araby bazaar can be interpreted as a knight’s quest on behalf of his beloved, one he ultimately fails and also realizes was probably futile. Despite the despair he feels at the end, this is an experience that gives him room to grow and mature, since it reveals a new part of his identity to him.
“Sonny’s Blues” depicts drug abuse (in the general sense), however, there’s a strong relation to music in the story. For example, the narrator’s dad’s brother got ran over by a car as he was running down the hill with his guitar. The narrator’s little brother Sonny also plays piano in a bar. The author of this short story is an African American and so are the characters and the story was written in 1957 when the Harlem scene is pretty iconic. In addition, jazz was popularized around 1920 so to black people, music was really important because it represents community and a way to show that music can bring people together.
In this story, music is related to suffering that’s caused by Sonny’s drug abuse in that he needs to have it to make him feel that he’s living and also to perform. (I can’t think of anything deep to write about because I can’t relate to it…)
Petvy, I think it would be excellent if you write your research paper on Sonny’s Blues, should you choose to dig deeper into the 1950s jazz scene in Harlem, race, addiction, and class. James Baldwin is one of the most important American writers of the twentieth century and this is one of his best-known stories. He’s within the context of the Civil Rights Movement (while certainly the Harlem Renaissance lived on in the minds and hearts of many of the neighborhood’s residents). Maybe thinking of the story in this context could open some doors?
Nathaniel Hawthorne’s “Young Goodman Brown” can be said to have an unreliable narration as there is a clouded sense of reality that is evident throughout the piece. What he had previously known was no longer true, and he is angry at his world for it. The suspicious nature of Goodman Brown towards the end of this piece shows that he believes himself to be the only member of his society to be righteous and thinks of everyone else as a hypocrite. Religious figures who were supposed to guide him instead are advocates for powers that usurp the ideology that they preach for. Believing that he is surrounded by people who are out to get him and intend to make him look like a fool, he is shown to be cautious and unwilling to rely on anyone near him. His idea of reality has become warped and the inability of the reader to distinguish between a dream and a legitimate incident only adds to the confusion and lack of trust that the protagonist suffers with.
Jackson’s “The Lottery” intentionally incorporates a setting lacking in situational information. The readers are introduced to cheery folks who are made to color the piece as positive and seemingly peaceful. The black box and the lottery itself are first presented in the piece with no information that would make the reader feel uneasy. It is the reactions and actions of the town’s residents that shed light on what this lottery entails. The speech is presented in a manner that allows for the audience to understand the situation differently than if they were to witness the scene and have previous knowledge of the reason for the lottery. There is a sinister end to the piece, but the presentation of speech does not lead the reader to it.
Cheever’s “The Swimmer” introduces a character that is unable to contain his life and struggles with coming to terms with the issues that he is running away from. He strays further from home, and with this passage of time, the reader is presented with the problems that the character is facing. He distances himself from his home, and this is paired with negative events happening to the protagonist and his family. The character continues to distance and drift further away, but this only leads to further problems, which in turn leads to further distancing. His epiphany consists of his realization that he is no longer capable of running.
Initially, I was convinced by the title that this would be a happy and spontaneous story considering the positive connotations associated with the word “lottery”. Needless to say, as I kept reading, the story unfolded into a more morbid outcome, and the allegorical nature of the details within the short story helped facilitate the darker reality of what “The Lottery” is. Some of the ways Jackson uses allegory within the story include the description of the characters such as Old Man Warner, whose name resembles the word “warning” and speaks of “Lottery in June, corn be heavy soon” in regards to learning about how another town had given up the tradition of the lottery. This can be seen as him warning against ending the longstanding tradition of the lottery and ending the certainty of the town having a good harvest. Another way is Jackson’s telling of the actions of some characters, especially the children who gather a pile of pebbles and stones. I didn’t think much of this, but after rereading the whole story without any breaks, it’s very telling of how unconscious their actions seem to be and that they are naturally inclined to gather stones without questioning the intention of it. Which brings me to the underlying theme of mob mentality within the story, and how many of the townspeople can easily forget how to act rationally and conform to the act of stoning if other people are also acting upon it. It’s a very grim depiction of a society that relies on a tradition that utilizes violence inflicted on others without question or second-guessing in order to maintain order.
The main character of James Joyce’s Araby has an epiphany at the end of the story; he realizes that he has been a “creature driven by vanity.” We find out in the middle of the story that Mangan’s sister cannot go to Araby because she has a retreat at the convent. The main character glosses over this fact. There is a theme of light throughout this story. The main character sees Mangan’s sister;s figure defined by light, he speaks about lamplights, and he mentions a distant lamp or lighted window. At the end of the story, he finds himself “gazing up into the darkness.” His epiphany is accompanied by darkness. The main character almost had a reverence and worship for Mangan’s sister. The illusion of Araby and Mangan’s sister is broken.
In Jackson’s The Lottery, Tess Hutchinson is stoned to death at the end of the story. Even her son Davy Hutchinson was given pebbles to throw at his own mother. She repeats that it’s not fair. It seems like she would have been okay with the lottery if someone else had been chosen. The townspeople should question their surroundings and traditions, and question why Mr. Summers always holds the lottery and other civic events. The comparison of the lottery to the halloween program and square dances shows how normalized this tradition is to everyone. All the rituals have stopped being used, such as the recital and ritual salute, but the black box remains. I don’t think Mr. Summers’ paper would ever have been picked because it seems that the lottery is rigged, even though Mr. Summers is sworn in.
In Nathaniel Hawthorne’s Young Goodman Brown, there is a lot of symbolism. Goodman Brown’s name shows his good character. Goodman Brown’s wife is named Faith. Goodie Joyce’s name indicates her character. In the forest, Young Goodman Brown says to Faith to look up to heaven and resist the Wicked One. He does not see if she listened to him or not. After his vision or real experience, he no longer has faith. His faith is tied to his community, so it is weakened when he sees this society of sin. His faith was weak to begin with. His dying hour was gloom.