Synopses & Reviews
El cuento: Arte y análisis uses the Hispanic short story to introduce students to the critical skills needed for reading literature in Spanish and for understanding the multiple contexts implicit in every work. Designed for the fourth semester and beyond, this unique approach uses repetition, reinforcement, and a variety of pre- and post-reading exercises to aid in the comprehension of the stories and to promote active participation in the analytical process. The goal is to facilitate reading through practical and critical exercises and classroom discussion. These steps will supplement the literary selections with opportunities for vocabulary building, writing, oral comprehension, and speaking.
Features - An extraordinary selection of stories: 25 stories by 24 authors9 women, 15 men-representing 16 countries
- Readings selected for comparison of themes: the social hierarchy, the power of the imagination, the mysteries of childhood, human psychology, gender issues, justice, destiny, and the supernatural, among others
- Stories are ordered by degree of difficulty, but each selection is self-contained.
- A thorough introduction to analysis of the short story, with multi-faceted introductions to each story
- Carefully sequenced, classroom-tested series of four exercises:
- Comprendiendo el lenguaje accentuates the vocabulary of the story.
- Siguiendo el hilo stresses the plot or the linear progression of the story.
- Analizando el cuento raises analytical questions about the narrative style and messages of the story.
- Compartiendo ideas suggests topics for further discussion. These questions are related to broader issues, some involving personal opinions and others involving comparisons.
Edward H. Friedman is professor of Spanish and comparative literature at Vanderbilt University.
Synopsis
This book offers a collection of 24 Hispanic short stories by both male and female authors. Containing an introduction to the Short Story in both English and Spanish, this collection includes a variety of selections that were chosen for their content, style, and cultural contexts. All selections in this anthology, written by authors from Spain, Cuba, Bolivia, Peru, Ecuador, Argentina, Uruguay, Costa Rica, Venezuela, Mexico, Chile, Puerto Rico, Nicaragua, Colombia, and the United States, demonstrate the common themes of social hierarchy, the power of the imagination, human psychology, gender issues, justice, destiny, and the supernatural. For readers who are interested in looking comparatively at Spanish short stories.
Table of Contents
(NOTE: The anthology of short stories includes the following format: a brief introduction to the author in English; consideraciones preliminares; notas sobre el vocabulario; the short story text, with glosses in English; and ejercicios in Spanish, accentuating vocabulary, plot, analysis, and topics for further discussion.)
Introduction: The Short Story: Art and Analysis.
Vocabulario y conceptos básicos.
De camino.
Selections.
En Manos de la cocinera, Miguel de Unamuno. La conciencia, Ana María Matute. El Cock-tail, Felicidad Blanc. El pez único. Ramón Gómez de la Serna. Con los ojos cerrados, Reinaldo Arenas. Bufandita, Gregorio, Mercedes Ballesteros. Zoo Island, Tomás Rivera. Los hermanos, Gastón Suárez. La madre, el hijo y el pintor, Alfredo Bryce Echenique. María, public relations, Francisco García Pavón. El rescate, Gilda Holst. El Asco, Silvina Ocampo. Corazonada, Mario Benedetti. Libertad condicionada, Guido Rodríguez Alcalá. El regalo, Julieta Pinto. El piano viejo, Rómulo Gallegos. Un pacto con el diablo, Juan José Arreola. En el viaje de novios, Javier Marías. Una señora, Juan Donoso. La celda, Amparo Dávila. Emma Zunz, Jorge Luis Borges. La muñeca menor, Rosario Ferré. Mi tía Rosa, Rubén Darío. El Vengador Errante contra el enemigo público número uno, Fanny Buitrago.