Synopses & Reviews
The fiction section from Laurence Perrine's all-time bestselling introduction to literature, this concise, authoritative text provides a complete overview of the essential elements of fiction, along with a diverse selection of stories to illustrate them. This reliable, well-written classic has introduced thousands of students to the serious study of fiction, yet it remains vital and compelling for today's readers, presenting the most important and engaging stories available in a single collection. The section on three featured writers, James Joyce, Flannery O'Connor, and Joyce Carol Oates, includes three stories by each author, as well as essays by noted critics on their works.
About the Author
Thomas R. Arp received a B.A. in English from the University of Michigan (1954) and a Woodrow Wilson Fellowship to Stanford University. In 1955-1956, he produced educational television for the University of Michigan. He received an M.A. from Stanford University in 1960 and a Ph.D. from Stanford in 1962. He has taught at Bowdoin College, Princeton University, University of California at Berkeley, Hull University (England), and Southern Methodist University. Macmillan published his volume, THE FORM OF POETRY, in 1966, and he received a Fulbright lectureship at University of Bucharest (Romania) in 1969-1970. Arp joined Laurence Perrine in preparing revised editions of SOUND AND SENSE, STORY AND STRUCTURE, and LITERATURE: STRUCTURE, SOUND, AND SENSE beginning in 1982. He became sole author of the books in 1997, and was joined by Greg Johnson in 2002. Greg Johnson received an M.A. in English from Southern Methodist University and a Ph.D. in English from Emory University. Dr. Johnson is the author of books of fiction, poetry, criticism, and biography, including the recent story collections, LAST ENCOUNTER WITH THE ENEMY (Johns Hopkins, 2004) and WOMEN I'VE KNOWN: NEW AND SELECTED STORIES (Ontario Review, 2007), the novel STICKY KISSES (Alyson Books, 2001), and two books on Joyce Carol Oates: INVISIBLE WRITER: A BIOGRAPHY OF JOYCE CAROL OATES (Plume, 1999), and JOYCE CAROL OATES: CONVERSATIONS 1970-2006 (Ontario Review, 2006). He joined the author team of PERRINE'S LITERATURE in 2002.
Table of Contents
Preface. Part One: THE ELEMENTS OF FICTION. 1. Reading the Story. Reviewing Chapter One. Richard Connell, The Most Dangerous Game. Tobias Wolff, Hunters in the Snow. Understanding and Evaluating Fiction. Suggestions for Writing. 2. Plot and Structure. Reviewing Chapter Two. Graham Greene, The Destructors. Alice Munro, How I Met My Husband. Jhumpa Lahiri, Interpreter of Maladies. Suggestions for Writing. 3. Characterization. Reviewing Chapter Three. Alice Walker, Everyday Use. Katherine Mansfield, Miss Brill. Richard Wright, The Man Who Was Almost a Man. Suggestions for Writing. 4. Theme. Reviewing Chapter Four. Tim Gautreaux, Welding with Children. Anton Chekhov, The Darling. Translated by Constance Garnett. Eudora Welty, A Worn Path. Nadine Gordimer, Once upon a Time. Suggestions for Writing. 5. Point of View. Reviewing Chapter Five. Willa Cather, Pauls Case. Shirley Jackson, The Lottery. Katherine Anne Porter, The Jilting of Granny Weatherall. Ernest Hemingway, Hills Like White Elephants. Suggestions for Writing. 6. Symbol, Allegory, and Fantasy. Reviewing Chapter Six. D. H. Lawrence, The Rocking-Horse Winner. Nathaniel Hawthorne, Young Goodman Brown. Ursula Le Guin, The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas. Gabriel Garcia Marquez, A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings.Translated by Gregory Rabassa. Suggestions for Writing. 7. Humor and Irony. Reviewing Chapter Seven. Frank OConnor, The Drunkard. Margaret Atwood, Rape Fantasies. Albert Camus, The Guest. Translated by Justin OBrien. Suggestions for Writing. 8. Evaluating Fiction. Reviewing Chapter Eight. Exercise. Edith Wharton, Roman Fever. F. Scott Fitzgerald, A New Leaf. Suggestions for Writing. Part Two: THREE FEATURED WRITERS: JAMES JOYCE, FLANNERY OCONNOR, AND JOYCE CAROL OATES. Introduction. James Joyce. Araby. Eveline. The Boarding House. Critical Perspectives on Joyce. Craig Hansen Werner, From Dubliners: A Pluralistic World. J. S. Atherton, From "Araby." Clive Hart, From "Eveline." Fritz Senn, From "'The Boarding House Seen as a Tale of Misdirection." Flannery OConnor. A Good Man Is Hard to Find. Everything That Rises Must Converge. Greenleaf. Critical Perspectives on OConnor. Flannery OConnor, "A Reasonable Use of the Unreasonable." Flannery OConnor, "Letter to a Professor of English." Madison Jones, "A Good Mans Predicament." Dorothy Walters, On "Everything That Rises Must Converge." Gilbert H. Muller, On "Greenleaf." Joyce Carol Oates. Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? Life After High School. June Birthing. Critical Perspectives on Oates. Joyce Carol Oates, From "Stories That Define Me: The Making of a Writer." Joyce Carol Oates, From "Smooth Talk: Short Story into Film." Elaine Showalter, On "Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?" Greg Johnson, On "Life After High School" and "June Birthing." Suggestions for Writing. Part Three: WRITING ABOUT FICTION. I. Why Write about Literature? II. For Whom Do You Write? III. Two Basic Approaches. IV. Choosing a Topic. V. Proving Your Point. VI. Writing the Paper. VII. Writing In-Class Essays or Essays Tests. VIII. Introducing Quotations (Q1-Q10). IX. Documentation. X. Stance and Style (S1-S6). XI. Grammar, Punctuation, and Usage: Common Problems. XII. Writing Samples. Part Four: STORIES FOR FURTHER READING. Chinua Achebe, Civil Peace. John Cheever, The Swimmer. Kate Chopin, The Story of an Hour. William Faulkner, A Rose for Emily. Susan Glaspell, A Jury of Her Peers. Zora Neale Hurston, The Gilded Six-Bits. Henry James, The Real Thing. Herman Melville, Bartleby the Scrivener. Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado. John Updike, A and P. Glossary of Terms. Copyrights and Acknowledgments. Index of Authors and Titles.