Short Stories
Study Guide
A Rose for Emily
A Rose for Emily is about a lady named Emily Grierson, it took place in the late 1800's. The story began with her dying. No one went to her house for years. The only person who had gone in and out was her black servant. Before Emily Grierson passed away her father did a lot for the town she lived in. So because of that reason Emily Grierson made an arrangement with the town, she arranged that she would not have to pay taxes. After the years passed by the more modern and newer generation came to take control of the town. The newer generation did not agree with the towns arrangement they had made with Emily Grierson. So they paid her a visit and asked if she could start paying taxes again, Emily refused to pay any taxes. 30 years before the towns people asked Emily for taxes, there was a bad smell coming from her house. This happened during the time her "Lover" Hommer disappeared. After the death of Emily some of the townspeople end up going inside Emily's house. They look around the house and end up stumbling across Homers dead body in one of Emily's rooms. Beside Hommers body there was an indention in the pillow beside the corpse, on top of the pillow there was a long grey hair that belonged to Emily.
Characters:
-Emily Grierson
-Mr. Grierson
-Colonel Satoris
-Tobe
-Hommer Barron
-Judges
Vocab:
Obliterated- reduced to nothingness
Virulent- extremely poisonous or injurious
Cupolas- a small dome
Literary Devices:
Imagery- "For a long time we just stood there, looking down at the profound and fleshless grin."
Tragedy- "When Mrs. Emily Grierson died, our whole town went to her funeral:"
Way to remember:
Old women's funeral
A Pair of Silk Stockings
A Pair of Silk Stockings is about a lady named Mrs Sommers, the story also takes place in the late 1800's. Mrs Sommers is a mother with 4 kids. The location of the story wasn't really mentioned, but it did sound like a big city. One day Mrs. Sommers is walking through the city on her daily routine, she walks upon $15. She picks up the money, at first she did not know what to do with it. Then she figured she could just spend it on herself since she never found the owner for it, she always sacrificed and bought everything for her children. So Mrs Sommers goes out and finds a good bargain on a pair of silk stockings. She really likes them, she puts them on and buys them. Mrs Sommers then goes about her day and buys some gloves also. After she buys her gloves she goes and dines at a nice restaurant. Later on Mrs Sommers then goes to a theatre and watches and enjoys a play. After doing all the activities she then heads home, but as soon as she goes home she feels bad for treating herself and not her kids. The Story then ends on a cable car wishing she could travel forever.
Characters:
-Mrs. Sommers
Vocab:
Damask- a rich patterned fabric of cotton, linen, silk, or wool
Gaudy- brightly colored and ugly, typically so as to be tasteless
Darning- the activity of repairing a piece of clothing by by sewing stitches across the hole
Literary Devices:
Characterization- "Little Mrs. Sommers"
Realism- Mrs. Sommers is put into a case that some mothers face with there children in there everyday life.
Ways to remember:
Treating yourself
To Build a Fire
To build a fire is about a man who travels through the Yukon with his own dog. The setting was based on the blistering cold Yukon of British Columbia. The man faces the harsh conditions of the wilderness in the winter time. After walking back to his camp he decides to have his lunch, after he has lunch he gets back to hiking and uses the dog to check for places that have cold water beneath the snow. After walking for a long distance, the man falls in water and is put on a bad situation. He now has to stop and dry is moccasins off which is going to take up his time and is going to result in having him arrive late to his camp. Once he gets his fire going, the man starts to dry his moccasins and hands. Then out of the no where a big pile of snow falls on top of the snow and puts out his fire which causes him to run in order to warm his self up. Once the man runs, he ends up falling down and dies.
Characters:
-The man
-Husky
Vocab:
Cheechako: tenderfoot
Conflagration: A war or conflict, or a large fire that destroys a lot
Excruciating: extremely painful
Literary Devices:
Third Person Limited- theres not that much known on the man
Tragic- "Then the man drowsed off into what seemed to him the most comfortable and satisfying sleep he had ever known."
Ways to remember
the wilderness can be unforgivable.