Edgar Allen Poe's short story "The Cask of Amontillado" describes a horrific vengeance killing: the burying alive of a man. Montresor, a man of no small means, seeks revenge on a friend of his, the unsuspecting Fortunato. Montresor never mentions what Fortunato did to deserve such wrath; yet Mon...

Langston Hughes was an african american authorpoet who experienced racism throughout his lifetime. He reflects the effects that racism can have on a protagonist through his works A little Virgin and No Place to Make Love. He wrote poems and short stories describing how good black people...

Irony occurs when a reader predicts what will happen in a story, then the story takes a turn and the complete opposite of the prediction occurs. Authors use ironic situations in stories to retain their reader's interest and keep the readers wondering what will happen next. Guy de Manpassant w...

A Synopsis of Lasting Themes Found in "The Child by Tiger" In Thomas Wolfe's carefully constructed short story, "The Child by Tiger," excerpts from William Blake's poem "Tiger" and the King James Bible enrich the central themes of the plot. Although "...

In Thomas Wolfe's carefully constructed short story, "The Child by Tiger," excerpts from William Blake's poem "Tiger" and the King James Bible enrich the central themes of the plot. Although "The Child by Tiger" is very cryptic in revealing its purpose, severa...

The story is based around a window, hence the name "The Open Window". It all starts with a young girl, named Vera, and a guy named Mr. Nuttel, having a conversation about her aunt who is yet to come onto the scene. The little girl asks the guy if he wants to know why her aunt keeps the one...

Shirley Jackson's "The Lottery" is a short story illustrating the struggle between tradition and life. At the story's heart is a masterful characterization of the protagonist, the townspeople. Jackson's portrayal of the lottery depends mainly on her use of three artistic t...

Pushkin's short story, "The Shot," has an emphasis on the duel as it was in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, and on the delicate balance of life and death that is brought into existence when a duel is begun. The narrator is not the protagonist, but rather a sort-of nondescript...