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Fiction: A Pocket Anthology, 7th edition

Published by Pearson (October 2, 2014) © 2012

  • R S. Gwynn Lamar University
$79.99

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A perfect alternative to massive fiction anthologies, this brief, affordable collection of 44 short stories from the past three centuries provides a concise yet comprehensive introduction to the study of fiction.

In keeping with the objectives of the Penguin Academics series, Fiction: A Pocket Anthology offers a range of widely admired stories from 19th, 20th and 21st century authors in a quality trade-format book at an affordable price.  The sixth edition features new stories by classic authors including Washington Irving ("Rip Van Winkle"), Edgar Allen Poe ("The Cask of Amontillado"), and Eudora Welty ("A Memory"), as well as contemporary masters like Jhumpa Lahiri, Helen Simpson, and Tobias Wolff.

  • Brief and affordable! This pocket-sized anthology allows instructors and students to focus on the stories, with a minimum of pedagogical apparatus—at a cost well under that of traditional fiction anthologies.
  • Chronologically organized, the anthology includes classic tales from 19th century authors like Hawthorne, Poe, Jewett, and de Maupassant; 20th century gems by Hawthorne, Irving, Poe, Cather, Hurston, Faulkner, O’Connor, and Richard Wright, among others; and admired stories from contemporary authors like Alice Walker, Jamaica Kincaid, Sherman Alexie, and Jhumpa Lahiri—reflecting a diverse range of writers and styles.
  • An introduction to Fiction discusses the origins of the genre, its literary elements, and key terms, and Writing about Fiction  offers instruction for writing essays, including sample student papers, as well as coverage of MLA citations.
  • An Index of Critical Terms provides a cross-referenced list of literary terms covered in the text.
  • Washington Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle,” one of the most beloved stories of all time, appears in this collection for the first time.
  • Compelling stories from masters of the short story genre, including Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” and Eudora Welty’s “A Memory,” offer new models from classic writers.
  • New selections from contemporary writers, including Tim Gautreaux and Tobias Wolff, provide ample evidence that the short story continues to flourish in today’s world.
  • Authors new to this collection include award winners Helen Simpson and Susan Perabo, as well as the Pulitzer-prize winning Indian-American, Jhumpa Lahiri.
  • And as always, Fiction: A Pocket Anthology offers the best of the best at an attractive price and length.

Introduction

The Telling of the Tale

The Short Story Genre

Reading and Analyzing Short Fiction

            Plot

            Characterization

            Point of View

            Theme

            Setting

            Style and Symbol

 

Writing about Short Fiction

 

Fiction

* indicates stories new to this edition

* Washington Irving (1783-1859)

            Rip Van Winkle

 Nathanel Hawthorne (1804-1864)

            The Minister’s Black Veil

*  Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849)

            The Cask of Amontillado

Sarah Orne Jewett (1849-1909)

            A White Heron

Guy de Maupassant (1850-1893)

            Mother Savage

 Kate Chopin  (1851-1904)

            The Story of an Hour

Charlotte Perkins Gilman (1860-1935)

            The Yellow Wallpaper

Edith Wharton (1862-1937)

            Roman Fever

 Willa Cather (1876-1947)

            Paul’s Case

James Joyce (1882-1941)

            Araby

Zora Neale Hurston (1891-1960)

            Sweat

William Faulkner (1897-1962)

            A Rose for Emily

Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)

            Up in Michigan

Richard Wright (1908-1960)

            The Man Who Was Almost a Man

* Eudora Welty (1909-2001)

            A Memory

John Cheever (1912-1982)

            Reunion

Ralph Ellison (1914-1995)

            A Party Down at the Square

Shirley Jackson (1919-1965)

          The Lottery

Hisaye Yamamoto (B. 1921)

        Seventeen Syllables

Grace Paley (B. 1922-2007)

            Wants

Flannery O'Connor (1925-1964)

            Everything That Rises Must Converge

Richard Yates (1926-1992)

            Doctor Jack-o’-Lantern

Gabriel García Márquez (B. 1928)

            A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings

Ursula K. Le Guin

            The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas

Chinua Achebe (B. 1930)

            Dead Men’s Path

Alice Munro (B. 1931)

            The Bear Came Over the Mountain

Raymond Carver (1938-1988)

            Cathedral

Joyce Carol Oates (B. 1938)

            Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?

Margaret Atwood (B. 1939)

            Happy Endings

Bobbie Ann Mason (B. 1940)

            Shiloh

Alice Walker (B. 1944)

            Everyday Use

* Tobias Wolff (B. 1945)

            Hunters in the Snow

* Tim Gautreaux (B. 1947)

            Waiting for the Evening News

Jamaica Kincaid (B. 1949)

            Girl

Dagoberto Gilb (B. 1950)

            Look on the Bright Side

Sandra Cisneros (B. 1954)

            Woman Hollering Creek

Louise Erdrich (B. 1954)

            The Red Convertible

Gish Jen (B. 1955)

            In the American Society

Lorrie Moore (B. 1957)

            How to Become a Writer

* Helen Simpson (B. 1959)

            Diary of an Interesting Year

Sherman Alexie, (B. 1966)

          This Is What It Means to Say Phoenix, Arizona

* Jhumpa :Lahiri (B. 1967)

            A Temporary Matter

* Susan Perabo (B. 1969)

      The Payoff

 

Appendix: Stories Listed by Form, Genre, and Theme

 

Acknowledgments

 

Index of Critical Terms

 

 

R. S. Gwynn has edited several other books, including Drama: A Pocket Anthology; Poetry: A Pocket Anthology; Literature: A Pocket Anthology; Inside Literature: Reading, Responding, Writing (with Steven Zani); The Art of the Short Story (with Dana Gioia); and Contemporary American Poetry: A Pocket Anthology (with April Lindner).  He has also authored five collections of poetry, including No Word of Farewell: Selected Poems, 1970-2000. He has been awarded the Michael Braude Award for verse from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.  Gwynn is University Professor of English and Poet-in-Residence at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.

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