Modern Short Stories

Introduction. 1. Short Stories and Tall Tales. The Open Window,Saki (H. H. Munro).Under the Banyan Tree,R. K. Narayan. Close Reading: Analysing the Plot. Language Practice: Using Different Tenses in Narrative. Vocabulary: Describing Types of Stories. Beyond the Text: From Iris Murdoch,The Nice and the Good. 2. Love in Vain. A Dill Pickle,Katherine Mansfield. Close Reading: Interpreting Characters' Feelings. Language Practice: Describing Past Habits and Changes. Vocabulary: Similes and Metaphors. Beyond the Text: George and Ira Gershwin,They Can't Take That Away from Me. 3. Childhood Memories. First Confession,Frank O'Connor. Close Reading: Point of View and Irony. Language Practice: Direct and Indirect Speech. Vocabulary: Adverbial Phrases. Beyond the Text: From Charles Dickens,David Copperfield,James Joyce,A Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man. 4. Romance. The First Seven Years,Bernard Malamud. Close Reading: Examining Characterization. Language Practice: Speculating About Future Developments (conditional sentences type 2). Vocabulary: Describing People. Beyond the Text: Barry Cole,Reported Missing. 5. Fairy Tales. The Nightingale and the Rose,Oscar Wilde. Close Reading: Sequencing the Events of a Story. Language Practice: Linking Devices in Narrative (conjunctions, relative pronouns and adverbs). Vocabulary: Describing Personal Qualities. Outside the Cabinet-Makers,Scott Fitzgerald. Close Reading: Interpreting Characters' Motivation. Language Practice: Speculating About Past Events (conditional sentence type 3). Vocabulary: Reporting Verbs; Adverbs with Direct Speech. Beyond the Text: James Thurber,The Little Girl and the Wolf. 6. Whodunnit? Lamb to the Slaughter,Roald Dahl. Close Reading: Interpreting Characters' Actions. Language Practice: Explaining Motivation. Vocabulary: Feelings and Reactions; Parts of Speech. Beyond the Text: From Arthur Conan Doyle,The Sign of Four. 7. The Sporting Life. Ace in the Hole,John Updike. Close Reading: Judging Characters. Language Practice: Criticizing and Complaining. Vocabulary: General and Specific Words. Beyond the Text: From Bernard Malamud,The Natural. Glossary. Key.Martin, Alex is the author of 'Modern Short Stories' with ISBN 9780134818054 and ISBN 0134818059.