Modern short stories

1. English III- Unit 5 Modern short stories

2. Stream of Consciousness: Psychological theory of time • Sigmund Freud- sought unconscious causes of people’s behavior • Stream of consciousness became a new literary technique used • Thought was a constant stream flowing through the minds without clear logic or order

3. Writers who use this: • James Joyce • Virginia Woolf • William Faulkner • Katherine Anne Porter

4. Method of narration (story): • Certain memories trigger seemingly random thoughts • Include following elements: • First-person point of view • Lack of conventional sentence structure or grammar • “free association” that flow through a character’s mind and link distinctly separate events • Interior monologues

5. Interior World: • Reaction against formulaic, plot-driven stories (beginning, middle, end without much change = boring!) • Started to include surprise endings • “Artful approach to the significant moment” (O’Connor)

6. Interior World: • Introduction of epiphany (a moment of revelation) • James Joyce with “Dubliners”- one credited with the idea • Anton Chekhov (Russian)- he brought Americans realistic details and understatements (de-emphasis on the importance of something or someone) • “Slice of life”- anecdotes • Lacked external conflicts, action-packed events, and clear climaxes • Instead, drama rages inside characters mind

7. Interior World: • Protagonists were antiheroes • Conflicted characters engulfed by indecision • Language- subtle and poetic • You have to figure out what the writers is trying to say

8. Features of the modern short story: • Unspectacular, or everyday settings • Themes of instability and loss • Plots without a clear climax or resolution • Understatement • Irony • Stream of consciousness • Antiheroes