Short Story Unit #1:

Author and Story Information

Countries Represented

• Russia (Asia)

• Columbia (Latin America)

• Egypt (Africa)

• France (Europe)

Author #1: Leo Tolstoy

• From: Russia

• Birth: 1828

• Death: 1910

Tolstoy Cont.

• Focus: Realist Fiction

• Famous Novels: – War and Peace– Anna Karenina (Oprah Book Club Selection)

Tolstoy Cont.

• Born into wealth and nobility

• Traveled to Europe to escape stifling political repression in Russia

• War and Peace: said to be one of the greatest novels ever written!

Tolstoy Cont.

• Interesting fact: Tolstoy did not like Shakespeare!– I remember the astonishment I felt when I first

read Shakespeare…Not only did I feel no delight but I felt an irresistible repulsion and tedium…

Tolstoy on Religion

• Tolstoy believed that a true Christian could find lasting happiness by striving for inner self-perfection through following the Great Commandment of loving one’s neighbor and God rather than looking outward to the Church or state for guidance.

“The Long Exile”

• Written in 1888

• Published as a children’s story

• Setting: Russia/Siberia

The story of a man who is falsely accused of a crime and when given the chance to get even, makes a bold decision.

Author #2 Gabriel Garcia Marquez

• From: Colombia

• Birth: 1927

• Death: Still alive!

Marquez Cont.

• Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature, 1982

• One Hundred Years of Solitude (also Oprah book club selection…see a trend with good books???)

• Love in the Time of Cholera: movie, 2007

Marquez Cont.

• Interesting fact: The novel Memories of My Melancholy Whores (2003) was banned in Iran after 5000 copies were sold.

• (It’s the story of a 90 year old man who romances a teenage concubine)

Marquez Cont.

• Themes in Marquez’ stories:

– Reality– Solitude– Setting: small villages (usually his home town

of Aracataca, Columbia

“Tuesday Siesta”

• Written: 1984

• The story of a mother and daughter who fight the elements of setting to pay tribute to her son/brother in a town that could not be bothered to take the time to assist them.

Naguib Mahfouz

• From: Egypt

• Birth: 1911

• Death: 2006

Mahfouz Cont.

• Awarded Nobel Prize in Literature, 1988

• Explored the theme of existentialism

existentialism

• a philosophical attitude that stresses the individual's unique position as a self-determining agent responsible for the authenticity of his or her choices, not influenced by God or religion.

Mahfouz Cont.

• Born in lower class, Muslim family

• Great influence: The Egyptian Revolution of 1919. He watched British soldiers firing at demonstrators, men and women.

Mahfouz Cont.

• Writing Style: focused on psychological impact of social change on ordinary people

• Also dealt with politics, antipathy towards Islamic extremism, criticized radical Islam

“The Norwegian Rat”

• Published: 1984

• Setting: Cairo, Egypt (1970’s)

• A story about a rat infestation and how sometimes the solution is worse than the problem.

Guy de Maupassant

• From: France

• Birth: 1850

• Death: 1893

• Wrote: “The Necklace”

Maupassant

• Stories are characterized by their economy of style and efficient, effortless denouement.

• Delighted in clever plotting

• (simple writing, understandable endings)

Maupassant

• Considered one of the fathers of modern short story writing.

• Interesting fact: Guy de Maupassant was very fond of Shakespeare! And, Tolstoy respected Maupassant’s writings!

“The Piece of String”

• The story of a man who, in trying to hide the fact that he was cheap, made everyone think he was a fool and a liar.