short stories – Interesting Literature

A Summary and Analysis of O. Henry’s ‘After Twenty Years’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘After Twenty Years’ is a short story by the American writer O. Henry, whose real name was William Sydney Porter (1862-1910). A trademark of the O. Henry story is the surprise twist ending, and ‘After Twenty Years’ is a classic example of this. The story is about two friends who agree to meet up after twenty years to compare each other’s lives.

A Summary and Analysis of Flannery O’Connor’s ‘Good Country People’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Good Country People’ is one of the best-known and most widely studied short stories by Flannery O’Connor (1925-64).

The story, which focuses on a woman with a wooden leg who is befriended by a young and innocent-seeming bible salesman, takes in many themes, including innocence versus knowledge and our perceptions of others: perceptions which are often quite false.

A Summary and Analysis of Ray Bradbury’s ‘Remember Sascha?’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Remember Sascha?’ is a short story by the American writer Ray Bradbury (1920-2012), included in his 1996 collection Quicker Than the Eye. The story hasn’t attracted much in the way of critical commentary, either in academic studies or analyses of Bradbury’s work or more widely in the blogosphere, so this review is a small attempt to remedy that. First, to summarise this charming little story though.

A Summary and Analysis of O. Henry’s ‘One Dollar’s Worth’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘One Dollar’s Worth’ is a short story by the American writer O. Henry, whose real name was William Sydney Porter (1862-1910). A trademark of the O. Henry story is the surprise twist ending, and ‘One Dollar’s Worth’ certainly has a few surprises in store for the reader in its closing paragraphs. The story is about a criminal who seeks vengeance on the judge who put him in prison, by intending to kill the judge’s daughter.

A Summary and Analysis of J. G. Ballard’s ‘Motel Architecture’

By Dr Oliver Tearle (Loughborough University)

‘Motel Architecture’ is not one of the best-known short stories of the British author J. G. Ballard (1930-2009), but it’s one of his most prescient. And this is an author who anticipated everything from Ronald Reagan becoming US President (in the late 1960s) to videocalls and virtual socialising via a TV/computer screen (see his ‘The Intensive Care Unit’ for the latter).