A Answer the following questions.
1 What was the last book you read? Who wrote it? What was it about?
2 Have you read a short story before? What was the last one you read?
3 What do you understand to be the main differences between a short story and a novel? Which do you prefer, and why?
B Discuss your answers with a partner.
A Read the following paragraph from the passage on the next two pages.
Pay attention to the words in bold. � whether it is a simile or a metaphor, then write what each one compares.
In a recent class I was asked "What is a short story?" My first answer was that it was something that could be read in one sitting and brought (1) an illumination to the reader, sudden and golden (2) like sunlight cracking through heavy cloud. I went on to say that in my opinion a "real" short story was closer to poetry than to the novel.
1 simile I metaphor
It compares _____________ to an illumination.
2 simile I metaphor
It compares _____________ to sunlight.
B Now read paragraph 3 and find an example of simile OR metaphor.
� the correct choice below and write what it compares.
simile I metaphor
It compares __________ to _________ _
C Read the entire passage carefully. Then answer the questions on page 83.
Motivational Tip: What do others say about reading? "The man who does not read books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." Mark Twain (1835-1910), American Writer and Humorist. What does this quote mean? Do you agree or disagree with Twain? Why, or why not?
80 UNIT 5 Chapter 1
What Exactly Is a Short Story?
In a recent class 1'.\ivas asked "What is a short story?" My first answer was that it was something that could be read in one sitting and brought an illumination to the reader, sudden and golden like sunlight cracking through heavy cloud. I went on to
5 say that in my opinion a "real" short story was closer to poetry than to the novel.
Not all my students were convinced. Let's discuss word count when is a short st6ry too long to still be a short story? Is there an official point where a short story becomes a novella, 1 another
10 where a novella becomes a novel? Is Hemingway's The Old Man
& the Sea truly a novel? Let's set an arbitrary limit of words. For Ernest Hemingway (1899-1961)
I t' th t t ã t 1 O ()()() d ã I gth h rt was an American author and one
now e S agree a S ones up O , WOr S In en are S O of the most influential writers of
stories. his generation.
I'm not trying to be definitive here, ko let's look at some
15 definitions of the short story. My favorite is Benet's,2 "something that can be read in an hour and remembered for a lifetime." one writer said, "The theme of a novel will not fit into the framework of a short story; it's like trying to squeeze a mural3 into the frame of a miniature.
And as in a miniature painting, the details need to be sharp."
The short story is an example of one facet of human nature. Often a character undergoes
20 some event and experiences something that offers him or her change. This is why it's said that short stories usually "say something," often a small something, but sometimes delivered with such precision that the effect is exquisite, even a life-changing moment for some readers, something similar to a religious experience or to witnessing a never-to-be-repeated scene in nature.
25 The perfect short story is written with a poet's sensitivity for language, with a poet's precision.
The shape and sounds and rhythms of the words are more commonly part of the effect than they usually are in the novel. Just as in a poem, the bare words themselves are never the complete meaning. They interact with each other. Their sounds do things. How they are placed on the page matters. The poem tries to create a piece of truth, an insight into being
30 human, and the form is so tight, so sparse that we can argue over exact meanings long into the night.
1 A novella is longer than a short story but shorter than a novel.
2 Stephen Vincent Benet (1898-1943) was an American author.
One reason for the confusion students often have over the definition of short stories is that other word forms, anecdotes, sketches, vignettes,4 or slices of life often find their ways into them. These are often pretty and faintly moving, but somehow they leave us with a slightly
35 u�satisfied feeling. The fewer words we use, below a certain point-let's imagine this point is 1,500 words-the harder it is to have something clearly happen to a character, and have that occurrence change him or her.
So, for now, under 10,000 words is at the long end of short stories, but how short? Are we saying under 1,500 words is not a short story? Great writers can do in 600 words what a solid
40 writer might manage in 1, 100. Maybe at 500 words, the confinement begins to create a new form, often _very interesting, but more of an intellectual exercise; literary showing off rather than a natural giving of truth.
In the United Kingdom, there's an annual competition for "stories," complete in exactly 50 words. Here is one: Frank believed in his luck. Frank smoked too much but he knew he'd
45 never die o(a heart attack or lung cancer. Frank smoked all the time. One day there was a gas leak in Frank's kitchen. Frank went to fix it. He didn't die of a heart attack or lung cancer.
It's fun and sort of complete, but it isn't likely to find a place in our hearts and change our outlook on life.
Technically it's a story, and short it definitely is, but "short story," I argue, it is not.
There is a degree of unity in a well thought out short story, one I tend to call its theme. This kind of intensity in
55 a novel would indeed tire the reader. But.in the one-sitting contract with the reader of a short story, it is presumed
that he or she will cope. H.ence, when the story has quality, often the experience seems profound.
Okay, so let's form a definition here: A short story is a
60 narrative,5 rarely over 10,000 words or below 500words�
more commonly 1,500 tO 5,000 WOrdS, a Single-Sitting read, Russian writer Anton Chekhov
but with enough time and weight to move the reader. It is (1860-1904) is widely considered one of the greatest short story writers in
narrow and focused to produce a singular effect through history.
the story, most commonly through events affecting some
65 change, or denial of change, in an individual. All aspects of a short story are closely integrated anq cross reinforcing-language, point of view, tone and mood, the sounds as well as the meanings of the words, and their rhythm.
� 70
Writer Isabelle Allende once wrote: "Novels are, for me, adding up details, just work, work, work, then you're done. Short stories are more difficult-they have to be perfect, complete in themselves."
4 Vignettes are short, descriptive scenes from a story.
5 A narrative is another way of referring to the telling of a story.
82 UN IT 5 Chapter 1
A Choose the correct answer for the following questions.
1 We can infer from paragraphs 1-3 that the author is a __ . a teacher b poet c student d painter
2 Why does the author not consider the 50-word story in paragraph 8 a
"short story"?
a It is not really complete.
b It is too easy to read.
c It doesn't have a conclusion or point.
d It doesn't lead to a life-changing experience.
3 Which does NOT matter when defining what a short story is?
a the number of words b the number of characters c a consistent theme d its effect on the reader
4 Which statement is Isabelle Allende most likely to agree with?
a Short stories need to be refined and perfected.
b Short stories don't need to have details.
c Novels are not as good as short stories.
d Authors should try to write more short stories.
B Answer the following questions using information from the passage.
1 What does the title of the passage suggest about people's understanding of short stories?
2 How are poems and short stories similar? Give two examples.
3 How does the author feel about word forms like anecdotes and vignettes?
4 What does the author mean when he says Great writers can do in 600 words what a solid writer might manage in 1, 100 (lines 39-40)?
C Discuss the following questions with a partner.
1 Do you agree with Isabelle Allende that short stories are harder to write than novels? Why, or why not?
2 Do you believe that reading a good story can be a life-changing experience? Why, or why not?
Reading
Comprehension
Check Your Understanding
Critical Thinking
Vocabulary Comprehension
Words in Context
84 UNIT 5 Chapter 1
A Choose the best answer. The words in blue are from the passage.
1 Which decision is more likely to be arbitrary?
a choosing which car to buy b choosing which elevator to enter 2 Which has facets?
a a bathroom
3 Which task requires precision?
b someone's personality a making a sandwich b making a watch 4 Something exquisite is usually of __ quality.
a high b low
5 Someone whose hair is sparse is probably __ .
a younger b older
6 People usually tell anecdotes about __ .
a themselves b the news
7 When you presume something, it is--ã
a proven b unproven
8 Someone with insight has more __ .
a money b knowledge
9 How would you feel if you had a profound experience?
a inspired b indifferent
10 To reinforce an idea, you--ã
a repeat it several times b think of other alternatives
B Complete the following sentences using the words in blue from A. You might have to change the form of the word.
1 The soldiers put bags of sand behind the seawall in order to ________ it before the storm arrived.
2 My father likes to tell us funny about his childhood.
3 Nelson Mandela, the former president of South Africa, said that his experience in prison had a(n) effect on his life.
4 We need sales figures for the meeting because they'll be included in an official report. Please don't pick some ________ numbers out of thin air.
5 Recent reports on melting glaciers in the Arctic have given us more ________ into how our actions can cause global warming.
6 It's important for entrepreneurs to be familiar with all ________ of a company.
7 The population of the town has grown ________ because many people are moving to the city.
8 She has taste in clothes and is always very well-dressed.
9 In court, the person facing trial is always ________ innocent until proven guilty.
A Study the following words. With a partner, write the part of speech and a simple definition for each word. Then check your answers using a dictionary.
/' Word Part of Definition
Speech 1 subscribe
2 manuscript 3 postscript 4 scribble 5 prescription 6 describe 7 superscript 8 inscription 9 transcribe
\..10 conscript
B Complete the following sentences using the words from A. You might have to change the form of the word.
1 Who ________ on my folder? It's covered in ink now!
2 Read the on this stone. This building is over 500 years old!
�
3 In every letter or e-mail she sends, Emily adds a(n) _______ _ and writes a joke.
4 Do you ________ to this magazine or do you buy it at the newsstand?
5 The writer panicked when he realized he had left the _______ _ for his forthcoming book in the train.
6 From the way Steven ________ his girlfriend, you'd think she were a model.
7 In many countries, you're not allowed to buy strong sleeping pills unless you have a doctor's _______ _
C Now ask and answer the following questions with a partner.
1 When was the last time you had to get a prescription from the doctor?
2 Do you ever add postscripts to letters or e-mails?
3 Describe a member of your family.
4 Do you subscribe to any newspapers, magazines, or websites? Which ones?
Vocabulary Skill
The Root Word scribe
The root word scribe, also written as scrip or script, comes from the Latin word scribere, meaning to write. Many words in English that are related to writing contain this root.
UNIT 5
Before You Read
A Writer's Story
Reading Skill
Scanning
When we need to read something to find specific information, we move our eyes very quickly across the text. When we
"scan" like this, we do not read every word or stop when we see a word we do not understand;
we read quickly and pause only to find the particular information we are looking for.