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Wednesday’s Child Is Full Of Woe: Symbolism and Close-reading
Wednesday (2022) is an eight-part Netflix series directed by Tim Burton, with a script by It is an Addams Family reboot. The original TV series ran from 1964-66.
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What is the objective correlative in literature?
When a story about one thing is really saying something about a character’s emotion. Objective correlative: The tangible manifestation of an intangible, created and used by the author to help the reader grasp the intangible concept. Most literature is about emotions or ideals — things that you cannot see or touch. So the objective correlative becomes…
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Hack Wednesday by Margaret Atwood Short Story Analysis
Margaret Atwood has a knack for writing prescient feminist pieces which remain relatable over decades. I wish she wouldn’t. I wish, for once, that Margaret Atwood were wrong about something (in fiction).
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The Possibility of Evil by Shirley Jackson
“The Possibility of Evil” is a short story by American author Shirley Jackson (1916-1965). Find it in several collections: Dark Tales and Just An Ordinary Day. The story was first published in The Saturday Evening Post a few months after Jackson’s death.
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The Birds by Daphne du Maurier Short Story Analysis
“The Birds” is a short story by British author Daphne du Maurier. Alongside Rebecca, “The Birds” remains her best-known work.
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The Wreck of the Zephyr by Chris Van Allsburg
The Wreck of the Zephyr is a postmodern, surreal 1983 picture book by American writer and illustrator Chris Van Allsburg. You’ve probably heard of Jumanji and The Polar Express, which have been adapted for film. The Garden of Abdul Gasazi was his first. The Stranger features a season personified. The Widow’s Broom is a creepy-ass…
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Tales From Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan Analysis
The common thread between stories in this compendium: All stories are set in the same, off-kilter suburb. Some of the stories have no words, and might consist only of a single frame of narrative art. Creative Arts teachers find this really useful in the classroom.
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Homecoming by Ray Bradbury Short Story Analysis
“Homecoming” is a short story by American writer Ray Bradbury, first published in 1946. A family of ghouls hosts a big family reunion for Allhallows Eve. Dead relatives return for the occasion. Unfortunately for Timothy, he seems to be the only member of the family who doesn’t have supernatural powers. Some readers pick this up…
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The Man Upstairs by Ray Bradbury Short Story Analysis
Let’s take a look at a vampire story by American writer Ray Bradbury. “The Man Upstairs” was first published in the March 1947 issue of Harper’s Magazine. You’ll also find it in Stories Volume One and Bradbury’s 1955 collection called The October Country.
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Melancholia Film Study
Melancholia is a 2011 film by Lars Von Triers. It’s one of those stories which has variable metaphorical resonance depending on who watches it. The Wizard of Oz and The Little Prince are also like this.
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The Canary by Katherine Mansfield Short Story Analysis
“The Canary” is a short story by Katherine Mansfield, and the last she ever finished. It was published in April 1923, after she had already died. “The Canary” was then collected in A Dove’s Nest.
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The October Game by Ray Bradbury Short Story Study
“The October Game” (1948) is a short Hallowe’en horror story by American author Ray Bradbury. It has the plot of an urban legend with the characterisation of a written narrative.
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Rip Van Winkle Can Get In The Sea
I finally read the short story “Rip Van Winkle” (1819), by America’s first well-recognised author, Washington Irving. Some say that Irving invented the American short story. (Nathaniel Hawthorne and Edgar Allan Poe turned it into literary art.)
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A Father To Be by Saul Bellow Short Story Analysis
Are you thinking of writing a story about a kid who leaves the house and rides the bus to school, all the while observing other passengers and gazing out the window? Or a story about a woman who buys frozen pizza at the supermarket, complains about the roast beef then observes characters in the car…
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The Shopping Mall As Fictional Setting
Shopping malls play a big part in many people’s lives. Naturally, malls make it into fiction, sometimes prominently. How are storytellers making use of malls as setting?