A & P by John Updike Updike's 'A & P' tells the story of a checkout boy, Sammy, who quits his job after his boss Mr. Lengel speaks disparagingly to three teenage... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
A Good Man is Hard to Find by Flannery O'Connor O'Connor's apocalyptic fiction attempts to show her readers their limitless need for God's mercy. In 'A Good Man is Hard... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
A Worn Path by Eudora Welty Eudora Welty's short story "A Worn Path" deals with a very elderly and frail black woman, Phoenix, and the hardships inherent in her life.... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Alicia Who Sees Mice by Sandra Cisneros It's amazing that an author can tell an entire story in two short paragraphs, and yet Sandra Cisneros' 'Alicia Who Sees Mice'... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Death of a Traveling Salesman by Eudora Welty In Welty's 'Death of a Traveling Salesman,' the protagonist has been off work for some time due to a bad bout of influenza... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Drawing Names by Bobbie Ann Mason Bobbie Ann Mason's story "Drawing Names" takes place on Christmas Day -- a poignant time that holds so much potential for heartache... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor In 'Good Country People', Flannery O'Connor introduces us to Joy Hopewell, whose leg was blasted off in a childhood accident.... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Greenleaf by Flannery O'Connor In Flannery O'Connor's short story "Greenleaf," the author depicts an embittered and self-centered old woman who is incapable of seeing... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Happy Endings by Margaret Atwood Happy Endings is one of Margaret Atwood's most frequently-anthologized stories because it is so unusual. In... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Hunters in the Snow by Tobias Wolff Tobias Wolff's 'Hunters in the Snow' is a fascinating study in self-absorption. Three friends,... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Redemption by John Gardner Readers familiar with John Gardner's biography cannot help but be struck by the similarity between the story line of "Redemption" and the facts... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Revelation by Flannery O' Connor The "Revelation" in Flannery O'Connor's short story of the same name opens in the waiting room of a doctor's office, where the smug Mrs... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Shiloh by Bobbie Ann Mason Bobbie Ann Mason's short story 'Shiloh' tells the story of a marriage with serious problems. The couple in question, Leroy and Norma Jean... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Snow by Ann Beattie Ann Beattie's short story "Snow" is only a few pages long, and its brevity is no accident. It tells the story of an unnamed narrator who "grew up,... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Sonny's Blues by James Baldwin James Baldwin's "Sonny's Blues" is told from the viewpoint of the title character's brother, a schoolteacher, who lives a much different... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
The Age of Lead by Margaret Atwood In Margaret Atwood's short story 'The Age of Lead,' the author alternates between two foci: a television program about the discovery and... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
The Burning House by Ann Beattie In Ann Beattie's short story "The Burning House," she describes the intertwined lives of a group of upwardly mobile friends, spouses,... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
The Country Husband by John Cheever John Cheever is a novelist of suburbia. But in his short story "The Country Husband", however, Cheever reveals suburbia's darker side... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
The Gazebo by Raymond Carver In Raymond Carver's "Gazebo," the two central characters are a married couple named Duane and Holly. They are managers of a motel, for which... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros Some of Sandra Cisneros' short stories are extremely short, only a few paragraphs long; they are more properly called... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
The River by Flannery O'Connor According to Flannery O'Connor, the real value -- the ONLY value -- in life is God's grace. This is dramatically shown in her short story... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
The Shawl by Cynthia Ozick "Stella, cold, cold, the coldness of hell." So begins Cynthia Ozick's chilling story, "The Shawl." The story takes place on a death march to a... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
The Sky is Gray by Ernest J. Gaines James, the narrator of Ernest Gaines' 'The Sky is Gray,' is a black child living outside Bayonne, Louisiana during the Second World... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
The Swimmer by John Cheever John Cheever's story "The Swimmer" starts off reasonably enough. The protagonist, Neddy Merrill, is lounging about the swimming pool... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
This Morning, This Evening, So Soon by James Baldwin James Baldwin's very long story 'This Morning, This Evening, So Soon' concerns a black American expatriate... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
What We Talk About When We Talk About Love Raymond Carver Raymond Carver's short story "What We Talk About When We Talk About Love" takes place in one sitting,... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Why I Live at the P.O. by Eudora Welty Eudora Welty's 'Why I Live at the P.O.' is told in the first person by a woman we know only as Sister. Sister is the postmistress of... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo
Wife Wooing by John Updike John Updike's 'Wife Wooing' deals with the subject of a husband who does not understand the complexities of his wife. The story's... - Commentary by Karen Bernardo