Short Stories of Various Types Part 41

Shute, Henry _The Misadventures of Three Good Boys_

Stevenson, Robert Louis _Merry Men._ "Markheim" and "Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde"

_New Arabian Nights._ "A Lodging for the Night" and "The Sire de Maletroit's Door"

Stockton, Frank _The Lady or the Tiger?_ t.i.tle Story

Tarkington, Booth _Penrod_ _Penrod and Sam_ _Monsieur Beaucair_

"Twain, Mark"

_The Jumping Frog_

Van d.y.k.e, Henry _The Blue Flower._ t.i.tle Story and "The Other Wise Man"

White, Stewart Edward _Blazed Trail Stories_

White, William Allen _The Court of Boyville_

Wister Owen _Philosophy Four._ t.i.tle Story

SUGGESTIONS FOR STUDY

The Gift of the Magi

1. Does the introduction of "The Gift of the Magi" awaken your interest at once?

2. Della and Jim are very poor. Why is neither their home nor Della in her shabby clothes, ugly or sordid?

3. Do Jim and Della seem like real people you have known? What makes them so happy in spite of their being poor?

4. Is there something about this simple story that is beautiful and that would be true for people ages ago or years from now? How would you put this idea in words?

5. Were you prepared for the surprise ending of the story? Read over the story and see if O. Henry had really prepared from the very beginning for such an ending and yet had kept the reader from knowing.

6. After reading the Introduction, would you say that "The Gift of the Magi" is a true short story?

A Reward of Merit

1. Look over the story "A Reward of Merit" and gather up the real story or plot and see how briefly you can relate it in your own words.

2. Does the fact that the story is told so largely through the conversation of the boys make it more interesting to you?

3. Try writing a story of some escapade, adventure, or exciting event in which the story is largely told, and the characters revealed, by means of conversation between two boys or two girls.

4. Would you say that Mr. Tarkington, the writer of this story, has a sense of humor? Give instances of humor in the story.

5. In what ways does the story show a knowledge of boy life?

"American, Sir!"

1. What type of story would you call this?

2. The setting of the main incident brings before you what part of the Great War? Were any of your friends in that country? In the ambulance service anywhere? Locate on the map the places named in the story.

3. Find in the story some of the dramatic, graphic scenes that John has sketched for his uncle. See how well you can fill them out and express them. Why would this story make a good play?

4. What three people does Mrs. Andrews make real and likable to you?

Does Uncle Bill conceal his real character? Of what other character in this book does he remind you?

5. Some of you may be able to write a stirring story of the brave deed of some real or imaginary ambulance driver for the Red Cross in Italy or France during the Great War.

John G.

1. What gives you the thrill in the story "John G."?

2. Does this story of Miss Mayo's gain or lack in interest, because it is founded on fact?

3. Who would you say was the main character or real hero of the story?

4. Where in the story would you say was the most critical and the most interesting point?

5. Could this incident make the foundation for a good moving picture scenario?

6. Write either a story or a scenario of an exciting and dangerous adventure in which a dog or a horse is the hero.

Friends

1. In what are you most interested in this story?

2. Is the setting of the story in the school or at home?

3. Do Mrs. Mowgelewsky and Morris seem like any living persons you have known?

4. Do you think the children in the first grade would like Miss Bailey as a teacher? What makes her a lovable person?

5. How do this story and others by Myra Kelly that you may have read, show that she sympathized with and understood these American children of foreign birth?

A Camping Trip

1. Does the interest of this story lie more in the nature or out-of-doors setting, or in the action or plot?