Literature
Briefly discuss Bierce’s portrayal of the subjectivity of Peyton Farquhar in “An Occurrence at Owl
Creek Bridge”: focus on how Bierce describes his main character’s mental state, his sensory
awareness, his sense of the passage of time, etc. Is it “realistic,” and if so, in what sense?
2. Discuss Howells’s “Editha” as an anti-war story. This story is also about the social class of
the men sent to fight; be sure to address this in your paper, and to explain how George’s class
identity shapes his fate, especially regarding his relationship with Editha, whose identity is
upper-class. Be sure to note the details that help us to see and understand the social identity
of the character(s).
3. Briefly discuss Stephen Crane’s naturalism as expressed in an “The Open Boat.” To what degree is
Crane also a “realist”? That is, how does his fondness for the “impressionistic” detail in certain
important scenes pose a challenge to any reader of his story who has made realistic assumptions?
4. Briefly discuss the role played by the natural world—extreme cold, snow and ice, instinct, the
“survival of the fittest,” etc.—in Jack London’s “To Build a Fire.”
5. Discuss Henry James’s “realistic” treatment of the manners and morals of the genteel members of the
English aristocracy and leisure class in “The Real Thing.” What aspects of James’s fiction are the
most realistic: his characters, his dialogue, his narration, his plot, or his setting? What sorts of thing
does he develop in detail, and what sorts of thing does he leave unsaid or merely allude to? What
elements of his fiction are most dependent on the reader’s understanding of the world he depicts?
Finally, how seriously do you think James himself takes the social scenes he depicts? In other words,
to what degree does he seem to be a comic writer and an ironist? Where do his sympathies seem to
lie? Do you think he is inviting us to judge his characters? If so, on what grounds?
