In silence and in absence, Alvarez offers up a revolution of truth–telling. In ‘‘I Came to Help,’’ she confesses that ‘‘the way we really change things is often through very simple action, small and quiet enough not to draw too much attention.’’ At once painfully diminutive and shockingly potent, the omissions serve to reify the…
Tag: Analysis
Daughter of Invention – Analysis
In Julia Alvarez’s story, ‘‘Daughter of Invention’’ Laura Garcia, the mother in the Garcia family, is strong, creative, compassionate, intuitive and intelligent. When the reader meets Laura, she is straddling two worlds. In the Dominican Republic, women had strictly defined roles and many limitations; in Laura’s own words, in her homeland, she could be ‘‘only…
By the Waters of Babylon – Analysis
‘‘By the Waters of Babylon’’ is a story plagued by its uniqueness. It is given too much credit for being a landmark work by some, and yet too little credit for popularizing the science fiction genre by others. Both views are valid, and both must be understood to view the story in the context of…
Where Have You Gone Charming Billy? – Analysis – Essay
‘‘Where Have You Gone Charming Billy?’’ is the story of Paul Berlin’s first night in the Vietnam War. Paul Berlin is terrified. He is in a strange, dark landscape. Earlier that day, he witnessed the death of one of his fellow soldiers, a death made even more terrifying by the medic Doc Peret’s assertion that…
Thank You, Ma’am by Langston Hughes – Analysis – Essay
Hughes’s story ‘‘Thank You, Ma’m’’ seems straightforward enough on a casual reading and, indeed, its moral message of self-help aimed at the black community could hardly be more blunt. Hughes gives a vivid description of his home in Harlem with its types and characters, lamenting it as a neighborhood in decline. Yet Hughes is a…
Suzy and Leah – Analysis
It is obvious that Yolen was motivated by the horrific acts of World War II to write the short story ‘‘Suzy and Leah.’’ The story uses a setting that is based on true events. There really was a refugee camp at Oswego, New York, that matches the description of the camp where Leah is housed….
A Problem by Anton Chekhov – Literary Analysis
Because ‘‘A Problem’’ is one of Chekhov’s more obscure stories, little criticism specific to it remains in print. However, Chekhov’s short fiction in general is widely reviewed, and much is directly applicable to the story at hand. For instance, Writer contributor Bob Blaisdell notes that “Chekhov showed . . . that short fiction could be…
Anton Chekhov – Writing Style & Legacy
In his short, productive life, Anton Chekhov (1860–1904), a mild-mannered, hardworking Russian doctor, managed to influence profoundly the development of two branches of world literature, the short story and drama. The stories that you read today in literary journals and magazines and what you see in many plays are something of what they are because…
A Problem by Anton Chekhov – Characterization of Sasha Uskov
Chekhov’s ‘‘A Problem’’ is an intensely intimate and detailed character study that also addresses themes of honor and crime. The story obliquely explores justice and the nature of the criminal mind. The story’s protagonist, the antihero Sasha Uskov, is certainly a criminal, albeit one who, for the bulk of the story, successfully attempts to convince…
The Pit and the Pendulum – Explained – Essay
‘‘The Pit and the Pendulum’’ is the most unique of Edgar Allan Poe’s short stories in that it has a happy ending. The narrator has been imprisoned in a booby-trapped dungeon and sentenced to death by the Spanish Inquisition. He successfully escapes both the pit and the pendulum, only to be threatened by the superheated…