1. The Scarlet Ibis

2. The Scarlet Ibis Background James Hurst published in the July 1960
Author
Publication
Influence
James Hurst
published in the July 1960
"The Scarlet Ibis" was the first and only work of Hurst's to achieve widespread success.

3. The Scarlet Ibis Background, Con’t:
The Bird Itself
Native of the South American tropics
The scarlet ibis is vivid red, but loses its color if it doesn’t eat the proper diet
It needs a particular habitat in order to thrive
The scarlet ibis is an endangered species which has not bred successfully in its natural habitat since the 1960s.

4. The Scarlet Ibis Background, Con’t:
The Story
Explores the conflicts between love and pride and draws attention to the effects of familial and societal expectations on those who are handicapped.
Draws a powerful symbolic connection between the handicapped child Doodle and the beautiful and rare Scarlet Ibis

5. Overview
Plot at a Glance
The story focuses on the troubled relationship between two young boys: the narrator and his mentally and physically disabled brother, Doodle.
His brother wishes he had a normal functioning brother and sometimes even has dark thoughts about murdering him

6. Overview
Plot at a Glance
Motivated by a smile Doodle give his brother, however, Brother decides to teach Doodle how to walk along with other skills a normal boy would possess
With his brother pushing him perhaps too hard to be something he is not, Doodle’s health begins to decline.

7. Literary Focus
Symbols
The Scarlet Ibis
Connections Between The Scarlet Ibis and Doodle
In the course of the story, Doodle becomes symbolically identified with a rare and beautiful Scarlet Ibis
1a.The Scarlet ibis, an exotic bird that does not belong in the narrator's region, land in their backyard
1b.Doodle is forced to do things that he should not have to try to do and is forced out of his element
2a.The red bird falls from the tree it is in, and lands dead at the feet of Doodle’s family
2b.Forces of out of his element Doodle loses his color (as a Scarlet Ibis would) and his health declines
The shaded area of the map highlights the region populated by the Scarlet Ibis

8. Symbols, Con’t:
Coffin and Go-Cart
Weather
Representative of both the expectations of Doodle’s family and Doodle’s ability to overcome those expectations (that he is going to die as an infant and that he will never walk)
Reflects the mood of the story—the weather often mirrors if good or bad things are happening in the story

9. Expectations and Limitations Brotherly Love Beauty Found in the Unique
Literary Focus
Themes and Conflicts
Love
Pride
Disabilities
Expectations and Limitations
Brotherly Love
Beauty Found in the Unique
Age and Experience

10. Hurst frequently uses foreshadowing to suggest an upcoming event.
Literary Focus
Foreshadowing
Hurst frequently uses foreshadowing to suggest an upcoming event.
In “The Scarlet Ibis” this most clearly used to hint at death coming:
Doctor's warning about Doodle's weak heart, to foreshadow the death of Doodle
The changing of seasons being described in terms of “death” and rebirth

11. Literary Focus Point of View Irony
The story is told as a first- person reminiscence by Brother
This is noteworthy because Brother is looking back on events from his childhood with the maturity of an adult.
The narration is would suggest that the story would be told with sympathy for Brother, but because of the honesty of the narrative, Doodle is the more sympathetic character
Furthermore, Brother’s attempts to help Doodle are ultimately harmful to him

12. Mentally and physically retarded
Characters
Doodle
Mentally and physically retarded
Doodle is a disappointment to his family, especially to Brother
Everyone expects Doodle to die, but he defies them all and survives, becoming a loving boy with a strong attachment to Brother

13. Brother grows ashamed of Doodle's limitations and regularly taunts him
Characters
Brother
He is not given a name but is referred to by Doodle, his brother, only as "Brother."
Brother grows ashamed of Doodle's limitations and regularly taunts him
Brother loves Doodle, but the love is tainted with cruelty and embarrassment.

14. A Story of Suspense and Action!!!

15. Background Richard Connell First published in 1924
Connell's story raises questions about the nature of violence and cruelty and the ethics of hunting for sport.
Background
Author:
Publication
Focus

16. Hunter Sanger Rainsford becomes stranded on an island
Overview
The Most Dangerous Game
Hunter Sanger Rainsford becomes stranded on an island
He finds another hunter, named General Zaroff, living on the island in a dark, secluded mansion
Zaroff is an excellent hunter as well, and is desperately looking for new challenges to test his hunting skills.
The Cape Buffalo is One of the World’s Most Dangerous Animals

17. Literary Focus Violence and Cruelty Themes and Conflicts
Ethics of Hunting
The Weak versus the Strong
Survival of the Fittest
The Hunter Becoming the Hunted
Revenge
Gaming Room. Will Zaroff’s Look the Same Way?

18. Literary Focus Setting: Point of View:
Connell sets the "game'' in a dangerous wilderness of quicksand, wild seas, fallen trees, mud and sand, and rocky cliffs.
Omniscient third-person narrator.

19. Literary Focus
Suspense
Foreshadowing
The story’s fast-paced action, life or death plot, and jungle setting all contribute to a sense of anxiety about what will happen next in the short story
There are numerous clues about the “new game” that Zaroff hunts, but perhaps no clue is stronger than his repeated claim that 1 animal can reason

20. Characters
Rainsford
Rainsford: world famous hunter who doesn’t believe animals have feelings and becomes stranded on Ship-Trap Island.

21. General Zaroff: refined manners, clothing, tastes, and delicate speech contrast with his brutal passion for hunting.
Characters
General Zaroff
General Zaroff

22. The Necklace

23. Guy De Maupassant Author Published 1884
Maupassant was extremely successful during his lifetime and “The Necklace” was an instant success
Author
Don’t mess with the ‘Stache

24. Madame Mathilde and her husband are not well off financially
The Necklace
Overview
Madame Mathilde and her husband are not well off financially
She has always dreamed of being rich.

25. Overview, Con’t:
When the couple is invited to a ball, Madame Loisel must find jewelry and fine clothing so she can attend the event.
The trouble begins when her jewelry is lost.

26. Literary Focus Themes Appearance vs. Reality Rich vs. Poor
Generosity vs. Greed
Madame Loisel is pretty and charming, but she is also unhappy with her lot in life and believes that she deserves more.
Madame Loisel’s belief that beautiful things and luxury are essential to her happiness is the untruth that scars her physical beauty.
Madame Loisel’s greed stands in marked contrast to the generosity of her husband and Madame Forestier.

27. The necklace is the central symbol of the story.
‘‘The Necklace’’ is told by an omniscient third-person narrator. The narrator does have access to the characters‘ thoughts.
The necklace is the central symbol of the story.
The necklace comes to represents Madame Loisel's greed and also her artificiality.
Literary Focus
Point of View
Symbolism

28. Literary Focus, Con’t:
Irony
In a society that so highly values appearance, it is ironic that the beautiful Madame Loisel is excluded from society because of her class standing.
The greatest irony of all, however, comes during the story’s surprise ending.

29. Beautiful woman on the outside but has a superficial personality
Believes that she is meant for better things than the middle-class
Infatuated with superficial things:
a ball gown
better furniture
fancy jewelry
Characters
Madame Mathilde Loisel

30. Content with social situation
Attentive to his wife's desires,
Acts in stark contrast to his wife: generous, hard working, selfless
Characters
Monsieur Loisel

31. The Tormented Life of Edgar Allan Poe
The Nightmarish Mind
of Edgar Allan Poe
“The Short Life”

32. Born
His mother died during his youth and his father abandoned them
After the death of his grandmother married his 13- year-old cousin, Virginia in 1835
Virginia died in 1847
Died in 1849
Background

33. Entered and dropped from both the University of Virginia and West Point
Ran into debt and started borrowing money, gambling and getting deeper into debt
Education of Poe

34. Wrote in a Gothic Style
Deep and intense
Explorations of а world of dream and of nightmare
In his stories the past is darker, mоrе ominous and oppresses his heroes and heroines
Writing Style of Poe

35. Poe’s Characters
Many of his characters аrе filled with madness
Obsessed with the irrational side of the mind

36. The Pit and the Pendulum The Fall of the House of Usher
Tell-Tale Heart
The Cask of the Amontillado
The Masque of the Red Death
The Raven
Lenore
Famous Works
Short Stories
Poems

37. The Cask of Amontillado

38. Background
The Cask of Amontillado
Published 1846
One theory for the inspiration for story was a feud Poe had with 2 other poets
The story was somewhat controversial for focusing his story on a crime with no apparent motive, and a murderer with no apparent remorse

39. The Cask of Amontillado
Overview
The story is narrated by Montresor, who carries a grudge against Fortunato for an offense that is never explained
Montresor leads a drunken Fortunato through a series of chambers beneath his palazzo

40. The Cask of Amontillado
Overview
Although Fortunato has a horrible cough the promise of a taste of Amontillado spurs him deeper and deeper into the underground
When the two men reach the last underground chamber, Montresor chains Fortunato to the wall, builds a new wall to seal him in, and leaves him to die

41. Remorse vs. Lack of Remorse Pride Friendship Power and Respect
Literary Focus
Themes and Conflicts
Revenge
Madness
Deception
Remorse vs. Lack of Remorse
Pride
Friendship
Power and Respect
Social Classes and Social Significance within Society

42. Montresor’s Coat of Arms and motto, Nemo me impune lacessit
Literary Focus
Symbols
Montresor’s Coat of Arms and motto, Nemo me impune lacessit
Irony
The Usage of a Trowel
A foot in a blue background crushing a snake whose fangs are embedded in the foot's heel
“No one attacks me with impunity”
Both the coat of arms and motto are representative of Montresor’s lust for revenge
He will crush Fortunado for the “injuries” he has given
Fortunado belongs to a secret society called the Freemasons
Montresor says he is also a mason, but then produces a trowel used for regular masonery work
Fortunado thinks this action is trivial, but the trowel ends up playing an integral part in his demise .

43. Told in the first person by Montresor
By presenting the story in the first person, Poe puts the reader at the mercy of an unreliable narrator, a mad man, who decides what to tell and what to leave out.
Literary Focus
Point of View

44. Fortunato
Montresor's sworn enemy,
Fortunato displays no uneasiness in Montresor's company, and is unaware that his friend is plotting against him.
Fortunato is a proud connoisseur of fine wine
He is urged on by the chance of sampling some rare Amontillado

45. Luchesi
Acquaintance of Montresor's and Fortunato's
A rival wine expert of Fortunado’s
Montresor keeps Fortunato on the trail of the Amontillado by threatening to allow Luchesi to sample it first

46. Montresor
Holds a grudge against his friend Fortunato, who has committed several unnamed offenses against him
Wealthy and lives in a palazzo
Has planned murder of Fortunado
Telling the story fifty years after it has taken place he reveals no regret for his actions

47. The Masque of the
Red Death

48. The Masque of Red Death
Background
Poe’s fictional Red Death is probably based on the Black Death, which killed as many as two thirds of the population in some regions in Europe
Poe calls the plague “the Red Death” because victims oozed blood from painful sores.

49. Summary
Theme
In this story a fourteenth- century prince gives a costume party, or masque, to try to forget about the epidemic raging all around him.
Inevitibility of death (regardless how much money you have)
Human weakness and fear
Arrogance
Death

50. Allegory
Symbol
A narrative that is really a double story. One story takes place on the surface. Under the surface the story’s characters and events represent abstract ideas
Something that is itself and yet also represents something else
Can be read both as a chilling ghost story and as an allegory representing the inevitability of death.
Prospero’s name (Prospero means prosperous)
The stranger’s appearance (Dressed like the Grim Reaper or Death)
The arrangement of the seven halls
The rooms of the palace, lined up in a series, allegorically represent the stages of life.
Their colors (black=death), (red=blood)
Clock marking the inevitable passage of time.

51. Characters Prince Prospero The Stranger
Prince Prospero invites a thousand lords and ladies to escape death by living luxuriously in his castle until the pestilence passes.
To entertain his guests Prospero hosts a masquerade party that takes place in seven halls, each a different color.
At the stroke of midnight, a tall figure in a blood-splattered burial costume appears.
Prospero demands that his friends seize the intruder, but everyone is frozen with fear as the stranger slowly walks through the rooms.

52. The Gift of the Magi

53. Author
Origin of Title
O. Henry
Wise men, or magi, brought gifts to the baby Jesus and so invented the giving of Christmas gifts

54. O.Henry Writing Style
Overview of Story
Humorous tone, realistic detail, and a surprise ending
Delia and Jim Young are a young married couple with very little money
They are both trying to save money so they can buy Christmas gifts for one another
What will they sacrifice in order to buy their spouse a fantastic gift?

55. Characters
Jim Young
Jim, is a thin, serious young man, twenty- two years old. He works hard, not returning home until seven o'clock, and is reliable:

56. Delia Young
Has long beautiful hair and has saved $1.87 to buy her husband a gift

57. Value of Love
Faulty Value of Money
Faulty Value of Material Items
Wisdom and Growth
Sacrifice and Generosity
Unselfishness
Themes and Conflicts

58. New York. The setting helps emphasize the couple being poor
New York. The setting helps emphasize the couple being poor. They have a "shabby little couch," and a “dismal view”
Dark and unsettling. The mood is used to emphasize how poor and desperate this couple has become
When the couple loses everything that is important to them, they realize it really doesn’t matter
Style
Setting
Mood
Irony