Vladmir Nabokov, Symbols and Signs

Link: Vladmir Nabokov, Symbols and Signs

• Print: Fiction, Short Story

"Symbols and Signs," published in 1948, tells the story of an elderly couple who attempt to see their deranged son on his birthday.  He resides in a sanatorium.

Joyce Carol Oates, I.D.

Link: Joyce Carol Oates, I.D.

• Print: Fiction, Short Story

Oates' story follows the life of Lisette Mulvey.  She is a middle school student whose mother has been gone for close to week.

Flannery O'Conner, A Good Man Is Hard to Find

Link: Flannery O'Conner, A Good Man is Hard to Find

• Print: Fiction, Short Story

O'Conner's text, originally published in 1953, details a family's trip to Florida.  The family runs into trouble during the ride.

Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado

Link: Edgar Allan Poe, The Cask of Amontillado

• Print: Fiction, Short Story

Poe's story involves a narrator seeking revenge on a friend whom he believes insulted him.

Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart

Link: Edgar Allan Poe, The Tell-Tale Heart

• Print: Fiction, Short Story

Poe's story is a first person narrative from a man who attempts to rationalize his sanity after murdering an old man. 

John Steinbeck, The Chrysanthemums

Link: John Steinbeck, The Chrysanthemums

• Print: Fiction, Short Story

Steinbeck's story shows the emotional dissatisfaction of a women trapped in a marriage.

Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Harrison Bergeron

Link: Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Harrison Bergeron

• Print: Fiction, Short Story

 Vonnegut's science fiction text takes place in the year 2081.  In this society, all Americans are mandated to be equal: looks, intelligence, and etc.