Short Stories and Essays (from Literature and Life)

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Howells, William Dean, 1837-1920

Language:

English

Physical Description:

1 online resource : multiple file formats

Place of Publication:

Salt Lake City, UT : Project Gutenberg,

Summary:

"Short Stories and Essays (from Literature and Life)" by William Dean Howells is a collection of narratives exploring various facets of life, culture, and society, likely penned in the late 19th century. The essays and stories delve into social observations, personal reflections, and portrayals of everyday life, drawing on the realities of human experience as Howells presents a tapestry of American life through his adept literary lens. The opening portion introduces the essay "Worries of a Winter Walk," where the narrator recounts a cold winter morning in a bustling tenement area. Through vivid imagery, he describes the stark contrast of a lonely, frigid street against the warmth of human bustle usually present. The narrator encounters a small child eagerly fetching coal and is struck by her practicality and resilience, highlighting the harsh realities faced by children of the working class. As he reflects on this scene, he grapples with the moral complexity of using real-life situations as material for fiction, leading to deeper questions of empathy and responsibility toward those in need. This introspective exploration sets the tone for the collection, inviting readers to engage thoughtfully with the lives and struggles depicted within. (This is an automatically generated summary.)

Contents:

Worries of a Winter Walk

Summer Isles of Eden

Wild Flowers of the Asphalt

A Circus in the Suburbs

A She Hamlet

The Midnight Platoon

The Beach at Rockaway

Sawdust in the Arena

At a Dime Museum

American Literature in Exile

The Horse Show

The Problem of the Summer

Aesthetic New York Fifty-odd Years Ago

From New York into New England

The Art of the Adsmith

The Psychology of Plagiarism

Puritanism in American Fiction

The What and How in Art

Politics in American Authors ­ Storage

"Floating down the River on the O-hi-o".

Credits:

Produced by David Widger

Notes:

Reading ease score: 54.9 (10th to 12th grade). Somewhat difficult to read.

Release date is 2004-10-22