short story essays for school

Short Stories for High School

We recommend these stories for high school students based on their literary significance and to deepen student appreciation for the short story genre. Many are iconic works, often anthologized, and serve as common cultural reference points in literature, film, music, and popular culture. These are the stories that well-read students should know as they prepare for college and life! Short Stories for High School II is our encore collection. You may also enjoy Poetry for Students , Civil War Stories and WWI Stories .

• An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce This famous story, set during the American Civil War, is widely regarded as a short story masterpiece. The story of Peyton Farquhar is about a man about to be hanged, whose love for his wife and children help him envision his escape. We offer a useful Study Guide
• The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin This short story takes the reader on an emotional journey and was quite controversial when it was published in 1894 as The Dream of an Hour before being republished under this title in 1895. Most readers experience varying degrees of discomfort while reading this story, a testament to its power. This selection is an excellent entry point for a discussion about why feminist literature began to appear at this time and how people reacted. Here's our Study Guide
• The Storm by Kate Chopin If you have read The Story of an Hour then you probably understand that Ms. Chopin was willing to write about love and relationships in their entirety, embracing the complexities and mysteries of that realm. In this story she takes on the sensitive issue of infidelity. This is a story for more mature and advanced high school classes.

• A Dark Brown Dog by Stephen Crane This is a story that works at several levels and is easily read as a sad and tragic morality tale about animal cruelty. For advanced readers, this story merits classroom discussion as a symbolic tale. Probably written in 1893, it's an interesting cross-section of literature and history that might be commenting on Reconstruction and the Jim Crow era. What if the dog, still dragging a rope, is representative of recently freed slaves? If we accept that symbolic starting point, who is the little boy? The mother, the father? And what does the story mean in that context? Use our Study Guide
• Trifles by Susan Glaspell Before Henrik Ibsen wrote A Doll's House, he noted in 1878 that, “A woman cannot be herself in the society of the present day which is an exclusively masculine society with laws framed by men and with the judicial system that judges feminine conduct from a masculine point of view.” Glaspell drives the point home brilliantly in this short play, which she later adapted into a short story, A Jury of Her Peers .

• The Hanging Stranger by Philip K. Dick Ed had always been a practical man, when he saw something was wrong he tried to correct it. Then one day he saw it hanging in the town square.
• Home Burial by Robert Frost This is a poem. Not a short story. Don't let that stop you. Frost uses about 1,010 words to teach you something about the complexity of life, death, marriage, longing, loss, and parenthood. Take note of the emotional and physical position of the characters in relationship to one another over the course of the poem. And please take the time to consider the historical context: Adams, Jefferson, Madison, Monroe, Lincoln, McKinley, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Reagan, Bush. An incomplete list of presidents? No. That is an incomplete list of presidential couples that lost at least one child. This poem was not addressing a remote emotional experience when written in 1914. It was addressing a tragedy and emotional trauma that was all too common in the United States then and is still too common in many parts of the world today.

• The Girl Who Got Rattled by Stewart Edward White This story was adapted in the Coen Brothers' movie, The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018), in the vignette titled The Gal Who Got Rattled .
• The Interlopers by H.H. Munro In this man versus man versus nature story, two feuding neighbors venture into the woods carrying guns; one to hunt, the other to put down a trespasser. The two are fated to meet and reap the rewards of their bitter quarrel over a piece of land.
• The Fly by Katherine Mansfield We now turn to New Zealander Katherine Mansfield for a short story that is multi-themed and laden with symbolism. What are the messages the author delivers in this story? What does the fly represent? Are there any ideas that reappear in the story? The Fly is a great candidate story for an essay or classroom discussion. The story provides the literary experience of looking at a mountain field; the longer you look, the more you see. Every student's perspective is different and so is their view of this story's field.
• Winesburg, Ohio by Sherwood Anderson A delightful mosaic of stand-alone, but related stories describing the development of a young man, George Willard , as he comes of age. The stories mark the significant episodes and relationships that have shaped his life and formed his character. The stories build toward the moment when he will leave Winesburg and his youth behind. Each story can be enjoyed independently, revealing flawed yet endearing characters in Anderson's naturalist style.

• Sunshine Sketches of a Little Town by Stephen Leacock This is a fantastically funny short story collection from the Canadian author Stephen Leacock. Though largely lost to modern readers, it was once commonly said that "more people had heard of Stephen Leacock than Canada." If this one is not on your reading list, I advise you to negotiate with your teacher for some extra credit and read this one independently.
• The Open Boat by Stephen Crane This sublime story is based on the true-life ordeal that Crane endured in 1897 when a ship he boarded for Cuba ran aground and sank off the Florida coast. A ten-foot long dinghy is a small boat for four men in calm water, it must have been rather harrowing in rough seas. While this is another man versus nature story, it focuses more on nature's indiscriminate carelessness, and I admire this narrative's understated style.
• Desiree's Baby by Kate Chopin It is hard to comment on this story's content without spoiling its powerful effect on the reader, so I will refrain other than to recommend it for classrooms that are ready for mature discussions of sensitive topics. I think this story is best when previewed by the teacher, then assigned to the whole class for reading and a follow-up discussion.
• Araby by James Joyce Araby is a compelling short story with valuable lessons and revelations for the adolescent reader. It deals with the hazards of romance and follows a young man that has developed a crush on his friend's sister; "I had never spoken to her, except for a few casual words, and yet her name was like a summons to all my foolish blood. " Many readers consider Araby to be their favorite James Joyce short story, perhaps a precursor to Ulysses .
• Two Friends by Guy de Maupassant A story about loyalty in which Sauvage and Morissot share far more than a passion for fishing during wartime.

• Eve's Diary by Mark Twain In this playful and funny short story, Mark Twain makes a humorous accounting of the differences between the sexes, writing first from Eve's point of view and then following up with Adam's point of view. This story is a gentle reminder that it's okay to lighten up and laugh at our differences.
• The Minister's Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne Hawthorne's story is one of the finest in the genre of Dark Romanticism. Why will no one ask Reverend Hooper why he wears it? Read our helpful Study Guide
• The Boarded Window by Ambrose Bierce "There is a point at which terror may turn to madness . . ." Physically, this story is set on the American frontier -- hint coming -- but that may not be where all the action takes place! The Boarded Window is a great story for in-class reading and discussion.

More recommended titles are available in Short Stories for High School II . You may also enjoy Morality Tales and 25 Great American Novels