Read the stories found on this page and select one to write about for your next essay. All selections below include an audio reading of the story to aid your comprehension while reading. Have your text open while listening so you can highlight and annotate important passages. If the story does not appear in your textbook, use a notebook to take notes.

Note: You cannot write on the same short story as a previous essay.

“Jury of Her Peers” by Susan Glaspell, p. 596. Summary: In the early 1900’s a midwestern farmhouse wife is accused of murdering her husband and is put on “trial” in her kitchen by her neighbors. Inspired by a true story.

“The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, p. 585 (p.571) Summary: “The Yellow Wallpaper” is written as a series of diary entries from the perspective of a woman who is suffering from post-partum depression.

“A Rose for Emily” by William Faulkner, p. 523. (p. 658) Summary: Set in post-Civil War South, “A Rose for Emily” is the story of an unmarried woman who attracts the suspicion of the townspeople after her father dies and she becomes involved with a Yankee man from the North.

“The Lottery” by Shirley Jackson. Summary: This story describes a fictional small town which observes an annual tradition known as “the lottery,” in which a member of the community is selected by chance.

Write a 1000 word minimum essay analyzing symbolism as it relates to theme in one of the stories in the Literary Selections in this module.