Sad and Shocking Tales

•  Sad and Shocking Tales:These short stories prove that it doesn’t take a whole novel to leave you stunned and still thinking about a narrative weeks after reading.

• "Signs and Symbols"
 by Vladimir Nabokov: First published in The New Yorker, this short story tells the sad tale of an elderly couple and their mentally ill son.
• "A Good Man Is Hard to Find" by Flannery O’Connor: A manipulative grandmother is at the center of this tragic and shocking story about coming to terms with who you really are.
• "The Snows of Kilimanjaro" by Ernest Hemingway: A writer on safari in Africa is close to death and looks back on his life regrettably in this short tale.
• "The Fly" by Katherine Mansfield: This short story deals with some heavy themes, like death, truth and the horrors of war.
• "In the Penal Colony" by Franz Kafka: An elaborate torture and execution device that carves a sentence into a prisoner’s skin before death is at the center of this famous short story by Kafka.
• "A Hunger Artist" by Franz Kafka: Exploring themes like death, art, isolation and personal failure, this work is one of Kafka’s best and, sadly, most autobiographical.
• "The Lame Shall Enter First" by Flannery O’Connor: In this tragic story, a man’s idealism and self-interest cause him to ignore the needs of his grieving son– with sad consequences.
• "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson: First published in 1948, this short has been ranked as one of the most famous short stories in American literature– despite its negative reception in some places.
• "The Use of Force" by William Carlos Williams: This story asks readers to consider whether or not it is ethical to hurt someone for their own good and, more importantly, whether one should be ashamed to enjoy the experience.
• "The Rockinghorse Winner" by D.H. Lawrence: This twisted tale will stick with you long after you’ve read it, documenting the strange relationship between a spendthrift mother and her son, who only longs to make her happy.
• "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: An early work of feminist literature, this story follows a young woman as she descends into psychosis, becoming obsessed with the pattern and color of the wallpaper.
• Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been? By Joyce Carol Oates:This short story was inspired by the murders committed in Tucson, Arizona, by serial killer Charles Schmid.