American Literature:
​Late 19th and Early 20th Century
Short Stories

The short stories below are either classic stories by well-known turn-of-the-century (19th and 20th) American authors or relatively unknown stories by well-known authors of that period. Choose one to read and be prepared to discuss the story you selected in class. The stories below (in PDF format) are all about the same length (10 to 12 pages) and can either be read online, printed and then read on paper, or converted to Kindle or iBook formats and read using an iPad, iPhone, or laptop computer.

"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," by Ambrose Bierce

This is one of the most famous short stories in American literature. Bierce weaves together tight and colorful writing with a compelling story of a daring escape. Like many of Bierce's short stories, this tale is set during the Civil War era.
Owl_Creek
File Size: 71 kb
File Type: pdf
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"The Ransom of Red Chief," by O. Henry

This story is second only to O. Henry's "The Gift of the Magi" in terms of popularity. "The Ransom of Red Chief" is a very funny tale of a kidnapping that goes terribly amiss.
Ransom.pdf
File Size: 73 kb
File Type: pdf
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"The Cat," by Mary E. Wilkins Freeman

An unusual short story told from the perspective of an animal. The writing in this story is very good, and the author is careful to view everything that happens from the cat's perspective.
The_Cat.pdf
File Size: 364 kb
File Type: pdf
Download File

"The Outcasts of Poker Flat," by Bret Harte

A collection of misfits and outcasts are thrown together under dire circumstances. Harte seems to be saying here that people are often more than they seem to be and that we should not be so quick to judge others.
Outcasts.pdf
File Size: 91 kb
File Type: pdf
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"On the Divide," "On the Gull's Road," and "A Burglar's Christmas," by Willa Cather

Willa Cather was famous for her novel My Antonia, which describes the hard lives of settlers on the prairies of Nebraska. I've included here three short stories by Cather: "On the Divide" (a somber "pioneer-themed" story), "On the Gull's Road" (a classic ill-fated shipboard romance story), and "A Burglar's Christmas" (an upbeat Christmas story characterized by good writing).
On_the_Divide.pdf
File Size: 84 kb
File Type: pdf
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Gulls_Road.pdf
File Size: 562 kb
File Type: pdf
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Burglars_Christmas.pdf
File Size: 140 kb
File Type: pdf
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