Reading literature through the looking glass of theory.
The Fairy Tales of Hans Christian Andersen
When you think of fairy tales, chances are you have some of Andersen's stories in mind: "The Ugly Duckling," "The Little Mermaid," "The Emperor's New Clothes"—these are instantly recognizable tal...
Northanger Abbey, by Jane Austen
This was the first novel that Jane Austen wrote, and it's all about the trials and tribulations of Catherine Morland, Austen's young heroine. At the start of the novel, Catherine is living a run-of...
"An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge," by Ambrose Bierce
This story starts out in the thick of it with a man waiting to be hanged from a bridge. At first, we don't know the details of who he is and what he's done to get into this situation. It takes a fe...
"The Garden of Forking Paths," by Jorge Luis Borges
The bulk of this story is made up of a written statement in which a former professor, Dr. Yu Tsun, tells of his experience working as a spy for the German army and of his reasons for getting involv...
Moby-Dick, by Herman Melville
Even if you've never read this novel, chances are you're familiar with its plot. It starts out in first-person mode as its narrator introduces himself as a sailor called Ishmael. Ishmael is looking...