Short Story Writing | Page 7

has no plot, and is properly a Sketch, in which
the author makes a psychological analysis of his subject. It inclines to
superficiality and is liable to degenerate into a mere detailed
description of the person. It demands of the writer the ability to catch
striking details and to present them vividly and interestingly. Examples:
Hawthorne's "Sylph Etherege" and "Old Esther Dudley;" Poe's "The
Man of the Crowd;" James' "Greville Fane" and "Sir Edmund Orme;"
Stevenson's "Will o' the Mill;" Wilkins' "The Scent of the Roses" and
"A Village Lear."
(b) When the character described is active we have a Character Study
proper, built upon a plot which gives the character opportunity to work
out his own personality before us by means of speech and action. The
plot is subordinated to the character sketching. The psychological
analysis is not presented by the author in so many words, but is
deduced by the reader from his observation of the character. Such
studies constitute one of the highest art forms of the short story, for the
characters must live on the printed page. The short stories of Henry
James and of Miss Wilkins could almost be classed in toto under this
head; Miss Wilkins' characters are usually types, while those of James
are more often individual, though rather unusual. Other good examples
are Hawthorne's "Edward Randolph's Portrait;" Irving's "The Devil and
Tom Walker," and "Wolfert Weber;" Stevenson's "Markheim" and
"The Brown Box;" and Davis' "Van Bibber," as depicted in the several
stories of "Van Bibber and Others."
Notice that in both subdivisions nearly every title embodies a reference
to the character described, showing that the author intentionally set out
to sketch a character.
V. THE DIALECT STORY might be considered as a subdivision of the
preceding class, since it is in effect a Character Study; but its recent
popularity seems to warrant its being treated separately. Its chief
distinction is that it is written in the broken English used by the

uneducated classes of our own country, and by foreigners. Its plot is
either very slight or hopelessly hackneyed, and it is redeemed from
sheer commonplace only by its picturesque language. It is usually told
in the first person by some English-murdering ignoramus. It is simple,
and sometimes has a homely pathos. It may present character as either
active or inactive, though usually the former. Its excuse for existence is
that it gives truthful expression, in their own language, to the thoughts
of certain classes of society; but as written by the amateur the dialect is
a fearful and wonderful combination of incorrect English that was
never heard from the mouth of any living man. Joel Chandler Harris'
"Nights with Uncle Remus" contains genuine dialect; other varieties
correctly handled may be found in almost any of the stories of George
Washington Cable, Ian Maclaren, and Miss Wilkins.
The Dialect Story as literature and as a field for the novice is
considered at length in Chapter VI.
VI. THE PARABLE OF THE TIMES is a short story which aims to
present a vivid picture of our own times, either to criticise some
existing evil, or to entertain by telling us something of how "the other
half" of the world lives. It is in a sense a further development of The
Tale (Class I.), though it has a more definite plot. It is the most favored
form of the short story to-day, and its popularity is responsible for a
mess of inane commonplace and bald realism that is written by
amateurs, who think they are presenting pen pictures of life. For since
its matter is gathered from our everyday lives, it requires some degree
of skill to make such narratives individual and interesting.
(a) The Instructive Story of this class may be further subdivided as (1)
that which puts present day problems in concrete form, with no attempt
at a solution; and (2) that which not only criticises, but attempts also to
correct. In either case, it aims to reform by education; it deals with
actual problems of humanity rather than with abstract moral truths; and
it seeks to amuse always, and to reform if possible. It must not be
confused with the Moral Story of Class II. Octave Thanet writes this
style of story almost exclusively, and any of her work selected at
random would be a good illustration; her "Sketches of American

Types" would be listed under (1), and such stories as "The Scab" and
"Trusty No. 49" under (2). Under (1) would come also Brander
Matthews' "Vignettes of Manhattan;" and under (2) Edward Everett
Hale's "The Man Without a Country" and "Children of the Public."
(b) The most usual story of this class is the Story of To-day, which uses
present day conditions as a background, and which endeavors only to
amuse and