Reading Fictions: Applying Literary Theory to Short Stories

Author(s): Bronwyn Mellor, Annette Patterson, Marnie O'Neill

Reading Fictions uses text-based discussion and activities to help students explore the notion that a text does not simply "have" a definitive meaning but invites readers to construct meanings from a range of possibilities. The book helps students understand what (often unconsciously) goes into this process—e.g., filling textual "gaps" in meaning, invoking culturally sanctioned "readings," and negotiating (or resisting) the reading positions a story offers—as well as what results from it, that is, readings that support particular (whether dominant or alternative) values. Each chapter begins with an overview of key concepts and moves on to stories—reprinted in the book—by authors including Joyce Carol Oates, Richard Brautigan, and Bessie Head. NOTE: Customers outside of the United States and Canada should contact Chalkface Press at www.chalkface.net.au for purchasing information.
The NCTE Chalkface Series. 100 pp. 2000. Grades 9–12. ISBN 0-8141-3869-1.
No. 38691

ISBN: 0-8141-3869-1

Grade Level(s): Secondary