3.2–Precursors

While the short story is relatively young, people have always told each other stories. Looking at some of the precursors to the short story form can tell us a lot about how the form developed and how we should read short stories, and it can also show us some common mistakes regarding interpretation.

One of the most well-known, early short forms of fiction is the fable, such as those written by the Greek fabulist Aesop. These very short stories often involve anthropomorphic animals (animals that act like humans) and are meant to convey lessons about human nature and our place in the world. For example, “The Scorpion and the Frog,” in which the scorpion stings the frog while riding on his back across the water, dooming them both, teaches the reader that some people cannot act outside their nature, even when that proves self-destructive. Parables, like those found in the Bible, are similar to fables in their purpose, though they do not usually include talking animals. Like fables, parables are didactic, meaning their primary purpose is to teach us a lesson. “The Parable of the Good Samaritan,” for example, is meant to teach us the value of showing kindness to strangers.

Other forms of stories are less didactic or even completely non-didactic, meaning they are primarily meant for entertainment rather than to teach a lesson. The tale, for example, is a story meant to entertain the reader by inspiring wonder, amazement, or even fear. There are different kinds of tales with different characteristics. The fairy tale, like those written by Hans Christian Andersen or the Brothers Grimm, may include lessons for children, but they are mostly meant to be entertaining. What does one really learn from “Jack and the Beanstalk”? Tall tales, such as those about Paul Bunyon, make no pretense to being instructive, and are instead only meant to inspire wonder. A simple ghost tale is meant to scare you, not provide you with truth (though a well-crafted ghost tale may do just that). The sketch, another precursor to the short story, offers a brief description of a place, a person, or some aspect of a culture. Sketches are very brief and emphasize description overplot. Associated with travel writing, the sketch was often used to inform its audience about a place they have never been, such as a far away exotic land or even a renowned tea room.

By reviewing these precursors, we can see what the short story form has drawn from them. As we do when reading the fable or the parable, we expect to get some meaning out of a short story and perhaps learn something about people and the world. As we read tales for entertainment, we also expect to be entertained by short stories. Depending on the type of story, we may even expect to experience a reaction such as wonder or fear. We may also read because we want to learn more about a certain place or culture, much like the reader of the sketch. Short stories are certainly capable of doing all of these things.

However, following any of these models too closely will lead you to miss something about the short story. Some may approach short fiction with the attitude that stories are merely meant for entertainment and that they shouldn’t be taken too seriously. This attitude will obviously lead you to miss out on the possible meanings that can be produced through the act of interpreting the short story.

A much more common mistake is to assume that a short story should have one clear meaning or lesson and that conveying that meaning clearly is the story’s sole purpose. Students often struggle with the literary short story because they approach it the way they would a parable or a fable, looking for the moral of the story, and when they reach the end and have no clear sense of the lesson they believe they were meant to learn, they may feel they have failed to understand the story. Fables and parables are written so that the moral of the story is easily recognizable, but meaning in the literary short story is often far more ambiguous, and finding it can be a more complex and deliberative process. It requires interpretation rather than simple recognition, and interpretation is work. Also, and perhaps most importantly, it is erroneous to talk about the meaning (singular) of a short story because a well-crafted story should offer multiple avenues of interpretation that can produce a multiplicity of possible meanings.