Personal Utopia

Short Stories

I would like discuss various Short Stories. In that context, I would like to chat. I am not using your services as a search engine, so please do not provide me links to any material. Those links distract me and make me lose my focus. Are you ready?


Stories

I have a list of the titles of several short stories. I will give you the title of a short story in a separate prompt. For each of those titles, tell me the story, then explain its significance, finally tell me something interesting about the author. Are you ready?

  • The Appointment in Samarra by W. Somerset Maugham
  • The Open Window by Saki (H.H. Munro)
  • The Last Question by Isaac Asimov
  • The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
  • The Monkey’s Paw by W.W. Jacobs
  • An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge by Ambrose Bierce
  • The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant
  • The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe
  • The Bet by Anton Chekhov
  • The Secret Miracle by Jorge Luis Borges
  • The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas by Ursula K. Le Guin
  • A Good Man Is Hard to Find by Flannery O’Connor
  • The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
  • Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut
  • Cathedral by Raymond Carver
  • The Rocking-Horse Winner by D.H. Lawrence

I am sure that there are many other fascinating short stories. Give me the titles of 10 more such stories.

Can you give me an estimate of the number of short stories that are well acclaimed?

Tell me a randomly selected, well acclaimed short story. Then tell me its significance and meaning. Finally tell me something interesting about its author.