In the first book, the couple (Anthony and Gloria) meet and fall in love. ... Anthony falls apart in wild and repulsive parties during which "people broke things: people became sick in Gloria's bathroom; people spilled wine; people made unbelievable messes of the kitchenette... As part of his decline, Anthony courts and marries the beautiful, vain, selfish and stupid Gloria Gilbert, who "took all the things of life as though she were continually picking out presents for herself from an inexhaustible counter." ...

• Word Count: 2828
• Approx Pages: 11
• Grade Level: High School

In the short story "The Birds", Daphne Du Maurier tells us about how humans have a false superiority. They think that they are the most intelligent race in the world but by the end of the story we realize just how small and useless we actually are against nature. This makes me feel genuinely fri...

• Word Count: 4405
• Approx Pages: 18
• Grade Level: High School

What was Daphne Du Maurier attempting in "The Birds" and does she succeed? In the short story "The Birds", Daphne Du Maurier tells us about how humans have a false superiority. They think that they are the most intelligent race in the world but by the end of the story we realize just how smal...

• Word Count: 4431
• Approx Pages: 18
• Grade Level: High School

The first publication of the short story "Cathedral" was in the March, 1981, issue of Atlantic Monthly. It was selected to appear in "The Best American Short Stories, 1982," and became the title story in the 1983 collection, Cathedral. This volume was very well-received by critics and readers alike, receiving nominations for the National Book Critics Circle Award and the Pulitzer Prize. Many critics note a shift in Carver's work between the publication of What We Talk About When We Talk About Love and Cathedral, and many believe that Carver reached the zenith of his career with this co...

• Word Count: 11148
• Approx Pages: 45
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School