Genre Study
In his famous review of Hawthorne’s Twice-told Tales, Edgar Allan Poe classifies the short story based on its “unity of effect and impression.” Building on this idea, literary critic Brander Matthews (1901) adds that this “essential unity of impression” “shows one action, in one place, on one day. A Short-story deals with a single character, a single event, a single emotion, or the series of emotions called forth by a single situation.” Although I entirely agree with Edgar Allen Poe’s short story dicta, I think Matthews’ definition could certainly be revised. I think his idea of a short story isn’t nearly broad enough as there are many short stories we have read this year alone that don’t fall under his criteria. One of the biggest exemptions from Matthew’s set of rules is Jenny Zhang’s “The Evolution of My Brother.” Matthews’ claim greatly limits the scope of short stories, but Zhang’s story heavily contrad...