American Literature

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“Contents of the Dead Man’s Pocket,” a short story by American author Jack Finney, was first published in Collier’s magazine in October 1956. The story subsequently was published in literature anthologies, including the one referenced in this study guide: the Heritage edition of Adventures in Appreciation, published by Harcourt Brace Jovanovich in 1980.As a novelist and short story writer, Finney is noted for his artistry in creating suspense and heightening tension until the plot resolves... Read Contents of the Dead Man's Pocket Summary

Chester Himes’s 1965 novel Cotton Comes to Harlem is the sixth and best-known novel in his Harlem Detective series. The book follows black detectives Grave Digger Jones and Coffin Ed as they search for $87,000 stolen from hardworking African American families who dream of returning to Africa and to escape poverty in America. The novel’s popularity led to other crime novels featuring African American cops and detectives, earning Himes the reputation as the father of... Read Cotton Comes To Harlem Summary

Crimes of the Heart is a three-act play by Beth Henley. It opens five years after Hurricane Camille, in a Mississippi town called Hazlehurst. The entirety of the play takes place in the kitchen of the house belonging to the Magrath sisters: Lenny, Babe, and Meg.   The play begins on Lenny’s thirtieth birthday. Lenny and Chick, a first cousin, are taking about an unspecified piece of terrible news that will be appearing in the newspaper. It has something to do... Read Crimes of the Heart Summary

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Crossing to Safety is a 1987 semi-autobiographical novel by Wallace Stegner. Using a series of flashbacks in the mind of a writer, Larry Morgan, throughout a single day, the novel is a reflection on youth, idealism, and the often unarticulated but lifelong process of compromise one must endure while seeking a stable place in the world. Stegner’s novel explores these themes via Larry’s perspective on two academic couples: Larry and his wife, Sally Morgan, and Sidney... Read Crossing to Safety Summary

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Daisy Miller is a novella by Henry James, first published in Cornhill Magazine in 1878 and in book form a year later. This short piece of fiction explores the differences in class and social expectations in America and Europe, especially for young women just before the turn of the 20th century. James was a member of a prominent and wealthy American family; his education and travels to England and continental Europe allowed him to gain... Read Daisy Miller Summary

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Death Comes for the Archbishop (1927) is a novel by American author Willa Cather. The story is loosely based on the experiences of Priests Jean-Baptiste Lamy and Joseph Projectus Machebeuf as they sought to establish a Catholic diocese (an ecclesiastical district under the control of one particular bishop) in the newly acquired territory of New Mexico.A major figure in American literature, Cather is best known for the novels O Pioneers! (1913), The Song of the... Read Death Comes for the Archbishop Summary

Death of a Salesman is a play written by American playwright Arthur Miller and first performed on Broadway in 1949. Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a Tony Award for Best Play, it is considered by critics to be one of the greatest plays of the 20th century. The cynical play follows the final hours of a mentally unstable salesman at the end of his career who fails to attain the American Dream... Read Death of a Salesman Summary

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The narrator and protagonist, Sergeant Nathan Marx, sets the stage in the early paragraphs of the short story. The year is 1945, and he has just arrived to Camp Crowder, Missouri, after fighting in the war in Germany. Marx explains that he has undergone significant changes since his time as a combatant began, and he describes his transformation as beneficial: “I had been fortunate enough to develop an infantryman’s heart, which, like his feet, at... Read Defender Of The Faith Summary

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Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America is a work of history and political philosophy published in two volumes, the first in 1835 and the second in 1840. Tocqueville embarked on his own political career in France but is best known for his contributions to history and political philosophy.The first volume is based on Tocqueville’s nearly yearlong sojourn in the United States, ostensibly to study its prisons and prison reform. In his introduction Tocqueville emphasizes that... Read Democracy in America Summary

“Désirée’s Baby” is a short story by Kate Chopin, first published under the title “The Father of Désirée's Baby,” in Vogue on January 14, 1893. It later appeared in Chopin’s 1894 short story collection Bayou Folk. The story takes place in Louisiana in the antebellum, or pre-Civil War, period. Its characters are Creole—descendants of colonists who lived in Louisiana during its periods of French and Spanish rule, who typically spoke French and practiced Catholicism. Chopin... Read Desiree's Baby Summary