Teaching literature is a rewarding yet challenging endeavor. Introducing students to flash fiction can be an excellent way to engage them with concise, meaningful storytelling. Flash fiction, typically under 1,000 words, forces writers to distill their ideas into bite-size compact narratives, meaning you can teach them in as little as half a class period! In this blog post, we’ll explore five remarkable flash fiction stories that you should add to your curriculum. These stories might be short, but they are packed with all the symbolism, themes, figurative language, and characterization on which your students feast. Best of all each of these stories are perfect additions to my post on adding diversity to your curriculum through short stories! Foster critical thinking, spark discussion and ignite the interest of your students in your on-level, honors and AP Literature classes with flash fiction!
One of These Days
Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s “One of these Days” is sure to be a favorite among your students. Imagine: one day a brutal dictator goes to see a dentist to have a tooth pulled. The dentist is a political enemy, and he has the perfect opportunity for revenge. What happens next? Your students won’t be guessing too long because this piece of flash fiction gets right to the point. Examine the dentist visit as an allegory for rebellion, analyze the symbolism of the buzzards at the window, and critique how class politics play out across a short dentist’s visit. Best of all this is one Marquez story that doesn’t get too weird, so your less philosophical students won’t feel left out.
Dead Men’s Path
Have you ever wanted to introduce your students to post-colonial literature in only a couple of hundred words? Chinua Achebe’s classic “Dead Men’s Path” tells the story of an Americanized professor who comes to a small town in Nigeria. While he believes he has the best of intentions, he soon finds the local tribe interprets his actions completely differently. Strong characterization and clear conflict give way to some violence that is of course vastly misinterpreted by outside observers!
This story is also an excellent way to introduce true diversity into your curriculum. Achebe wanted to give the colonized a chance to speak as oppose to the colonizer, something he essentially argued in his landmark essay response to Conrad’s Heart of Darkness. Schools have always included Achebe’s Things Fall Apart on their reading list, and “Dead Men’s Path ” is as good an entry to his writing as you can get. Here’s an affordable lesson on the story that will help you to get up to three days out of this short piece!
Indian Education
Sherman Alexie’s “Indian Education” takes into the mind of a Native American student and the years he endures at public schools. At times heartbreaking, at times tragic, Alexie’s bitterly humorous tale is sure to generate discussion in your classes. Younger students will easily be able to understand the characterization of protagonist and interpret his conflict. Older students will enjoy discussing the story from a cultural or gendered lens of discussion.
“Indian Education ” also demonstrates an unconventional way to build a narrative. In addition to adding Native American voices to your classroom, “Indian Education ” will help you reach timid or struggling readers. The story has an easy to follow frame: each grade of school forming a short diary entry. Here’s an affordable lesson on the story that will guide your students through all the major ideas and themes.
Half a Day
Did someone cut an onion? Why are my eyes watering? Naguib Mafouz’s flash fiction “Half a Day” is a tremendous encapsulation of a person’s entire life and a great addition to your literature class. When your more sentimental students realize what is happening at the end of the story, they are sure to get choked up! More importantly Half a Day is the perfect entry point to teaching allegory and irony. When a little boy goes to school for the first time, leaving his father behind, the last thing we expect is for him to emerge from school an old man, the world passing him by. An allegory for growing up, “Half a Day ” is accessible and wonderful.
Girl
Like “Indian Education, ” Jamaica Kinkaid’s “Girl” is an excellent avenue toward introducing your students to unconventional story structure and adding flash fiction for your literature class. Presented as one long run-on sentence, this story details an overbearing mother’s demands of her daughter. A mixed bag of advice, this story addresses patriarchy, freedom, and symbolic prisons. Your students are sure to hear some of their parents in the narrative, which always hooks their interests. “Girl ” challenges students and should be read by upper classmen. It’s the perfect piece for practice FRQ Prose Responses in Literature. Non AP students can also practice their analytical skills with this story. Many students enjoy the bigger issues revolving around how our society treats young women.
Final Thoughts
Use flash fiction for bell ringers. Students can read them quickly and identify and analyze one specific literary element. As my linked lessons show, flash fiction stories can also be used over multiple days. They are a perfect supplement to your short story units. Because they are easy to digest, yet challenging to analyze students can really dig in to them. They won’t getting bogged down in trying to finish the story and understand everything in the first place. Second reads and annotation come to life when students feel like they won’t spend half the class reading the story. Diversify your curriculum with flash fiction for your literature class.
Thank you for this; it was most helpful.
Hey there! Thank you for the feedback. I hope your students enjoy these great stories. Best of luck on the new school year.