Discoveries: Fifty Stories of the Quest

Discoveries: Fifty Stories of the Quest by Schechter, Harold. paperback edition. ISBN: 9780195068504.

Reflecting todays growing emphasis on multiculturalism, the second edition of this remarkably successful anthology offers twelve additional contributions from the new generation of writers currently revitalizing the short story form, including Amy Tan, Bharati Mukherjee, R.K. Narayan, Stephen Milhauser, Ellen Gilchrist, and Patrick McGrath. Organized around the successive stages of humanitys most durable myth, the heros quest narrative pattern delineated by renowned mythologist Joseph Campbell, this edition offers a summary and explication of Campbells analysis of the quest motif, a new biographical introduction to Campbells life and work, and a section of concise biographical entries on each of the fifty authors. As in the earlier edition, the quality and quantity of the selections give instructors the freedom to present the stories in whatever order and structure they choose. For those who wish to take advantage of the anthologys thematic organization, the editors provide questions for discussion and possible writing assignments that do not sacrifice the comprehensive diversity of the selections or their identity as distinctive works of literature open to various interpretations. A highly accessible introduction to the technical aspects of the close analysis of fiction, this text also offers a number of special features: two supplementary tables of contents, one organized by alternate themes, and one by the traditional elements of fiction; an introductory essay defining those technical elements and including a sample analysis of one the stories in the anthology; and a glossary of critical terms.