The Fantastic in Fiction

Write a two-page story that begins with this sentence: The house is sinking. In your story, the house must be sinking for a reason that is never explained by the narrator, perhaps not even understood by the narrator, but that reason must have something to do with who the narrator is. The house must sink […]

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“Human marriages amuse me: the brevity of the commitment and all the ceremony that surrounds it, the calla lilies, the veiled mother-in-laws like lilac spiders, the tears and earnest toasts. Till death do us part! Easy. These mortal couples need only keep each other in sight for fifty, sixty years. Often I wonder to what […]

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  Back then we were all preoccupied with visions of the apocalypse; Santa Francesca, the foundress of this very grove, gouged out her eyes while dictating premonitions of fire.  What a shame, I often think, that she foresaw only the end times, never hot dogs. (p. 4) Clyde’s story is full of nostalgia and remembrance.  […]

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The death of the mouse is desirable in every way, but will life without him really be pleasurable? Will the mouse’s absence satisfy him entirely? Is it conceivable that he may miss the mouse, from time to time? Is it possible that he needs the mouse, is some disturbing way? (18) The cat’s reluctance to […]

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Within the story of “Cat ‘N’ Mouse” by Steven Millhauser, the cat tirelessly spends all of his time attempting to capture and kill the mouse, while on the other hand, the mouse tries to relax in his little home along with outsmarting the cat on his cheese outings. The author is detailed in the schemes […]

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  “Haven’t they much in common, after all? Both are bachelors, indoor sorts, who enjoy the comforts of a cozy domesticity; both are secretive; both take pleasure in plots and schemes.” This quote stuck out to me because it took the magic of the cartoon and brought it into a human plane. These characters are […]

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