The War Story

doi:10.1017/9781009292863.011

Chapter 7 - The War Story

from Part II - Histories

Published online by Cambridge University Press: 11 May 2023

Cody Marrs

Edited by

Michael J. Collins and

Gavin Jones

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Michael J. Collins: Affiliation:
King's College London
Gavin Jones: Affiliation:
Stanford University

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Summary

This chapter examines the origins and development of the “War Story” as a subgenre of American short fiction. It argues that the “War Story” evolved out of the Civil War and the subsequent flowering of realism, which influenced this subgenre both stylistically and philosophically. This chapter explores the major iterations of the “War Story” and documents its adaptation by writers such as Ambrose Bierce, Mark Twain, Ernest Hemingway, and Tim O’Brien.

Keywords

war American Civil War realism psychology Bierce Twain Hemingway O’Brien Vietnam War

Type: Chapter
Information: The Cambridge Companion to the American Short Story , pp. 117 - 130

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009292863.011 [Opens in a new window]

Publisher: Cambridge University Press

Print publication year: 2023

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References

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