"After the Ball"
Deep Dives
Explore related topics with these Wikipedia articles, rewritten for enjoyable reading:
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George Saunders
13 min read
The article is written by George Saunders, a major contemporary American short story writer and essayist. Understanding his background, literary influences, and unique approach to fiction illuminates his analytical method of breaking down stories into logical systems.
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Narratology
11 min read
Saunders treats stories as 'mathematical objects' and 'logical systems' - this is precisely what narratology studies. The formal analysis of narrative structure, pioneered by scholars like Vladimir Propp and Roland Barthes, provides the theoretical framework for understanding stories as systems of elements.
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Little Red Riding Hood
1 min read
Saunders uses this tale as his primary example of story-as-logical-system. The Wikipedia article covers the tale's rich history across cultures, its many variants (Perrault's cautionary version vs. Grimms' redemptive ending), and scholarly interpretations - providing depth to Saunders' deliberately simplified breakdown.
"After the Ball"
I tend to think about stories as being somewhat mathematical objects; on some level, they’re simple logical systems that give off their meaning by way of the arrangement of the elements within them.
Little Red Riding Hood’s mother says: if you see a wolf, be careful.
Red sees a wolf, isn’t careful.
Grandmother and Red are eaten.
Moral: Not taking seriously the advice of one’s elders is dangerous to oneself and one’s family.
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