Analysis Of Donald Barthelme s The School - 1724 Words

Maria Coquioco September 19, 2015 Greg Christensen New Criticism Essay â€Å"The School† is a short story written by Donald Barthelme and published in 1974 in The New Yorker. Donald Barthelme is a post-modernist writer known for his deceptively simple yet powerful and insightful short stories. â€Å"The School† is a story that takes a good hard look at the sensitive topic of death. The theme of this story is about the cycle of life and how death is an integral part of it. The story is written in first person narrative. The narrator here is the teacher and he talks about how he and his young students of 30 kids encountered death throughout their time together in class. He uses edgy humor and a conversational tone in his seemingly complex plot with a surprising effect that will stick with the reader long after they are done reading it. The context of the plot found in â€Å"The School† presents the readers with the timeless question of the meaning of life. However, this question does not seem to present itself immediately to the r eader. In order to appreciate Barthelme’s work in this piece, it is crucial that one utilizes the New Criticism’s approach to reading. New Criticism was first developed in the 20th century and it makes reading and interpreting literature a systematic activity. New Criticism as an analytical tool helps the readers to understand and gain insight into all forms of the written works through sheer understanding and by reading closely. This means that our focusShow MoreRelatedAnalysis Of Donald Barthelme s The School1308 Words   |  6 PagesThe Darkness That Lies Within Throughout life, death is an unavoidable circumstance. Although death may seem avoidable at times, no person is strong enough to withstand its grasp. In Donald Barthelme’s short story The School, he contrasts the essence between life and death using the innocence of children. Throughout the story this motif of death is masked by emotions such as happiness, fear, uncertainty, and sympathy. Therefore, the irony that develops throughout the story raises the question of