Seminar paper from the year 2005 in the subject English Language and Literature Studies - Literature, grade: 2+, University of Frankfurt (Main), course: Irish Short Stories --- From Joyce to the Present, language: English, abstract: Generally one can say that a short story is a brief fiction in prose with a certain structure, namely with an introduction (exposition), a principal part (development of the conflict, turning point, climax) and finally a conclusion (either denouement or catastrophe). Short stories often begin “in medias res”, which means that the reader is “thrown” directly into the action of the story, without being elaborately informed about the earlier events. This effects a steady build up of tension and calls the reader’s attention. In addition to that, this species of narrative writing usually contains an open ending or a surprising twist at the end. Instead of detailed descriptions, insinuations and sketchiness dominate, consequently the style of writing is to some extent laconic. The language can be considered to be unostentatious and simple, and so are most of the protagonists. Moreover, short stories deal with a short period of time, mostly merely a few days or weeks. Besides, this genre often deals with conflicts (either interior or exterior), a sudden turning point in peoples life or frontier experiences. In this context, the essay juxtaposes Philip MacCann’s “A Drive” and Frank O’Connor’s “Guests of the Nation” concerning several aspects such as themes, point of view, language, style and characterization, whereas the last chapter contains a brief summary.