9th Grade Short Story Essay Prompt
“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell
Link the story: https://archive.org/stream/TheMostDangerousGame_129/danger.txt
“The Cask of Amontillado” by Edgar Allan Poe
Link to the story: http://www.literature.org/authors/poe-edgar-allan/amontillado.html
“The Lady or the Tiger?” by Frank Stockton (handout)
Link to the story: http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/LadyTige.shtml
All three of these stories are available online. A link is available below each title above. You may do a
search of your own by simply typing the title of the story followed by the words full text, just be certain
that you are looking at the full length, original text, and not an abridged or adapted version. Your
citations for this particular essay will not require page numbers so you may use an online version for
evidence and quotes. Typically, work is cited (in MLA format) by putting the author’s last name and the
page number in parenthesis at the end of the sentence. However, since page numbers are not available
on the online versions, for this essay, you will cite the text by using ONLY the author’s last name in
parenthesis (see example below within the prompt).
Essay Prompt:
All of the stories listed above have some sort of ambiguity to their endings. Your task is to choose ONE
of the three stories and write a well-developed essay in which you clarify the uncertainties that the
author leaves unanswered. Your interpretation of the ending is your opinion, but you must be able to
prove why your opinion is the logical explanation. You must analyze the characters’ personalities and
motives to determine what their words and/or actions really mean, and the purpose behind those
actions. It is imperative that you focus on using textual evidence to support your claim. Do not use
first person when responding to this prompt. Yes, it is your opinion, but when writing essays, leave out
the first person since the reader already knows the paper is your opinion.
First Person Examples:
Uses First Person: I think the princess sent her lover to the door with the tiger…
Does NOT Use First Person: The princess sent her lover to the door with the tiger…
Examples of uncertainties (You may choose ambiguities that are not listed below; the examples that
follow are just ideas to get you started.):
1.) If you choose “The Lady or the Tiger?” you will need to determine what comes out of the “door on
the right” (Stockton). You will need to find evidence in the story that justifies why the princess would
send her lover to such a fate. You will find quotes that validate your argument, and explain how they
prove your interpretation is “correct.” There is not one “correct” answer to the question of what lies
behind the door, but there is ample evidence within the text that can help a reader come to his/her own
conclusion about the answer to this question.
2.) For “The Cask of Amontillado,” you may want to clarify whether or not Fortunado is dead before
Montresor secures the final brick. Or, you may choose to clarify whether or not Montresor has second
thoughts about what he does, if he feels guilt, or if he has any regrets about what he has done. Again,
you need to find examples within the text that validate your argument, and explain how they prove your
interpretation is “correct.”
3.) For “The Most Dangerous Game,” you may choose to clarify what really happens in the final scene of
the story, and why Rainsford chose to approach General Zaroff in this manner. Again, you need to find
examples within the text that validate your argument, and explain how they prove your interpretation is
“correct.”
This is how
you will cite
the story in
just this
essay.
Notice that
the period
goes after
the
parenthesis