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/lit/ - Literature

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538203 No.538203 [Reply] [Original]

Greetings /lit/

I'm just doing a 6 month stint as an ESL teacher in China. One of the types of classes we have is called 'Reading' where we just get the students to read stories to help with pronunciation and understanding meanings of passages etc...
As I'm getting sick of using the same old (extremely) abridged versions of Les Miserables and Pride and Prejudice we have I've been resorting to short stories.

So, I come to you for advice. Does /lit/ know of of any fairly decent short stories for reading?
Last time I did 'Shooting an Elephant' by Orwell. They enjoyed a fair bit actually. If you can think of any stories that subtly promote capitalism that would be a bonus (eg, a story that someone like Adam Smith or Hayek might write).

pic somewhat related.

>> No.538206

Sandkings, George R. R. Martin

>> No.538210

Give them Tom Clancy, specially Bear And THe Dragon.

>> No.538211

>>538203
>hurr durr capitalism is gud and communism is bad

>> No.538213

Age group for these kids? I mean the Cat in the Hat would be suffice...

>> No.538214
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538214

>>538206

Thankyou good kind sir,
But I am after something that can be finished in the space of about 2 hrs. Similar to 'Shooting the Elephant'

For your good intentions I present you with said picture.

Anyone else for some (very) short stories?

>> No.538217

>>538214
The Black Cat by Edgar Allen Poe. Kids enjoy it.

>> No.538219

promoting capitalism? try books that encourage them to think for themselves, asshole.

use one that's down to earth and accessible like something by hemingway or twain. maybe by raymond carver. i like borges and kafka but it'd be kind of a pain to teach comprehension when the material is so ambiguous.

>> No.538220

Fuck you for wanting to propagandize to your students.

You should be ashamed.

>> No.538224
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538224

>>538210
See post about time. They have to be short stories. And yeah I've read that book and it's probably not appropriate

>>538211
I'm simply trying to subtly foster some independent thought (though I a decent number already have it).

>>538213
Generally at around 17-23 with most at 19-21
Cat in the Hat is far too easy.

But thanks for the suggestion.
.

>> No.538230

>>538217
>>538217
Young adults will really enjoy it.

>> No.538236

>>538224
You are asking us to suggest books that propagandize to your students

>> No.538240

fuck your propaganda

i recommend The Old Man and The Sea

>> No.538243

My favourite author for short stories is Asimov

>> No.538244

OP I see you enjoy Asian women? I recommend Of Mice and Men or The Great Gatsby.

>> No.538247
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538247

>>538217
>>538217

Thank you good sir, I think I have found my story.

>> No.538252
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538252

>>538236
Is suggesting students to read 'Animal Farm' and 'Nineteen eighty four' truly propagandizing?
Or may it simply be suggesting they read some good literature?

>>538243
I too enjoy some Asimov,
I think the students will next time.
Thankyou good sir.

>> No.538254

>>538252
Well of course good literature

>> No.538279

>>538252

>Is suggesting students to read 'Animal Farm' and 'Nineteen eighty four' truly propagandizing?
>promote capitalism

You don't know anything about Orwell, do you?

>> No.538284

>>538244
neither of those are asian women, what are you on about

>> No.538287
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538287

>>538279
Orwell was an ardent supporter of democratic socialism.

The main purposed of my discussion of Orwell to the students before reading 'Shooting an Elephant' to them was to get them thinking about censorship and when a government would delegitimize themselves.
The discussion about nineteen-eighty four talks about the former while Animal Farm is more about the latter. I never intended the lesson with Orwell to be about a promotion of capitalism. That would have been for a latter lesson.

>> No.538288

>>538284
“The only thing worse than being blind is having sight but no vision.”

>> No.538290

Ray Bradbury does a lot of short stories. He's gotten a bit more open-ended with the meanings of his metaphoric stories recently, so early stories are better.

>> No.538315

>>538203
>implying China isn't one of the most capitalist nations on earth

>> No.538328
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538328

>>538315
>>Implying that while Marx and Engels are near >>required reading through university authors such as >>Adam Smith, Friedrich Hayek, Milton Friedman, >>John Locke, Rawls, etc... are not.

Yes China is one of the most capitalist nations on earth. But They are doing it wrong.

>> No.538339

>>538328

They are doing capitalism right. It's communism that they are doing wrong.

>> No.538348

China is communesque

>> No.538374
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538374

>>538339

>>538339

While they may not be communism completely right, they are definitely not doing capitalism right.

One of the main features of capitalism is that competition creates efficiency and greater quality for the markets and the consumer. Which for the most part is quite true.
Consider however that many of the bigger enterprises in China are state directed, such as banks, mining companies and the media do you really think they are readily going to introduce competition? Not entirely no. While they are attempting at fostering competition instead letting state-directed monopolies dominate the market it's been slow going so far.
As someone living in China it is fairly obvious the effects of these state-monopolies have for the consumer. Many of these deliver services/products of very poor quality. Competition would quickly fix this as the producer would desire to deliver a better product than their rivals. At present in a number of places their is no incentive to deliver a better products than rivals, quite simply because significant (non-state directed) rivals do not exist.

>> No.538384

It might be a little dated but Ray Bradbury and Roald Dahl are two authors who I think wrote fantastic short stories.

Neil Gaiman did some nice ones too but they don't strike me as classroom material.

>> No.538387

what about stuff from Tobias Wolff or Anton Chekov (The Lady with the Dog)

i don't know where you'll find the short stories, but i really love tobias wolff's work... i can't really remember much titles at the top of my head, but they all leave lingering impressions

>> No.538388

>>538387
they are also more serious and bitter sweet