Short Stories Must Be Bound By Strict Rules

The Philosophy of a Short Story: Is it limited by Poe’s Rules?
Is it an absolute that short stories must be bound by “strict rules” or can they conform or uphold Poe’s rules and still exceed the limits of these rules? Poe, the inventor of the “Short Story” set standards in writing these types of stories. Poe believed “the aim of the short story was to create mood, an ambience, or as he called it an “effect and that it should be able to be read in one sitting”. (Pittsford Mendon H.S.)
Maupassant, who is also recognized as an inventor of “The Short Story” on the other hand wrote so that the short story was “aimed to compel us to reflect, to graduate incidents up to the culminating point of effect, to give an accurate picture of life” (Gwynn)

“The Tell-Tale Heart” appeals to the reader’s emotions, bringing them in to feel the characters emotions, his internal struggle to understand that he is not insane. In addition, this particular short story’s presentation of the character, guides to reader to make a judgement about the character. In the “The Tell Tale Heart” the character, states that he loves the old man, but the eye of the old man is derived as evil. The more the character speaks throughout the story, the more convinced the reader is through emotion to make a judgement that the character of the story is insane. This type of story embraces Poe’s rule, of “striving for unity of effect” in this story he sought to create “horror or terror” (Pittsford Mendon H.S.) Further, Poe’s rule is embraced in this short story, “able to be read in one sitting, presenting the idea of the tale unblemished, because undisturbed; an end unattainable by a novel, avoided undue length” (Gwynn page

While Poe’s rule does hold up that the story can be read in one sitting and it expresses effect, the story is written in the style of “Realism” (Gwynn) The short story “The Necklace” is written in my opinion to be a “lesson” in other words to promote self-reflection. True, it can be something that provokes the emotion, but that is not the sole focus of the author in this particular example. This story was written, to evoke the reader take a look at your life, do you value what you have? Or do you long for what you do not have? Do you see what can happen if you live a life being ungrateful, never being satisfied? These questions are prompted as you read the story, it does not cause you to only make a judgement of the main