Annotated Bibliography
Canin, Ethan. “Lorrie Moore: Stories That Make You Cry–until You Laugh”. Esquire, vol 126, no. 2, Aug. 1996, p. 92.EBSCOhost, search.ebscohost.com.cwi.idm.oclc.or/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ipcpid&custid=ns149246&db=a9h&AN=9607253026&site=ehost-live.
This is a short review of Moore’s short stories by Ethan Ganin. The article describes humor and sadness as a common and endearing trend in her short story pieces. The article exclaims Moore is a great read for something that feels authentic.
Falfoul, Nadia Boudidah. “Humoring the Context, Contextualizing Humor in the Short Fiction of Lorrie Moore.” International Journal of Humanities and Cultural Studies, 29 Mar. 2016, ijhcs.com/index.php/ijhcs/article/view/383.
This article provides an overview of how Lorrie Moore uses humor in her writing and the effect that it can have on her readers. Lorrie’s use of exaggeration, understatements and puns can help the reader relate the inner demons that Adrienne is facing.
Fordman, Frieda. An Introduction to Jung’s Psychology. Penguin, 1953.
Frieda Fordham gives an overview of the theories of Carl Jung and the terminology used within them. The book covers, as proposed by Jung, theories on people’s different psychological types, defining them as either introverts or extraverts; archetypes of the collective unconscious, explaining the concepts of both and describing some of Jung’s more prominent archetypes; religion and the individuation process, which proposes that religion is a manifestation of the collective unconscious and is rife with archetypes and explores its connection to individuation, or Jung’s theory of how a person becomes “whole”; the practice of Jung’s theories in psychotherapy; the application of archetypes to the dreams of psychoanalysis patients; the relationship between the psychological development of children and their educators; and a biographical sketch of Jung himself. The text is useful in acquiring a working knowledge of Jung and his theories in order to prepare one for more in-depth reading of Jung’s own writings.
Jung, C. G. Collected Works of C.G. Jung, Volume 9 (Part 1). Edited by Gerhard Adler. Translated by Annotation: Hull R F C., Princeton University Press, 2014.
A collection of essays written by Jung giving in-depth explanations to his psychoanalytic theories. Jung defines and describes the collective unconscious and its archetypes, and then gives more in-depth discussion of the specific archetypes of the Anima, Mother, Child, Kore, Trickster, and Spirit archetypes. He also discusses the concepts of rebirth and individuation. Each of these ideas is tied back into the practice of patient psychoanalysis. The text is useful in understanding the concepts of Jungian psychology so that they may be applied to literature.
Lee, Don. “About Lorrie Moore.” Ploughshares, vol. 24, no. 2/3, [Ploughshares, Emerson College], 1998, pp. 224–29, http://www.jstor.org/stable/40380939.
Don Lee gives us a small brushstroke of what we could call a biography of Lorrie Moore. He briefly details her work, talks a bit about her childhood and her parents, and gives us an idea of the nature of her character. Lee details her career as a writer and tells us a bit about Lorrie’s journey to rise to prominence as one of the greatest short story writers in America. In the case of “Terrific Mother”, this source gives us a bibliographic focus and gives us context that could influence her work.
“Lorrie Moore”. Canberra Times, 15 Feb. 2014, p. 19. EBSCOhost.
This is a short article on Lorrie Moore which was press for the book “Bark.” The article asks Moore what she thinks about and why she chooses to write short stories. It explains some of her inspirations for her short stories and for her writing styles.
Lynn, Steven. “Chapter 6, Connecting the Text: Historical and New Historical Criticism.” Texts and Contexts: Writing About Literature with Critical Theory, Seventh Edition ed., Pearson, 2017, pp. 145–193.
Chapter 6 of Text and Contexts takes us into the importance of context and how external influences do matter and complement the final result. Knowing when, where and by whom a piece of art was written will give us a broader look at the reality of the author, and will probably give us a greater understanding of the objective and intellectual perspective of the subject matter. In the case of “Terrific Mother” by Lorrie Moore, it leads us to delve into what was happening in the world when this short story was written and the events that may have influenced it, as well as having additional information about Moore’s life helps us understand her vision in the development of the story.
Lynn, Steven. “Chapter 7: Minding the Work: Psychological Criticism.” Texts and Contexts: Writing About Literature with Critical Theory,2016, pp. 195–219.
Chapter 7 of Texts and Contexts explains the concepts behind using psychology as a lens for literary analysis. The chapter mostly focuses on Sigmund Freud, as Freud’s theories form, in some form or another, the basis for most modern psychology. It explains Freud’s theories of psychology and briefly mentions how Freud’s followers built on them. It also supplies useful terms to help think psychologically about literature and provides examples of psychological criticism. This resource would be helpful for the reader to acquire a brief and generalized knowledge of psychological criticism.
Lynn, Steven. “Chapter 8: Gendering the Text.” Text and Context: Writing about Literature with Critical Theory, Seventh Edition ed., Pearson Education, 2017, pp. 221–256.
In this textbook by Steven Lynn gives insight into critical theories within the literature. Chapter eight focuses on gender criticisms including feminism, post-feminism, and queer theory criticisms. The chapter touches on political approaches within the criticisms and how to approach literary texts.
MacPherson, Heidi. “‘Escape from the Invasion of the Love-Killers’: Lorrie Moore’s Metafictional Feminism.” JSTOR, Aug. 2012
MacPherson published her academic article in August of 2021 that is titled ‘Escape from the Invasion of the Love-Killers’. This is a credible article due to it being published in JSTOR. In this article, the author, like Liza Long, heavily focuses on the theme of Feminism throughout Lorrie Moore’s writing. Although no direct quote is used in my analysis essay, it was a great article to read before diving into my own lens and themes
Understanding different themes in academic articles is vital to understanding the original text, especially when writing your own analytic essay on the matter. Reading academic articles helps to understand how arguments are brought in through writing. This technique can help spur you into writing your own argumentative thesis for an analysis essay.
McClelland, Payton. “The Feminist Perspective.” Beginnings and Endings A Critical Edition, College of Western Idaho, 14 May 2021, https://cwi.pressbooks.pub/beginnings-and-endings-a-critical-edition/chapter/feminist-2/
Payton McClelland writes an analysis using the Feminist lens on the short story Terrific Mother by Lorrie Moore. This is a great article that includes sentences that are summarized, but that is not her main focus. Long navigates how this story is viewed through the Feminist lens, portraying how the main character, Adrienne, is the epitome of a failed woman. Long explores what it means to be a failed woman in society and provides excellent background and sources that support her argument
This article is supported by many sources and authors which is why I felt confident in using it as one of my main sources. The author has a beautiful way of speaking to her audience and was very eloquent in her writing. I used this article because it mainly included analysis, with only small parts being a summary. This was important in the way that she assumed her audience had read “Terrific Mother” before she began writing her piece. McClelland applied the lens of Feminism to her analytical argument. Parts of this article and lens helped to support my main argument as well.
McNally, Joel. “MasterfullyBittersweet: Lorrie Moore Finds a Way to Move Readers and Make Them Laugh at the Same Time.” Writer (Kalmbach Publishing Co.), vol 118,no 12, Dec. 2005, pp. 20-23.EBSCOhost, Search.ebscohost.com.cwi.idm.oclc.org/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=ns149246&db=a9h&AN=18875325&site=ehost-live.
This article is packed in reviews of Lorrie Moore and her writings packing tragedy and humor into many short stories. She is interviewed with questions about her writings and what she believes about writing. Moore brings up social types contrasted with individualizing a character, which is something she uses to bring her own characters to life.
Moore, Lorrie (1992). “Terrific Mother.” London: Faber & Faber.
This is a short story by Lorre Moore about a woman who kills a baby then hastily gets married and runs away to Europe with her husband on an academic retreat. The story follows the main character, Adrienne, who is dealing with the grief of the event.
“New Criticism.” Poetry Foundation, Poetry Foundation, https://www.poetryfoundation.org/learn/glossary-terms/new-criticism
This was a short article that I referenced in my analysis essay. Being assigned the lens of New Criticism, I deemed it important to educate my readers on the definition of New Criticism in literature. A short definition is given, and that was the only reason I used this article. New Criticism is a lens that helps to focus on close reading of a text. In a way, it is heavily analyzing a reading, finding out the intentions of the author and how it is significant. Using new lenses on analysis essays can be tricky, so it is always important to understand the definitions first and foremost.
O’Malley, Sheila. “The Books: ‘Birds of America’ – ‘Terrific Mother’ (Lorrie Moore).” The SheilaVariations, 04 April. 2008. www.sheilaomalley.com/?p=7930.
This source talks about the opening scene and how humorous it is. It talks about how Lorrie Moore has the perfect touch of comedy while talking about serious situations. With Adrienne being single and 35 there is a quote from the book where at the garden party someone says that she would look like a terrific mother. I think Moore’s perfect touch of comedy in a really serious incident with Adrienne and the baby.
Passaro, Vince. “Unlikely Stories.” Harper’s Magazine, vol. 299, no. 1791, Aug. 1999, p. 80. Academic Search Complete, EBSCOhost, cwi.idm.oclc.org/login?url=http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=ip,cpid&custid=ns149246&db=a9h&AN=2081851&site=ehost-live.
This source is a review regarding the rebirth of the short story in America, and it is a kind of chronology of the evolution of American short story. The author speaks of the beginning of the short story in the 1930s and then the second Hemingway or “minimalist” period. It also highlights the economic benefits it brought. This essay speaks of the tremendous contribution of Lorrie Moore to the evolution of the American short story, enriching it with his particular and realistic way of writing.
Wekes, Karen “ Identity in the Short Story Cycles of Lorrie Moore,” Journal of the Short Story in English, 39, 2002, 109-122.
This source delves into the changes to which women were exposed in past decades and, as a consequence, the expectations that society was generating on them. It highlights a group of writers who have brought to the fore, through their works, the changes and challenges of women from a few decades ago until now and the search for identity amid the multiple roles that women are fulfilling. Regarding Lorrie Moore, her work stands out in six of her books and how her female protagonists, who are usually in their thirties or a little older, deal with their different challenges and their multiple roles and defy pre-established social standards.
Yarrow, Allison. “How the ’90s Tricked Women Into Thinking They’d Gained Gender Equality.” Time USA, June 13 (2018).
This source is an article on a magazine website that talks about the 1990s and the evolution of female empowerment. It gives us a background of how the woman was positioning herself in areas that were previously denied to them and they had success and control over her new roles. However, a criticism is made of what promised to be the result of the feminist struggle, which was equality between men and women in all areas. This article reveals the deception of the triumph of Feminism over Patriarchy and the adverse effect that this produced through hostility towards the female gender.
