What are some notable 20th century short stories?

Nathaniel Hawthorne's 'Young Goodman Brown' is also a significant 19th - century short story. It explores themes of faith, sin, and the nature of humanity. The story follows Goodman Brown as he ventures into the forest one night and has a series of disturbing encounters that make him question the goodness of his community and his own faith. Additionally, Guy de Maupassant's 'The Necklace' is well - known. It's about a woman who borrows a diamond necklace to attend a high - society event, loses it, and spends years in poverty trying to replace it, only to find out at the end that the original necklace was a fake.

Some great 20th - century horror short stories include Shirley Jackson's 'The Lottery'. In this story, a small town has an annual lottery, but it's not what one would expect. The twist at the end is quite horrifying. Also, Richard Matheson's 'Prey' is a chilling story. It involves a small, malevolent doll that terrorizes a woman, playing on the fear of the unknown and the idea of something small being very dangerous.

One well - known 19th century French short story is 'The Necklace' by Guy de Maupassant. It tells the story of a woman who borrows a diamond necklace to attend a ball, loses it, and then spends years in poverty trying to replace it, only to find out in the end that the original necklace was a fake. Another is 'The Horla' by Maupassant as well, which is a rather eerie tale about an invisible being that haunts the narrator.

Some good ones include Franz Kafka's 'The Metamorphosis'. In this strange story, the main character wakes up one day transformed into a giant insect, and it's a great exploration of alienation and the human condition. Isaac Babel's 'My First Goose' is also notable. It shows the harshness of war and how people adapt to survive in military settings. And D. H. Lawrence's 'The Rocking - Horse Winner' is a thought - provoking short story that delves into themes of greed, family, and the search for luck.

The 20th century Jewish short stories are often marked by a sense of displacement. With the diaspora and the upheavals of the century such as the Holocaust, many stories centered around the feeling of being uprooted from one's homeland. They also tend to have strong family themes. Family relationships were central in Jewish culture, and these stories showed how families coped with the changing times, whether it was economic hardships or social changes.

The 20th - century English short stories are known for their realism. They depict the real - life situations of different classes of society quite vividly. Some stories focus on the working - class struggles, while others on the upper - class decadence. Moreover, the language used in these stories can be very rich and varied. Writers were no longer restricted to the formal language of the past and incorporated colloquialisms and regional dialects. This made the stories more accessible to a wider range of readers.

Well, 'The Life and Opinions of Tristram Shandy, Gentleman' is an interesting 18th - century novel. It has a unique narrative style that plays with the conventions of storytelling. Also, 'Candide' by Voltaire is a very important work. It's a philosophical novel that uses satire to comment on various aspects of society, such as war, religion, and human nature. These novels give us great insights into the culture, values, and social structures of the 18th century.

Katherine Mansfield. Her stories often focus on the inner lives of women, with a delicate and nuanced writing style.

Since discussing erotic stories is inappropriate, I can't provide relevant content. However, the 19th century had many great works of literature that were not of this nature, such as 'Pride and Prejudice' by Jane Austen which is a classic about love, marriage, and social status in the 19th - century English society.

There's also 'Njal's Saga' from Iceland in the 12th century. It's a complex narrative full of family feuds, legal disputes, and heroic characters. It offers a great view into the social and cultural aspects of Icelandic society during that period.