Commercial and Literary Fiction

Paper Summary:

The paper examines "A Municipal Report", which is an example of "commercial" fiction and "A Jury of Her Peers", which is an example of "literary" fiction. The paper outlines the character developments, plots and themes in order to underscore how "A Municipal Report" is intended as a light-hearted, diversionary romp through a Southern town, while "A Jury of Her Peers" is a troubling look at gendered stereotypes in early twentieth century America.

From the Paper:

"As our course textbook indicates, commercial fiction is written primarily to make money and is designed to take us away from the world of our troubles; it is, in other words, all about giving pleasure to a reader who is seeking distraction ("Chapter One: Reading the Story," 52-53). In "A Municipal Report," the character development of the story clearly reveals the commercial features of the work. For one thing, there really is no character development to speak of. Instead, the reader is confronted with stereotypes: the vain Californians, blustery and stammering Chicagoans, appallingly slow restaurant service somehow managed with the utmost courtesy, the pompous Brit, Wentworth Caswell, and the dilapidated "Negro" nearly as old as Ham. There is also, unfortunately, an element of racism inherent in the story's depiction of the "old negro" insofar as he often finds himself unintentionally humorous - such as on the occasion when he informs the narrator that the seats "is clean" because his hack has just returned from a funeral (Porter, sec.1-6). As a last point, Azalea Adair is the quintessential polite, elegant yet sheltered and impoverished Southern belle one would expect to find in post-Civil War America (Porter, sec.9-10)."

Sample of Sources Used:

• "Chapter One: Reading the Story." Additional bibliographic info not provided by client.
• Glaspell, Susan. "A Jury of Her Peers." N.d. University of Virginia Library. 3 Nov. 2006 <http://etext.lib.virginia.edu/etcbin/browse-mixed-new?id=GlaJury&tag=public&images=images/modeng&data=/texts/english/modeng/parsed>
• Porter, William Sidney. "A Municipal Report." Short Stories. N.d. 3 Nov. 2006 <http://www.eastoftheweb.com/short-stories/UBooks/MuniRepo.shtml>

More papers on Commercial and Literary Fiction:

• Analytical Essay # 130332 : "Literary Fiction and Commercial Fiction"
• Term Paper # 142761 : "Tips For Reading and Understanding Fiction"
• Book Review # 146635 : "Sanctuary" as a Mystery"

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