“A&P” by John Updike
http://www.tiger-town.com/whatnot/updike/

“Young Goodman Brown” by Nathaniel Hawthorne
http://www.online-literature.com/hawthorne/158/

“The Flowers” by Alice Walker
http://bsdweb.bsdvt.org/~brice/pdfs/The%20Flowers.pdf

“The Lesson” by Toni Cade Bambara
http://www.esubjects.com/curric/general/english_one/unit_two/pdf/TheLesson.pdf 

“A Good Man is Hard to Find” by Flannery O’Connor:
http://pegasus.cc.ucf.edu/~surette/goodman.html

“A Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar Allen Poe
http://xroads.virginia.edu/~hyper/poe/telltale.html

“The Things They Carried” by Tim O’Brien
http://www.rajuabju.com/literature/thingstheycarried.htm

“An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge” by Ambrose Bierce
http://www.fullbooks.com/An-Occurrence-At-Owl-Creek-Bridge.html

“The Open Boat” by Stephen Crane
http://www.enotes.com/open-boat-text/open-boat-1

“A Hunger Artist” by Franz Kafka
http://www.zwyx.org/portal/kafka/kafka_hunger_artist.html “The Yellow Wallpaper” by Charlotte Perkins Gilman
http://www.gradesaver.com/the-yellow-wallpaper/e-text/section1/

“Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?” By Joyce Carol Oates
http://www.usfca.edu/jco/whereareyougoing/

“The Chrysanthemums” by John Steinbeck
http://www.nbu.bg/webs/amb/american/4/steinbeck/chrysanthemums.htm

Novel Ideas
Below I have provided titles of novels that also address “topical” issues (i.e., suicide, eating disorders, etc…). You can check out one from the library—all these novels are within the Phoenix Public Library system. They will also ship books for free from one library to another if you live closer to one that doesn’t have it. You will also be able to find these books online for cheap or at used bookstores. For example, I found Wintergirls at www.half.com for $1.81 plus $3.49 for shipping.
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These are just examples; you can choose a novel yourself, however, it has to be something you are going to read or have read within the last six months. If you read it before that time then you need to re-read it. Also, I need to approve the novel choice before you begin. 
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Contemporary Young Adult:
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Wintergirls by Laurie Halse Anderson (anorexia)
Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher (suicide/bullying)
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen (attempted rape/speaking out)
Dreamland by Sarah Dessen (physical abuse)
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson (rape)
Glass or Crank by Ellen Hopkins (drugs)
Impulse by Ellen Hopkins (cutting)
The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins (society/government/traditions)
The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian by Sherman Alexie
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Good list of young adult problem/issue novels: http://slayground.livejournal.com/74061.html 
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Contemporary Adult:
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The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo by Stieg Larsson (sexual assault)
The Girl who Played with Fire by Stieg Larsson (sex trafficking)
The Help by Kathryn Stockett (race/social issues)
My Sister’s Keeper by Jodi Picoult (science and ethics)
Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult (high school shootings) 
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Classics:
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The Red Badge of Courage by Stephen Crane (war)
Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen (society and class)
The Scarlett Letter by Nathaniel Hawthorne (how society views immorality)
To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee (race/social issues)
Animal Farm by George Orwell (society/government)
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Paper Formatting and Citing Sources in MLA
Your paper must be in Times New Roman, 12 point font, have 1 inch margins around the paper, be double-spaced, and use ½ inch paragraph indents. (See the Paper Format Sheet from day one of class).
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Reminder: I take plagiarism seriously, whether you do it intentionally or not. Please be careful when using sources. Place quotation marks around direct quotes. Use in-text citations and a Works Cited page for anything you summarize, paraphrase, or quote from a source. Be sure that no more than 25% of the paper is someone else’s thoughts—the rest of the paper needs to be your own writing.
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The sources must be in MLA format. You must have in-text citations where you quote or paraphrase them, and you must have a works cited page at the end.
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How to Write an Analysis
The short story choices deal with many themes. Think about theme as you read: socioeconomic class, gender, race, identity, etc…. Consider focusing on one of these themes in your paper.
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Additional resources on how to write a story analysis:

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/697/1/

OWL’s basic information on what is a literary analysis, with a presentation.

http://owl.english.purdue.edu/owl/resource/618/01/

OWL’s information on writing a thesis for a literary analysis.

http://www.csun.edu/~hbeng112/098/howtowriteshortstoryanalysis.pdf

This is a professor’s assignment and helps break the analysis down.

http://www.ehow.com/how_6321692_write-good-short-story-analysis.html

A simple explanation from ehow.

http://www.ehow.com/how_5467215_write-critical-analysis-short-story.html

Another one from ehow, and this one uses “The Necklace” as an example.

http://www.gmc.edu/students/arc/documents/Literary%20analysis.pdf

A college document with a lot of great advice about how to write an analysis (and specific examples of such).

http://www.bookrags.com/articles/21.html

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There are many more helps on the web if you need them; just do a search for “How to write a literary analysis” or “How to write a short story analysis.” The main thing is to go above and beyond summary and instead use analysis/evaluation, along with supporting your paper. Your organization might look like this:

1. Introduction – Something “catchy” about the topic/story. If you want to give a history of the story or author, please keep it short (remember, analysis not summary).
   1. Thesis at the end of the introduction – The thesis argues your paper’s main point. It does not say “I think” or “I believe.” See the “Thesis Worksheet.”
2. Body paragraph – Point 1
   1. Support from source or examples
   2. Your analysis of that support
3. Body paragraph – Point 2
   1. Support from source or examples
   2. Your analysis of that support
4. Body paragraph – Point 3
   1. Support from source or examples
   2. Your analysis of that support
5. Conclusion