A Certain Rich Man -- by Blanche Colton Williams
Blanche Colton Williams’s study examines Lawrence Perry’s “A Certain Rich Man--” as an extreme example of short-story unity, confined to a wealthy dinner party, a present-time setting, and roughly an hour of action. It traces Perry’s reported starting point in a dinner conversation about wartime sacrifice and explains how the premise developed into a test of Nicholas Colcord’s stated willingness to give his life to end the war. The analysis identifies the initial impulse, dramatic climax, action climax, and deliberately unresolved dénouement. It also studies the nine dinner guests as contrasting types, asks readers to assess dialogue, narrative angle, preparation, imagery, exposition, and setting, and concludes with Perry’s statements on plot, compression, action-serving description, and the short story’s distinctive form.
By Blanche Colton Williams · First published 1919 · Genre: Literary Analysis, Literary Criticism, Literary Essay · 1,358 words
First lines
CLASSIFICATION. A perfect specimen of the short-story, even of the extreme type-form since all the unities are beautifully maintained. The setting is a dinner table in a home of wealth and refinement; the time is the present; the length of the action is, perhaps, an hour.
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Genres
- Literary Analysis — It breaks down the analyzed story’s construction, character functions, plot stages, narration, and descriptive effects.
- Literary Criticism — It evaluates the work as a nearly perfect short-story type and frames its methods against principles of the form.
- Literary Essay — The section combines close-reading prompts with quoted authorial views on plot, scope, and artistic purpose.
- Non-Fiction — This is instructional prose about reading and composing short fiction rather than a work of fiction itself.
Tags
Blanche Colton Williams · Lawrence Perry · A Certain Rich Man-- · short-story construction · unity of time and place · dinner-party setting · Nicholas Colcord · dramatic characterization · plot stages · unresolved denouement · narrative viewpoint · wartime sacrifice
What this Textopian page supports
A Certain Rich Man -- is listed on Textopian as an essay by Blanche Colton Williams, dated 1919 CE.
This source record anchors work identity, reading entry points, and catalog context for checking claims about the work.
- Work type: Essay
- Author: Blanche Colton Williams
- Date: 1919 CE
- Language: English
- Genres: Literary Analysis, Literary Criticism, Literary Essay, Non-Fiction
- Length: 1,358 words
- Structure: 1 section, 18 paragraphs
- Reading fit: Standard (8th-9th Grade)
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