Character-driven short stories are especially valuable for teaching characterization and character development. Because of their brevity, short stories often reveal character through small choices, dialogue, contradictions, and moments of pressure rather than long backstory.
The short stories listed below are frequently taught for their strong characterization, whether through psychological depth, moral conflict, unreliable narration, or meaningful change over time. Many of these works are well known and widely anthologized, making them easy to find along with classroom notes and critical commentary.
Short Stories for Teaching Character
“Powder” by Tobias Wolff
A father and son are on a skiing trip just before Christmas. The mother wants the boy home on Christmas Eve for dinner. The father assures her he will be back. When it comes time to leave, they try to get a few more runs in. (Summary & Analysis of “Powder”)
“Everyday Use” by Alice Walker
A mother reflects on her two very different daughters when one returns home claiming a newly embraced cultural identity. The story explores how values, heritage, and self-image shape character—and how perspective affects judgment. (Summary & Analysis of “Everyday Use”)
“Zolo” by S. Bhattacharya-Woodward
A ten-year-old boy makes a dangerous walk on the edge of his high-rise building due to problems at home. (Summary of “Zolo”)
“Miss Brill” by Katherine Mansfield
A lonely middle-aged woman takes her weekly walk, imagining herself as part of a grand social performance. When she overhears a cruel remark, her carefully constructed self-image collapses, revealing the gap between perception and reality. (Read “Miss Brill”)
“María Concepción” by Katherine Anne Porter
Maria and Juan are a young married couple. Maria works hard, is frugal, and is respected in her Mexican town. She is pregnant. Although she doesn’t believe in the remedies of the local medicine-woman, Maria feels she needs honey to prevent her child from being “marked” in some way.
“The Sin Eater” by Margaret Atwood
The narrator talks about her therapist, Joseph. He told her about a Wales tradition where a person known as a Sin Eater would be called to eat a meal over a dead body. This would transfer the dead person’s sins to the eater, thus clearing the person’s way to heaven. When Joseph has an accident, the narrator finds out about his life from his ex-wives and other patients.
“A Conversation with My Father” by Grace Paley
A dying father asks his daughter to write a story with a clear, tragic structure. Their disagreement reveals contrasting views of realism, responsibility, and how much control a writer—or a person—should exert over life.
This is the second story in the Amazon preview of The Penguin Book of the Modern American Short Story.
“Girl” by Jamaica Kincaid
Written as a single extended sentence, the story presents a mother’s relentless instructions to her daughter. Character emerges through voice, rhythm, and implication, revealing tension between guidance and control. (Summary and Analysis of “Girl”)
“Barn Burning” by William Faulkner
A young boy is torn between loyalty to his father and his growing sense of justice. As his father repeatedly resorts to violence and intimidation, the boy faces a defining moral choice.
“Gimpel the Fool” by Isaac Bashevis Singer
Gimpel, known for his gullibility, accepts ridicule and deception from his community with surprising patience. The story challenges assumptions about intelligence, faith, and what it truly means to be foolish.
“The Catbird Seat” by James Thurber
A quiet, orderly office worker feels threatened by a loud, intrusive coworker. His outward passivity masks a rigid inner world where control and revenge take unsettling forms.
“The Greatest Man in the World” by James Thurber
A national hero’s coarse behavior clashes with the image officials want to present to the public. The story satirizes how character is reshaped—or erased—when reputation becomes more important than truth.
“I’m a Fool” by Sherwood Anderson
A young man exaggerates and lies to impress a woman he meets at the racetrack. His self-deception and insecurity gradually surface, revealing how performance can replace authenticity.
“Astronomer’s Wife” by Kay Boyle
A plumber comes to the Ames’s home to do some work. Mr. Ames is still sleeping, so Mrs. Ames deals with the plumber and compares him to her husband.
“Vengeful Creditor” by Chinua Achebe
The African government is now offering free primary education, causing a lot of servants and low paid workers to return to school. The Emenikes, educated and affluent, are upset when they lose some servants, including their nurse. Things turn around for them when the government suspends the free program due to higher than expected enrollment.
“A Visit of Charity” by Eudora Welty
A teenage girl visits an old ladies’ home as a charitable duty rather than an act of empathy. The uncomfortable encounter exposes her self-centeredness and limited understanding of suffering. (Read “A Visit of Charity”)
“Paul’s Case” by Willa Cather
A sensitive young man rebels against his father’s expectations and longs for a life of beauty and luxury. His aesthetic ideals clash with reality, revealing the danger of living entirely through fantasy. (Read “Paul’s Case”)
“The Jilting of Granny Weatherall” by Katherine Anne Porter
As an elderly woman lies dying, memories surface in fragmented thoughts and sensations. Her inner monologue reveals unresolved resentment, pride, and a lifelong struggle for emotional closure. (Read “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall”)
“Why I Live at the P. O.” by Eudora Welty
A narrator recounts escalating family conflicts triggered by her sister’s return home. Through her defensive, self-justifying voice, the story demonstrates how narration itself becomes a tool of characterization.
“In the Zoo” by Jean Stafford
A visit to a zoo reminds two sisters of a childhood friend, an alcoholic with a lot of animals, who gave them a puppy. Their foster mother had a bad effect on the dog. Memory and perspective shape how they interpret past cruelty, revealing how character is formed through shared experience and hindsight.
“Our Friend Judith” by Doris Lessing
Judith is a single, childless, English woman who lives alone. Judith’s friend narrates the story, speaking about her disposition and life, making judgments on her behavior and interpreting her actions. She’s a poet and lives on her own terms. Her friend recounts some incidents that could reveal who Judith really is. (Read “Our Friend Judith”)
“A&P” by John Updike
When a teenage grocery clerk witnesses his manager reprimand three girls for their clothing, he makes an impulsive decision he believes is heroic. The story examines self-image, performative rebellion, and the limits of youthful idealism. (Read “A&P”)
These stories demonstrate how character can be revealed through voice, choice, conflict, and contradiction. Whether used for close reading, character analysis essays, or class discussion, they offer rich opportunities to examine how individuals respond to pressure—and how those responses define who they are. See also: