This innovative text is designed to demystify the complex process of (1) reading and appreciating a short story, (2) analyzing and understanding it from many perspectives, and (3) writing about its message. Using an approach that engages students' interest and imagination from the very beginning, it explores the short story first and foremost as a form that offers insights into the human condition. From this premise, it begins with the students' own initial responses to a story, and then — through a variety of writing prompts and discussion questions — helps students refine their personal and creative responses and develop an aesthetic understanding of a story.