Throughout this course we have read several works from several different literary periods. However, there is one literary piece that the course instructor of World Literature II should include in the course syllabus. The literary work, “A Simple Heart,” written in 1877 by Gustave Flaubert, shows great resemblance towards the Realism period (1800-1900). On the other hand, the course instructor should remove the short story “And of Clay Are We Created,” authored by Isabel Allende in 1989, because this work shows little corresponding to the Contemporary Period (1970-). The purpose of this course is to learn about different literary periods through the reading of works. The removal of “And of Clay Are Created will better the course due to confusion,…show more content… The short story is not the most obvious result of the Contemporary Literature period. The reader can be a bit confused going from the uproar of the media, towards the character Rolf Carle, who is fighting with his inner demons. When reading this story, you get an emotional appeal, rather than it being the world changing for the better. According to the Norton Anthology, the Contemporary Period is a reminder of interconnectedness and globalization of creation of capitalism and communication (1618). In this story, Allende has a style of writing that is very soothing yet, pessimistic. In the beginning of the story, the speaker states “the odor of death was already attracting vultures…where the weeping of orphans and the wails of the injured filled the air, the little girl… clinging to life became the symbol of tragedy” (1735). That statement offsets the tone of the story immediately, guiding the reader to think the worst. With students being unfamiliar with the Literary periods, “And of Clay Are We Created” it is not the best representation of the Contemporary Literature
