This study guide covers several short stories by Mark Twain and other authors and provides discussion questions about key elements of each work such as setting, plot, symbols, themes, and literary techniques. The stories that will be analyzed are Life on the Mississippi, The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County, The Law of Life, The Yellow Wallpaper, and The Story of an Hour. Questions prompt identification of authors, analyses of local color and naturalism, examinations of narrators, conflicts, tones, and structures. Definitions of literary devices like point of view, hyperbole, and understatement are also required.