I agree with Jacob. He has a strong point that i noticed as well while reading the "new" short stories. They don't seem to create there own style. It is just like he said no one told Joyce to write like Joyce, and no one told Hemingway to write like Hemingway. Short story authors of today are seemingly trying to mold their stories after what they have read, and after these famous authors. This is common with everything we do in society. As kids we try to model our parents. As athletes we try to model the pros. As authors you try to model your favorite author's style. But is this interesting? The joy of writing fiction is that you can make up whatever you want. By modeling their style after a certain author they are decreasing their directions in which they could have gone with the story. Everyone has already read the type of story the old authors have written, and gotten joy from them. Why not write something with your own style, that will leave a lasting impression in the readers mind with your own name instead of leaving the reader comparing you to another. As jacob is saying these "new" short stories don't seem to create their own path so to speak. They tend to follow the one more traveled, or traveled by their idol.
I also agree that the only "new" story that has left a lasting impression has been "tits-up-in-a-ditch." It has followed it's own direction and leads us somewhere we have not been led before as a reader. It expresses many different views from the character of Dakotah. We get a real life look into her life, and all of her encounters and troubles. This story was truly the only story that had the "wow" factor as Jacob stated, and i will have to agree for the reasons i have previously mentioned that i long for the days of reading the "classic" short story rather than the "new."
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Though I can understand where Sam and Jacob are coming from, I disagree with their disappointment in the contemporary short stories. It is only natural that contemporary authors will emulate talented writers, such as Poe. Despite this fact, I find a great deal of literary value in these contemporary short stories.
Despite the period in which a story is written, the themes of such stories can usually transcend time. The theme of revenge in “The Cask of Amontillado” is prevalent even today, as every individual feels that urge from time to time. I found the newer short stories to produce similar themes that most everyone can relate to, yet the contemporary short stories bring the meanings closer to the reader. One example of this is the setting in “Tits-up in a Ditch”. When Dakota goes to Iraq to fight in the war, the reader feels much more connected to the characters and might get that much more out of the theme. Likewise, “7C” draws the reader closer into the plot as the action takes place in an apartment building. I also think that the style used by Jason Roberts was not a mirror image of Poe’s writing. Though it created similar effects, I found it to by stylistically distinctive.
I do not completely disagree with the claims made by Jacob and Sam, yet I cannot discount the value of these contemporary short stories relative to the classics. Contemporary short stories are valuable in their ability to connect with the reader and bring the message closer to reality.
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