Hello students. I’m proud of you for completing years 1 and 2 of our American English course. In order for you to become a strong intermediate American English learner, you need to be able to read, understand, and discuss abridged American English short stories. In this lesson, throughout Year 3 of your studies, you will read, listen to, and write about popular American English short stories. Please follow the directions below closely.
- Study the American English vocabulary below.
Words in This Story
case – n. a situation that is being investigated or managed by someone (such as a police officer or social worker) in an official way
robbery – n. the crime of stealing money or property
embarrass – v. to make someone feel confused, foolish or ashamed in front of other people
puff – v. to breathe smoke from a cigarette, pipe, etc., in and out of the lungs
sigh – v. to take in and let out a long, loud breath in a way that shows you are bored, disappointed, relieved, etc.
check – n. a piece of paper that is used to make a payment to someone using the money in a bank account
checkbook – n. a book containing checks for use with a checking account
franc – n. a basic unit of money that is used in some countries where French is spoken
- Listen to the story.
- Watch the video and read along.
- Take the short story quiz.
- Write a summary of the short story you just read and listened to in the comments section below. Click here to read an article that teaches you how to summarize a story. Remember to let us know who the characters of the story are, what they do, and what the story is about.
Lesson 3.16.2 year 3
American short stories.
”The purloined letter” is a short story written by American author Edgar Allan Poe.
The characters of the story are, the narrator, Dupin’s friend. Who enjoys sitting with him and listening to how he solves cases? Auguste, a French private detective Dupin, the Prefect, the head of the French police department, and the minister, the criminal, who stole the letter… Read more
In the story a letter goes missing and is being used to blackmail an unnamed woman, who is the wife of a powerful man of French government. After the Prefect of the police informs him about case,C Auguste effortlessly solve it and at the end of the story disclose his particular method to recovering the letter. The central theme of the story is that fraud or deception versus truth. The story suggests they are not easily separable.
The conflict of the story involves the necessity of finding the stolen letter and returning it to its rightful owner before it is too late. The climax of the story is when Dupin announced, he had the stolen letter and traded or wanted reward for it.
The moral of ” The Purloined Letter ” that the best hiding place is sometimes the most obvious.
Today story is called ” The Purloined letter” by Edgar Allan Poe
The story is about a stolen letter. One evening in Paris, during the autumn of eighteen forty- five, Mister Germant, the head of the Paris police force, went to visit a friend, Auguste Dupin. He came to ask his friend advice for a very simple case of robbery happening in three month ago but he still cannot solve it. Someone stole a letter from the wife of a powerful man in the French government called as Madme X. She was offering a large amount of money to anyone who can return the letter to her. The police knew that her husband ‘s political enemy, Mister D’ Army stole the letter. D’ Army plans to use the letter to embarrass Madame X’s husband and destroy his political power. For the last three months, Germont and his men had spent every evening looking for the letter in D’ Arch apartment because they have keys which can open any lock in Paris. But they cannot find it.They examined the furnitures in every room and opened all the drawers. They looked under the rugs and searched behind all the paintings on the wall. They opened every books and removed the boards of the floor. They even took the tops of the table to see if he had hidden the letter in the table legs. But they cannot find it. Dupin asked
him what does the letter looked alike. It was in a white envelop and a red stamp. The address was written in a large black letter. Dupin advised Germont to go back and search the apartment again.About one month later, Germont came back to see Dupin.He said that he followed his advise but he still have not found the letter.Dupin smiled and asked Germont how much money had been he said the reward was. He would give fifty thousand Frances to the person who helps him find that letter. Dupin said Germont to take out his check book and write him a check for fifty thousand Frances. When Germont had signed the check , Dupin would give him a letter. Germont looked at Dupin with his mouth open and his eyes seemed to jump out of his head. He wrote a check for fifty thousand Frances and gave it to Dupin. His friend examined the check carefully and put it in his pocket.Then he unlocked a drawer of his desk , took out the letter and gave it to Germont. The policeman’s hands shook as he opened the letter and read it quickly and put it in his pocket. He wondered how had Dupin been solved the mystery. Dupin said that Germont and his men would not find the letter because they did not try to understand the mind of the man who stole it. Instead, they looked for the letter where they would have hidden it. Mister D’ Arcy is very intelligent. He knew the police would search his apartment and also knew how police think. So he did not hide the letter where they would look for it. Dupin went to visit D’Arcy in his apartment and he took a pair of dark green eyeglasses with him. He explained to D’Arcy that he was having trouble with his eyes and needed to wear the dark glasses at all time. He believed him and the glasses permitted him to look around the apartment while he seemed only to be talking to him. Dupin paid special attention to a large desk where there were a lot of paper and books. However he saw nothing suspicious there. After a few minutes, he noticed a small shelter over the fireplace. A few postcard and a letter were lying on the shelf. The letter looked very old and dirty. As soon as he saw this letter, he decided it must be the one he was looked for. It must be even though it was completely different from the one Germont had described. That letter had a large green stamp on it. The address was written in small letter in blue ink. He memorised every detail of the letter while he talked to D’Arcy. When he was not looking, he dropped one of his gloves on the floor under his chair. The next morning he stopped at D’Arcy apartment to look for his gloves. While they were talking, they heard people shouting in the street. D’Arcy went to the window and looked out. Quickly, he stepped to the shelf and put the letter in his pocket. Then he replaced it with a letter that looked exactly like it which he had taken with him. He had made it the night before. As soon as the crowd of people went away, D’Arcy came away from the window and he said good-bye and left.The man who almost had an accident was one of his servant. He had paid him to create the accident. Germont wondered why did he go to the trouble of replacing the letter and why not just take the letter. Dupin smiled and said that D’Arcy was a dangerous man and he has many royal servants . If he had taken the letter, he might never have left his apartment alive.
Dear teacher,
The story is called ” The Purloined letter” by Edgar Allan Poe
The story is about a stolen letter. One evening in Paris, during the autumn of eighteen forty- five, Mister Germant, the head of the Paris police force, went to visit a friend, Auguste Dupin. He came to ask his friend advice for a very simple case of robbery happening in three month ago but he still cannot solve it. Someone stole a letter from the wife of a powerful man in the French government called as Madme X. She was offering a large amount of money to anyone who can return the letter to her. The police knew that her husband ‘s political enemy, Mister D’ Army stole the letter. D’ Army plans to use the letter. looking for the letter in D’ Arch apartment because they have keys which can open any lock in Paris. They opened every books and removed the boards of the floor. They even took the tops of the table to see if he had hidden the letter in the table legs. But they cannot find it. Dupin asked
him what does the letter looked alike. It was in a white envelop and a red stamp. The address was written in a large black letter. Dupin advised Germont to go back and search the apartment again. Dupin smiled and asked Germont how much money had been he said the reward was. He would give fifty fives thousand Frances to the person who helps him find that letter. Dupin said Germont to take out his check book and write him a check for fifty thousand Frances. Germont looked at Dupin with his mouth open and his eyes seemed to jump out of his head. He wrote a check for fifty thousand Frances and gave it to Dupin. His friend examined the check carefully and put it in his pocket.Then he unlocked a drawer of his desk , took out the letter and gave it to Germont. Dupin said that Germont and his men would not find the letter because they did not try to understand the mind of the man who stole it. Instead, they looked for the letter where they would have hidden it. Mister D’ Arcy is very intelligent. Dupin went to visit D’Arcy in his apartment and he took a pair of dark green eyeglasses with him. He explained to D’Arcy that he was having trouble with his eyes and needed to wear the dark glasses at all time. Dupin paid special attention to a large desk where there were a lot of paper and books. However he saw nothing suspicious there. After a few minutes, he noticed a small shelter over the fireplace. A few postcard and a letter were lying on the shelf. The letter looked very old and dirty. As soon as he saw this letter, he decided it must be the one he was looked for. It must be even though it was completely different from the one Germont had described. That letter had a large green stamp on it. The address was written in small letter in blue ink. He memorised every detail of the letter while he talked to D’Arcy. When he was not looking, he dropped one of his gloves on the floor under his chair. The next morning he stopped at D’Arcy apartment to look for his gloves. Then he replaced it with a letter that looked exactly like it which he had taken with him. He had made it the night before. As soon as the crowd of people went away. Dupin smiled and said that D’Arcy was a dangerous man and he has many royal servants . If he had taken the letter, he might never have left his apartment alive.