Five Hundred Dollars

Heman White ChaplinProject Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

2.6

Word count: 56K words
Chapters: 6

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Five Hundred Dollars by Heman White ChaplinAuthor: Chaplin, Heman White, 1847-1924,Language: English, Class: PS: Language and Literatures: American and Canadian literature, Release Date: Oct 12, 2007

Editor's review

Five Hundred Dollars is a short work by the nineteenth-century American writer Heman White Chaplin, included in the Project Gutenberg free ebook library. Chaplin was known for depicting New England local life, and this piece likewise turns its gaze on money, morality, and human entanglements in ordinary people's daily lives. The specific sum of five hundred dollars in the story is often not merely an amount but a touchstone for testing characters' choices and relationships, through which readers can see the ethical atmosphere and texture of life in American small-town society of the time. The work is not long, and its language carries the narrative rhythm of the nineteenth century; it is suitable as light reading for understanding American regional literature and the short story. For readers studying the dissemination of Project Gutenberg ebooks, or wishing to encounter classic American short stories in the original, this is an easily accessible introductory text. As you read, pay attention to the characters' subtle reactions in the face of money and to how the author uses everyday dialogue to advance the plot.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Readers who want to encounter nineteenth-century American short stories in the original English
Literature lovers interested in American regional life and small-town ethics
Learners who need short texts for English extensive reading or classroom discussion
Digital readers interested in Project Gutenberg's free ebook resources

Not a good fit for

Readers expecting long-form plots and complexly structured novels
Readers who prefer modern fast-paced narrative or contemporary subjects
Beginners with weak English reading skills who need annotation support

Reading tips

Read through once to grasp the storyline, then go back to see how the money thread drives the characters' choices.
Read alongside other short stories by Chaplin to appreciate the common features of his regional narrative.
English learners can excerpt dialogue passages and note differences in nineteenth-century wording and sentence patterns.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a novel or a short story?

Judging by Project Gutenberg's inclusion information, this is a short work by Chaplin. It is fairly brief, suitable for reading in one sitting or over several, and should not be approached with the expectations of a novel.

What English level is needed to read it?

The original is nineteenth-century English, with sentence patterns and wording somewhat distant from modern English. Intermediate or higher English reading ability is preferable; those with weaker foundations may use a dictionary or a parallel translation.

Why does five hundred dollars recur in the book?

Five hundred dollars is the specific sum around which the story revolves and a point of entry for observing characters' attitudes and relationships. The materials do not elaborate on plot details; readers can note in the reading how this sum affects the characters' choices.

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About the author

Heman White Chaplin Author · American · 1847–1924

Heman White Chaplin (1847–1924) was an American lawyer and humorist. A graduate of Harvard University in 1867, he practiced law in Boston while contributing in his spare time to periodicals such as Harper's Monthly and The Century Magazine. His stories are mostly set in small New England fishing towns; his prose is finely observant, with a warm and humorous tone that captures the texture of everyday life. His representative works include Five Hundred Dollars and Other Stories of New England Life and By the Sea; the collection also holds Saint Patrick, In Madeira Place, The Village Convict, and others. Public information about his life is limited, and this account rests mainly on his university, his place of practice, and the journals that published him, with emphasis on the observation and humor of his New England fiction.