While most critics agree that Anton Chekhov is a funny writer and much critical commentary about his comedic techniques identifies how Chekhov is humorous, none examines why readers find him so. Using the tools of cognitive science, this paper explores the cognitive processes behind humor and narrative, as well as Chekhov’s exploitation of them for comical effect in his early short stories – namely the very concise and blatantly humorous “Kids,” “Grisha,” “Vanka,” and “At Home” – and uncovers, in these early writings, the origins of his celebrated and oft-imitated authorial legacy.

This essay is a comparative analysis of the novels Pet Sematary and The Shining by Stephen King, where the empathy that the characters may invoke is analyzed. The focus lies on the children, mothers and fathers of the two families featured in the novels, who are analyzed in terms of Leake’s division of easy or difficult empathy. The essay also discusses the use of horror fiction in the EFL-classroom and how it may train students’ ability to empathize and motivate reluctant readers. The child characters mainly offer easy empathy since they experience negative emotions and victimization. The adult characters appear to be more nuanced, especially the two fathers who may invoke a combination of easy and difficult empathy through their change towards antagonists, or through their abusive behavior. Due to King’s complex characters, and suspenseful storytelling, it is possible that horror fiction of this kind can be used in the EFL-classroom to attract reluctant readers. As the students also come in contact with difficult empathy they can train their ability to understand and empathize with people who may act in ways that the students normally would disagree with. In that regard, it appears that horror fiction can have a pedagogical use in the EFL-classroom.

The thesis aims to mesh narrative theory with theory of empathy in a study of two novels by Graham Greene, A Gun for Sale (1936) and Brighton Rock (1938), where the use of narrative building blocks from the crime thriller genre and the empathy that the characters may evoke are analysed. The second aim is to discuss how to implement the rather complex works of Graham Greene in the EFL classroom. The key analytical devices for this essay are narratology and empathy, particularly difficult empathy. Narrative scaffolding helps students to discern recurring themes, character types and functions different in narratives, thus enabling them to transfer reading experiences to other texts as well. This thesis argues that Greene’s A Gun for Sale and Brighton Rock are useable in the EFL classroom, not despite, but because their great complexity, as discussions of difficult empathy in villainous characters and moral dilemmas will help develop fundamental values such as empathy and understanding of others, thus widening students’ understanding of both different kinds of literature and the world in which they live.