What are the motifs in American Short Story Masterpieces by ?

Death, and how one chooses to deal with it, plays an important role in many of these short stories, as well. In "The Lover of Horses," a woman deals with the death of her father by allowing herself to be more like him. In "Redemption," Jack originally dwells on the death of his brother and allows it to control him. As he finds another outlet for his grief, however, he learns the power of death and how to deal with his emotions. His father, too, learns to deal with death only after nearly losing himself and his family from adultery and alcohol. In "Dream Children," the woman who gives birth to a stillborn child suffers greatly until she finds she can communicate through sleep traveling.