In the following essay, Gullason discusses the categorization of the short story as a second-class citizen of literature, but offers evidence that as a form it is deserving of much more. By way of example, he discusses Gordimer's "The Train from Rhodesia."

.. .What must we do so that the short story can receive the kind of consideration it deserves? We can try to rid the genre of the prejudices that have conspired against it. We can come to it as though it were a fresh discovery. We can settle on one term for the medium, like "short fiction" or "short story." References to names like "anecdote," "tale," "narrative," "sketch," though convenient, merely add to the confusion and suggest indecision and a possible inferiority complex. Too many names attached to the short story have made it seem almost nameless. Even the provincial attitude of teachers and anthologists has...