Examples of Anecdote in Literature

Example #1

“I’ll tell you a family secret,” she whispered enthusiastically. “It’s about the butler’s
nose. Do you want to hear about the butler’s nose?”

“That’s why I came over to-night.”

“Well, he wasn’t always a butler; he used to be the silver polisher for some people in
New York that had a silver service for two hundred people. He had to polish it from
morning till night, until finally it began to affect his nose ——”

Things went from bad to worse,” suggested Miss Baker.

“Yes. Things went from bad to worse, until finally he had to give up his position.”

(The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald)

In the above excerpt from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel The Great Gatsby, the character of
Daisy wants to tell Nick Carraway a story. Though Daisy doesn’t finish the anecdote in a
completely fulfilling way, there are several underlying meanings behind this brief story.
The entire theme of the novel is class and class mobility in the United States. Nick
pretends not to care (and thus responds with the sarcastic ““That’s why I came over to-
night.”) The anecdote works to illustrate Fitzgerald’s theme, as well as provide a
cautionary tale; being a silver polisher perhaps was a higher station than being a butler.
However, by wanting to be higher than his state, the man has to give up his position and
become a butler forever.

Example #2

Having been bound in chains and left to die in the basement (there were basements in
Meridian) by his new father, who disliked him, and secretly kept alive on raw field peas
by a passing farmer who heard his cries for help (the good man poked a bushel pod by
pod through the ventilator), Dill worked himself free by pulling the chains from the wall.
Still in wrist manacles, he wandered two miles out of Meridian where he discovered a
small animal show and was immediately engaged to wash the camel. He traveled with the
show all over Mississippi until his infallible sense of direction told him he was in Abbott
County, Alabama, just across the river from Maycomb. He walked the rest of the way.

(To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee)

This anecdote comes from Harper Lee’s novel To Kill a Mockingbird. The character of
Dill tells Scout and Jem the above story, which turns out not to be true. However, Dill has
gone to lengths to tell this story to give a legitimate reason for leaving, when it turns out
that he just doesn’t feel loved or wanted by his parents. Scout realizes that she has no idea
how this could feel, knowing that she is essential and needed in her family. Thus, Harper
Lee uses this anecdote to allow Scout to understand one aspect of her life a little better.

Example #3

Every year, the end of summer

lazy and golden, invites grief and regret:

suddenly it’s 1980, winter buffets us,

winds strike like cruelty out of Dickens. Somehow
we have seven horses for six stalls. One of them,

a big-nosed roan gelding, calm as a president’s portrait

lives in the rectangle that leads to the stalls. We call it
the motel lobby. Wise old campaigner, he dunks his

hay in the water bucket to soften it, then visits the others
who hang their heads over their dutch doors. Sometimes
he sprawls out flat to nap in his commodious quarters.

That spring, in the bustle of grooming

and riding and shoeing, I remember I let him go
to a neighbor I thought was a friend, and the following

fall she sold him down the river. I meant to

but never did go looking for him, to buy him back…

(“Jack” by Maxine Kumin)

Not all anecdote examples are found in prose; some, like the one above in Maxine
Kumin’s poem “Jack” can be found in poetry. In this poem, the narrator recalls a horse
she once used to own named Jack and feels regret and nostalgia over having not saved
him from an unknown fate. The anecdote illustrates the central emotion and tone of the
poem.

I. What is an Anecdote?
An anecdote (pronounced an-ik-doh-tuh) is a very short story that
is significant to the topic at hand; usually adding personal
knowledge or experience to the topic. Basically, anecdotes are stories.
Like many stories, anecdotes are most often told through
speech; they are spoken rather than written down.
The term “anecdote” originally comes from the Greek
phrase ἀνέκδοτα , meaning “things unpublished.”
 

II. Examples of Anecdotes

Example 1
Picture a mother and a father discussing whether or not to get a
dog for the family. The father says:

You know, when I was a kid, my dog was my best friend. My childhood was better
because of him.
The mother contemplates his story—a.k.a. his anecdote—and then
agrees that they should get a dog.
 

Example 2
Sometimes anecdotes are funny or effective because they
interrupt an important moment. Imagine a big wedding dinner on
a TV sitcom. The best man is giving a speech, when suddenly
another guest, clearly drunk, stands up and yells:

That reminds me of a wild party I went to with the groom, before he got that new ball
and chain! If you had told me back then that he would choose just ONE woman, I
never would have believed it!
The audience laughs at his drunken anecdote, while the bride
looks at the groom in anger. Here, the anecdote brings both
humor and tension to the moment.

Example 3
Anecdotes can be as simple as a relative joke. Picture a group of
friends discussing their Halloween costumes for this year. One
friend says:

I was an owl last year—it was a real hoot!

Her friends groan and giggle. Here, the anecdote is told just to
bring laughter.

III. Importance of Anecdotes

Anecdotes, like other forms of stories, are common and highly
effective devices found throughout literature, film, television,
theater, and even real life. Anecdotes make conversations
or dialogue more personal and interesting. Usually, they are
employed in a way that will make the audience and/or
othercharacters laugh or think more deeply about a topic.
 

IV. Examples of Anecdotes in Literature

Example 1
A very famous anecdote in literature is from Swann’s Way of Marcel
Proust’s In Search of Lost Timenovels, when he recalls a specific time
that he ate a madeleine cookie. Below is a small selection from
this memory:
Many years had elapsed during which nothing of Combray, save what was comprised
in the theatre and the drama of my going to bed there, had any existence for me, when
one day in winter, as I came home, my mother, seeing that I was cold, offered me
some tea, a thing I did not ordinarily take. I declined at first, and then, for no
particular reason, changed my mind. She sent out for one of those short, plump little
cakes called ‘petites madeleines,’ which look as though they had been moulded in the
fluted scallop of a pilgrim’s shell.
Proust uses this anecdote in part of an ongoing discussion on
memory and remembrance of the past. For him, this particular
childhood moment represents one of his strongest and most
intense memories, particularly of those tied to senses.

Example 2
In Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire, Albus Dumbledore is having a
conversation with a visiting headmaster about the knowledge
they have of their own castles. Dumbledore then says:
Oh, I would never dream of assuming I know all Hogwarts’ secrets, Igor. Only this
morning, for instance, I took a wrong turn on the way to the bathroom and found
myself in a beautifully proportioned room I had never seen before, containing a really
rather magnificent collection of chamber pots. When I went back to investigate more
closely, I discovered that the room had vanished.

Dumbledore’s brief story is related to their conversation; it gives

a personal example to support his view on the topic, and
provides something for Igor to ponder. Furthermore, the
anecdote makes Dumbledore appear humble against his visitor’s
prideful attitude.

 
Example 3
Anecdotes don’t always have to be personal; some are just
interesting stories about specific people or subjects. The Book of
Three Hundred Anecdotes, for instance, includes 300 brief stories
about topics from affection to librarians to war. The following
anecdote is from the topic “Forgiveness”:
Mariè Antoinette.—On the elevation of this princess to the throne after the death of
Louis XV., an officer of the body-guard, who had given her offence on some former
occasion, expressed his intention of resigning his commission; but the queen forbade
him. “Remain,” said she, “forget the past as I forgive it.”
Each of the anecdotes provides a brief account of something
related to its adjacent topic. The book is filled with similar stories
referencing historical figures, places, books, ideas, etc for each
topic included; providing anecdotes for any and all conversations.

xamples of
AnecdotesB
elow you will
find a variety
of examples
of anecdotes
that writers
have used
to“hook”
their
audience.
You will see
that the
anecdotes
range from
quickly re-
telling a
story to
quoting an
expression
and some
even ask a
question to
begin.Howev
er you
choose to
create your
anecdote,
just
remember to
relate to
your reader-
you want to
grab their
attention!

Enjoy!
“Turbulenc
e,” David
SedarisFro
m 
The New
Yorker 
(June
2005)
“On the flight
to Raleigh, I
sneezed, and
the cough
drop I’d been
sucking on
shot frommy
mouth,
ricocheted off
my folded tray
table, and
landed, as I
remember it,
in the lap
of the woman
beside me,
who was
asleep and
had her arms
folded across
her chest.
I’msurprised
that the force
didn’t wake
her—that’s
how hard it hit
—but all she
did wasflutter
her eyelids
and let out a
tiny sigh, the
kind you
might hear
from a baby.”
“To All the
Girls I’ve
Rejected,”
Jennifer
Delahunty
Britzan
articlefrom
the
Editorials/O
p-Ed
section of 
The New
York
Times
(March200
6)
“A few days
ago I watched
my daughter
Madalyn
open a thin
envelope
from one of
thefive
colleges to
which she
had applied.
“Why?” was
what she was
obviously
askingherself
as she
handed me
the letter
saying she
was
waitlisted.”
An excerpt
from a
health
cookbook,
Skinny
B**** in
the Kitch,
Rory
Freedman
and Kim
Barnouin
(2007)
“What’s better
than
eating?...The
answer is:
Nothing!
There’s
nothing better
than eating!
We’re total
pigs and
eating is,
without a
doubt, our
favorite thing
to do. We
love eatingso
much, it
makes us
mad. We
have, like, a
violent
passion for
food. When
we go out
toeat, if
something we
order is really
good, we talk
about killing
the chef. Or
our pets.
Or ourselves.
Good food
makes us
want to die ...
you know, like
that
expression,
‘... to
diefor.’ But
ironically,
we also
care about
our health.”

 
 This is a
piece of my
own writing
from a
personal
narrative
that Iwrote
in my
Freshman
College
Literary
Perspectiv
es Class. I
wroteabout
the
restaurant
that I’ve
worked at
for the last
6
yearsdurin
g the
summer.
“A penguin
wearing
sunglasses,
sipping a
drink and
relaxing on a
lawn chair is
thegraphic
found on the
back of the t-
shirt. The text
around the
graphic
reads: “A
SunnyPlace
for Shady
People.” This
establishment
is known as
Emerald
Point
Restaurant
andMarina, a
fun place to
hang out,
have dinner
with the
family and
meet new
people.Emera
ld Point offers
the best
dining on
Greenwood
Lake with a
relaxed
atmosphere,d
elicious food
and great
entertainment
.”
 This was a
more
analytical
paper that
I wrote for
the same
class. This
is my entire
introduction
paragraph
for a paper
that I
titled“Girls
are Meant
to be
Ladies”:
“To use the
less awkward
expression,
the “birds and
the bees,” is a
topic that
parentscringe
to even think
of talking
about with
their children.
It is especially
uncomfortabl
e for mothers
to talk about
maturation
with their little
girls. In many
cultures,
mothers strive
toraise their
daughters to
meet
standards of
society and
hold a good
reputation for
their family.
Jamaica
Kincaid’s
literary piece,
“Girl” is a
rhythmic
poem that
provides
insightinto a
complicated
mother-
daughter
relationship.
Although the
fast paced
style of
thepoem
indicates the
mother is
rushing
through this
awkward talk,
she steadily
deliversthis
deliberate
advice,
assuring the
daughter that
she may
always
confide in
her mother.”