The son of an alcoholic father, Wolfe used themes of disillusionment, nepotism, sexuality and lost innocence to portray the individual within a troubled family. The figure of an angel appeared in Wolfe's stories more than any other symbol as an expression of life, death and resurrection. Deeply interested in politics, he wrote descriptions of the passage of time and changing seasons to denote social changes.
Thomas Wolfe's first published short story, "Angel on the Front Porch," appeared in Scribner's Magazine in 1929. Mr. Gant, a failed artist and owner of a funeral monument business, gets a visit from Elizabeth. She is a wealthy women and his former lover. She tells him of the death of her 22-year-old daughter. Elizabeth wants to buy the angel statue on his front porch as a monument for her. Gant is reluctant to sell it, but she offers a large amount, so he accepts. As she leaves, they reminiscence about their affair, and Gant begins to ponder the meaning and value of his life.
In 1935 Wolfe's shortest story, "The Far and the Near," appeared in Cosmopolitan magazine. A train engineer passes through a small town on his route. He notices a cottage where a group of women live, and he blows his whistle as he passes by. The women smile and wave back. Years pass and the engineer sees fatal train accidents, but his one consolation is their kind greetings every day. When he retires, the engineer visits the women to meet and thank them. However, they treat him terribly, destroying his idealistic illusion of them.
Thomas Wolfe's "The Lost Boy" is an autobiographical story about his older brother, Grover, who died young. In part one, Grover has a dispute with a store owner over candy. Grover tells his father who takes serious action to settle it. Grover's mother, the narrator of parts two and three, focuses all her attention on her favorite son. They take a train ride to St. Louis, and Grover orders a black man to return to the Negro passenger car. The final part tells about his unexpected death and the impact on the family.
Written in dialogue with characters who speak in a Brooklyn dialect, "Only the Dead Know Brooklyn" is a departure from Wolfe's personal stories. Four men discuss how to get to Bensonhurst as they ride a train from New York City. A "big guy" asks a "little guy" but he doesn't know. The unnamed narrator offers a route, but a "wide guy" offers another way, arguing with him. However, none of the three men can understand why the "big guy" wants to go there just to see the place. The story examines society's narrow-mindedness and lack of curiosity.