Literary theories are beneficial because they can be used to analyze stories. This can help one experience the stories so that one can gain deeper insights into the stories. Thus, one is able to acquire some wisdom. This paper chooses to use New Criticism theory to examine six stories. The six stories are Beaumont's (2004) I Like Myself!, Gomi's (1989) My Friends, Hutchins' (1990) What Game Shall We Play?, dePaola's (1980) The Knight and the Dragon, Edwards' (1989) Five Silly Fishermen, and Noonan's (1999) The Giant's Stew. The purpose is to show how one can better comprehend stories and gain insights about how to live life.