ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY NOTES

Plot - series of related events that make up a story.

Conflict – Any kind of struggle between opposing forces. • 1. Man vs. man - external struggle between two or more

individuals.• 2. Man vs. himself - internal struggle concerning emotion and

decision.• 3. Man vs. nature - external struggle between man and an

element of nature.

CHARACTERS

• To identify a character in a short story (to characterize), a reader must watch what is being said or done in the story. Unlike a novel where a writer has a long time to create a character, a short story is brief. You can use these clues to figure out the personality traits of characters in the story:

- what a character says- what a character does- what others say about characters- what the narrator says about characters- what a character thinks - nicknames, reactions, attitudes about life…

CHARACTERS

Protagonist – The central character in a story. The character sets a goal for him or herself and attempts to achieve that goal.

Antagonist – The character or force that opposes the protagonist in any story. The antagonist attempts to prevent the protagonist from achieving his or her goal.

* Some other important characters can be considered round, flat, stock, dynamic, or static characters. We will look at these in depth later on.

SETTING

• The setting is the time, place, and circumstance of the story.

• The time is the year, month, day, or time of day. • The place is the general place (i.e. city, country, etc)

and the specific place (i.e. a living room). • The circumstance is the historical period, the season,

the weather, or the situation around the story that may have an influence: i.e. war.

POINT OF VIEWThe perspective from which a story is seen or told. There are

three common points of view.

First person narrative- A character tells the story directly to the reader in first person (“I”). The reader knows how the character thinks and feels (has an “inside” view).

Third person narrative- occurs when a story is told from “outside” the character. Characters are referred to in the third person (as “he” or “she”). The narrator is limited to knowing the thoughts and feelings of only one character.

Omniscient- “all knowing” narrative tells the story from the knowledge of the thoughts and feelings of more than one, or all the characters.

• The characters in a book are NOT a reflection of the author, or the author’s opinions. Likewise, the narrator is NOT the author. The author does not necessarily share the same opinion, views, or values that the narrator has. You can analyze a narrator much the same way you might analyze a character.

• You might think about: – What motivates the narrator?– What role the narrator plays in the story – i.e. how might

the story change if the narration was changed?

MOOD/ATMOSPHERE

• The mood is the dominant feeling that surrounds the story, or the main emotion you experience as you read the story. The mood of a story may change. The mood or atmosphere is influenced by the setting, or specifically, the situation of the story.

For example, a book whose setting is a war would make a reader feel uneasy, cautious, and anxious.

THEME

• The theme is the main idea of the story that shows an important part of life or of being human. It is the main message that the author wants to tell the reader. The author blends the plot, character, setting, and outcome for the theme so that you get the message he or she is sending to you about people, or a situation.

To determine the theme, you might ask yourself, “what does the story tell me about life or people, or about a part of being a human?” The purpose of a story is not to TELL you the theme, but to bring it to life and to show how it is in read life. The reader must decide the theme for him/herself.

THEME• How to state a theme:

- the theme may be stated in one sentence, not one word- to state a theme, you should look at the MAIN idea that applies to the story instead of just one part of it.- here is a formula that you might use to help you figure out what the theme of a story might be:

CHARACTER + CONFLICT + OUTCOME = THEME

- be careful: a theme is NOT a lesson to be learned, or a moral. Do not ask yourself, “what does this story meant to teach me?”

• instead, ask yourself, “what does this story show me about life?”

FREYTAG’S PYRAMID

• Gustav Freytag (1816-1895) was a German novelist, dramatist and critic

• After analyzing Ancient Greek and Shakespearean drama, Freytag decided that dramas are divided into five parts or acts. This is often referred to as the dramatic arc.

• Narrative writing: A piece of writing that is written for the purpose of entertaining an audience of others.

FREYTAG’S PYRAMID

Exposition:Background informationof the plot that includes characters and setting.

Initial Incident:The very first conflictthat occurs in the plot.

Resolution:The conflict is resolvedand the we discover whetherthe protagonist achieves theirgoal or not.

Falling Action:Three events (or less) that unravel theconflict between the protagonist andantagonist that lead to the resolution.

Climax:The most suspenseful partof the plot. The turning point forthe protagonist’s character.

Rising Action:Three major events that addsuspense or tension to the plot (complications or frustrations)that lead to the climax.

Dénouement:The “tying up of loose ends”.