Elements of a Short Story

OBJECTIVES Identify elements of a short story Define elements of a short story Demonstrate mastery of short story elements

OVERVIEW Short stories often contain structural and character elements that should be familiar to you. These elements can be used as guides to help you think about the actions, themes, and contexts of the story.

Elements of a Short Story Plot - exposition -inciting incident - rising action - climax - falling action - resolution/ denouement Theme Setting Characters Conflict Point of View Characterization

THEME The main idea of a literary work, usually expressed as a generalization and in sentence form. Example: “Forgiveness is the key to true happiness.” What is the thematic topic of that theme?

Theme The theme is the central, general message, the main idea, the controlling topic about life or people the author wants to get across through a literary work To discover the theme of a story, think big. What big message is the author trying to say about the world in which we live? What is this story telling me about how life works, or how people behave?

The Theme is also the practical lesson (moral) that we learn from a story after we read it. The lesson that teaches us what to do or how to behave after you have learned something from a story or something that has happened to you. Example: The lesson or teaching of the story is be careful when you’re offered something for nothing.

SETTING The time and place in which the story is set. Setting also includes the mood, atmosphere, weather conditions, and economical status. What is the setting that you are in now?

Setting Time and place are where the action occurs Details that describe: Furniture Scenery Customs Transportation Clothing Dialects Weather Time of day Time of year

The Functions of a Setting To create a mood or atmosphere To show a reader a different way of life To make action seem more real To be the source of conflict or struggle To symbolize an idea

Mood Mood is the feeling that the author tries to convey throughout the story. The atmosphere or emotional condition created by the piece, within the setting. Does the author want the reader to be frightened or sad, or does the story make the reader laugh and think happy thoughts? To figure out mood, examine how you feel while reading the story. Often mood is conveyed by the story’s setting.

“Characters in the plot connect us with the vastness of our secret life, which is endlessly explorable.” – Eudora Welty CHARACTERS Subjects in a story (humans, animals, etc..) The point of writing stories: telling us what human beings are like. Characters allow readers to “see” life from different perspectives and to “meet” new (or familiar) people.

Characters Protagonist and antagonist are used to describe characters. The protagonist is the main character of the story, the one with whom the reader identifies. This person is not necessary “good”. The antagonist is the force in opposition of the protagonist; this person may not be “bad” or “evil”, but he/she opposes the protagonist in a significant way

Types of Characters

“STEAL” CHARACTERIZATION The description of the personalities of the characters in the story and the ways in which authors reveal their personalities: Speech Thoughts Effect on other characters Action Looks “STEAL”

Characterization (to be continued in another Ppt.) Indirect Characterization Not directly stated, but implied After Ally’s mom died, Sam came over everyday to make sure Ally was okay. Sam helped with the house upkeep and even made dinner for Ally’s family” Readers can INFER that Sam is an amazing friend or even a relative. There is obviously a close relation between Sam and Ally. Direct Characterization Author directly states traits in the text “She was brown-skinned and had eyes like hellfire.”

PLOT The sequence or order of events in a story, each event connected to the next like a chain. Each event in a plot “hooks” our curiosity and pulls us forward to the next event. Suspense builds as the series of related events hook our curiosity.

Types of Linear Plots Chronological Flashback In media res (in the middle of things): when the story starts in the middle of the action without an exposition.

CHRONOLOGICA PLOT DIAGRAM Freytag’s Pyramid The plot includes the following (6) parts: Climax Rising Action Conflict Inciting Incident Falling Action Exposition Resolution/ Denouement

1. Basic Situation/Exposition Exposition Statement – This is the part of the plot that tells how the story begins. The character, conflict, and setting are usually introduced. Example ~ Cinderella The basic situation shows us Cinderella, a beautiful and good heroine, in a conflict with her evil stepmother and nasty stepsisters.

2. Inciting Incident (or "exciting incident" as someone once referred to it) is the event or decision that begins a story's problem. Sets story into motion Example: The Prince announces that he will be hosting a ball for all of the kingdom to attend. Ladies are thrilled because they want to marry the Prince.

3. Rising Action/Complication The part of the story in which the main character takes some action to resolve the conflict and meets with problems or complications: danger, fear, hostility, etc. Example ~ Cinderella Cinderella wants to go to the ball. Her stepmother says “No,” but a Fairy Godmother promises to get her to the ball if she obeys one rule: “Be home by midnight.” Cinderella goes to the ball, the Prince falls in love with her, she flees at midnight, and she loses one of her glass slippers.

4. Climax Climax: the KEY scene of the story. The turning point That tense or exciting moment when we realize what the outcome of the conflict is going to be. Example ~ Cinderella The Prince makes a house-to-house search for the foot that fits the slipper and finds that foot on Cinderella.

5. Falling Action(s) All of the action which follows the climax Example ~ Cinderella: Cinderella and the prince make preparations for their wedding.

6. Resolution/Denouement The final part of the story. (The French word, denouement, means “unraveling the knot”). You learn how the conflict is resolved and what happens to the characters. Example ~ Cinderella Cinderella marries the Prince and they live happily ever after. In the original Girmm story, you also learn that ravens peck out the eyes of the evil stepmother.

Conflict = Struggle

Conflict External Conflict: Conflict between a character and another person OR a character and something non-human. - Man vs. Man - Man vs. Society - Man vs. Nature - Man vs. Supernatural

Conflict Internal Conflict: Conflict takes place inside a character’s mind Man vs. Self (fears, self-doubts, etc.)

Point of View First Person Point of View- a character from the story is telling the story; uses the pronouns “I” and “me” Third Person Point of View- an outside narrator is telling the story; uses the pronouns “he”, “she”, “they”

Types of Third-Person Point of View Third-Person Limited The narrator knows the thoughts and feelings on only ONE character in a story. Third-Person Omniscient The narrator knows the thoughts and feeling of ALL the characters in a story.