THE SHORT STORY

A short story Is a brief work of FICTION One main character faces a CONFLICT The conflict is resolved in the PLOT

There are 5 major elements in every short story Plot Setting Characters Point of view Theme

The plot The sequence of EVENTS Involves CHARACTERS and a problem (CONFLICT) Has 7 basic parts

CLIMAX MOMENT OF DISCOVERY RISING ACTION STORY TITLE FALLING ACTION INCITING INCIDENT RESOLUTION EXPOSITION

CLIMAX High point of interest or suspense MOMENT OF DISCOVERY The “ah-ha!” for the character RISING ACTION All the events leading up to the climax STORY TITLE FALLING ACTION All the events after the climax leading to the resolution INCITING INCIDENT Sets the plot in motion RESOLUTION EXPOSITION Introduces setting, characters, situation The conflict is resolved

CLIMAX High point of interest or suspense MOMENT OF DISCOVERY The “ah-ha!” for the character RISING ACTION All the events leading up to the climax FALLING ACTION STORY TITLE All the events after the climax leading to the resolution INCITING INCIDENT Sets the plot in motion RESOLUTION EXPOSITION Introduces setting, characters, situation The conflict is resolved

The setting The TIME of the story including HISTORICAL PERIOD, YEAR, SEASON, TIME OF DAY WHERE the story takes place including geographical LOCATION (region, country, state, town), SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, CULTURAL environment Presents the EXISTING SITUATION Provides a PROBLEM the characters must face and overcome

Characters The people or animals who PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTION Details are revealed through: physical DESCRIPTION words (WHAT THE CHARACTER SAYS) actions (WHAT THE CHARACTER DOES) interactions with others (WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT THE CHARACTER)

Point of view The vantage point from which the story is told First-person narration: the narrator is a character IN THE ACTION uses first-person pronouns; I, ME, WE Third-person narration: the story-teller REPORTS events the story-teller DOES NOT TAKE PART in the action

THEME The CENTRAL MESSAGE or INSIGHT INTO LIFE; the LESSON to be learned A GENERALIZATION about people or about life The main idea

The theme is NOT a summary of the plot.

The theme can be: STATED DIRECTLY IMPLIED The author expresses the theme directly in a sentence or two. IMPLIED The reader must “read between the lines” and decide what the work is saying about the nature of people or life.

Read between the lines to find the theme by analyzing: The TITLE = clues to the main idea The SETTING = details revealing the author’s attitude toward the world in general The PLOT = conflict and resolution of the conflict The CHARACTERS = actions, traits, motivations, moment of discovery, conclusions they draw

There are 5 major elements in every short story Plot Setting Characters Point of view Theme