1. Elements of a Short Story
A short story is a work of fiction that can be read in one setting

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

3. 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.

4. Elements of a Short Story
Plot
- exposition statement
- rising action
- conflict
- climax
- falling action
- resolution
Theme
Setting
Characters
Point of view
Characterization

5. Plot
Plot is the organized pattern or sequence of events that make up a story
Every plot is made up of a series of incidents that are related to one another like a chain
Suspense builds as the series of related events hook our curiosity
Built around conflict, which is a struggle between opposing forces

6. 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.

7. Plot Diagram
Climax
Falling Action
Rising Action
Resolution
Exposition

8. 1. Exposition/Basic Situation
This usually occurs at the beginning of a short story. It usually gives the background of the story.
Setting:
Where = geographic location
When = date, season, time period
Why = situation in which the story is set (context)
Main Characters:
Protagonist: name
Antagonist: name/force
Most importantly, we are introduced to the main conflict (main problem).

9. 1. Exposition/Basic Situation
Example ~ Cinderella
The basic situation shows us Cinderella, a beautiful and good heroine, in a conflict with her evil stepmother and nasty stepsisters.

10. 2. Rising Action/Complication
Main conflict is introduced
A building of interest or suspense occurs.
To find this, ask: what causes the climax to occur?
Which type of conflict?

11. 2. Rising Action/Complication
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.

12. 3. Climax Turning Point of the story
Usually the main character comes face to face with a conflict.
The main character will change in some way.
May also be the event that involves the moment of greatest tension or crisis

13. 3. Climax Example ~ Cinderella
The Prince makes a house-to-house search for the foot that fits the slipper and finds that foot on Cinderella.

14. 4. Falling Action(s) Minor plot developments are resolved
The conflict(s) and climax are taken care of.
To find this, ask: what happened as a result of the climax?

15. 4. Falling Action(s) Example ~ Cinderella:
Cinderella and the Prince make preparations for their wedding.

16. 5. Resolution/Denouement
Main conflict is resolved
Usually ties up the loose ends
The resolution must involve the protagonist or it isn’t the resolution

17. 5. Resolution/Denouement
The final part of the story. (The French word, denouement, means “unraveling the knot”).
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.

18. Putting It All Together
1. Exposition
2. Rising Action
3. Climax
4. Falling Action
5. Resolution
Beginning of Story
Middle of Story
End of Story

19. The plot of a short story centers around conflict
The plot of a short story centers around conflict. Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces Complications build the reader’s excitement

20. Setting = time and place
Puts the reader in the story by giving the reader the feeling of being in the situation
Creates atmosphere by the positive or negative feelings associated with the place.
Where and when the story takes place
Described by using imagery= Language that appeals to the five senses:
Sight
Hearing
Touch
Smell
Taste

21. Setting Sets the story’s mood and atmosphere A dark and stormy night
A bright, sunny
day
A castle on the edge of a cliff

22. Three Elements of Setting:
Location
The geographical location the story takes place in
Time
The time in history (or the future) in which the story takes place
Environment
The type of surroundings in which the story takes place.
PLEASE NOTE: Many of these elements intertwine in writing and aren’t “distinct.”

23. Characters The people about whom the story is written
“Characters in the plot connect us with the vastness of our secret life, which is endlessly explorable.” – Eudora Welty
Characters
The people about whom the story is written
The story’s “actors”
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.

24. Types of Characters Main and Minor Protagonist and Antagonist
Round and Flat
Dynamic and Static

25. Main Characters: Protagonist
Protagonist = is the main character or hero in the story.
The action of the story revolves around the protagonist and the conflict he or she faces.

26. Main Characters: Antagonist
Antagonist – is the person or force working against the protagonist, or hero, of the work.
The protagonist must overcome the antagonist.

27. Minor Characters
Add depth and complication to the plot

28. Round Characters: three-dimensional
A round character is a major character in a work of fiction who encounters conflict and is changed by it.
Round characters tend to be more fully developed and described than flat, or minor characters
Have many different character traits that sometimes contradict each other
Are complex characters with strengths and weaknesses
We know a lot about them
Are much like real people, with several sides to their personality

29. Flat Characters: two-dimensional
Flat characters are minor characters in a work of fiction who do not tend to undergo substantial emotional change or growth.
Flat characters are the opposite of round characters.
Have only one or two character traits that can be described in a few words
Have no depth, like a piece of cardboard
Have not been fully developed
We know little about them

30. Round or Flat Characters
Round Character
Flat Character
Well-developed
Not well-developed
Has many traits, both good and bad
Does not have many characters traits
Not easily defined because we know details about the character
Easily defined in a single sentence because we know little about the character
Realistic and life-like
Sometimes stereotyped
Most major characters are round
Most minor characters are flat

31. Dynamic Characters
A dynamic character, is one that does undergo an important change in the course of the story.
Learn something about themselves, other people, or the world as they struggle to resolve their conflicts
The changes that a dynamic character undergoes contribute to the meaning of the story

32. Static Characters
A static character is one that does not undergo important change in the course of the story
They remain essentially the same at the end as he or she was at the beginning.

33. Dynamic or Static Character
Dynamic Character
Static Character
Undergoes an important change in personality in the story
Remains the same throughout the story
Comes to some sort of realization that permanently changes the character
Although something may happen to the character, it does not cause the character to change
A change occurs within the character because of events of the story
The protagonist is usually dynamic, but not always
Minor character are usually static

34. “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
There are two types of characterization: direct and indirect
“STEAL”

35. Direct Characterization
Direct characterization is when the author TELLS the audience what the personality of the character is
The author specifically reveals traits about the character in a direct, straightforward manner
It is also important in showing the character’s motivation = refers to what characters want, fear, love and hate
Example: “The patient boy and quiet girl were both at the game.”
The author is telling us that the boy is patient and the girl is kind.

36. Indirect Characterization
Indirect characterization is when the author SHOWS things that reveal the personality of the character
There are FIVE different methods of indirect characterization: speech, thoughts, effect on other characters, actions and looks (STEAL)

37. Indirect Characterization cont.
Speech: What does the character say? How does the character speak?
Example: “Hey, we can have lots of fun at camp this summer! I love being outside!”
This shows us the character is upbeat and happy.
Thoughts: What is revealed through the character’s thoughts and feelings?
Example: “I wish it would stop raining. I am tired of siting inside!
This shows us the character is not happy about the situation.

38. Indirect Characterization cont.
Effect on others: What is revealed through the character’s effect on other people? How do other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character?
Example: The boy glared at his sister as she ate his dessert.
This shows us that the character is upset about his sister’s behavior and inability to think of others.
Actions: What does the character do? How does the character behave?
Example: The girl rode the lawn mower through the house and into the garage.
This shows us the girl is not concerned with rules or safety.

39. Indirect Characterization cont.
Looks: What does the character look like? How does the character dress?
Example: The little girl left the game with slumped shoulders and a frown on her face.
This shows us the little girl is not enjoying herself and is upset.

40. The Difference of Direct and Indirect Characterization
Remember, the difference between direct characterization and indirect characterization is TELLING vs. SHOWING!
Indirect Characterizations are like clues about the characters. There is no mystery with direct characterization because the author gives us the information we need to know!

41. Motivation Motivation: what drives a character’s action
It explain behaviors
It reveals personality
It is often based on character’s fears, conflicts, needs
Motivation can be inferred by observing characters’ behavior, speech, actions

42. Types of Conflict
External: Conflict between a character and another person OR a character and something non-human
Man v. Man
Man v. Nature
Man v. Obstacle or Society
Man v. Fate/God

43. Types of Conflicts continued
Internal Conflict: Conflict takes place inside a character’s mind – struggle between opposing needs or desires or emotions within a character.
Man vs. Himself/Herself (fears, self-doubts, etc.)

44. Point of View Who’s telling this story anyway?
The vantage point from which the story is told.
Determines how much we, the readers, know about the characters

45. First Person Narrator is a character in the story
Narrator uses first person pronouns I, me, we, us, or our to refer to himself or herself.
Narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of one character and speaks directly to the reader

46. Third Person Limited
Narrator does not participate in the action of story.
Narrator does not refer to himself or herself
Narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of one character, but readers are able to maintain some emotional distance from the character.

47. Third Person Omniscient
Narrator does no participate in the action of the story.
Narrator does not refer to himself or herself.
Narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters; readers get insight into several characters.

48. Third Person Objective
Narrator does not reveal any character’s thoughts or feelings
Only character’s dialogue and actions are narrated

49. Mood and Tone
Tone – is the overall feeling, or effect, created by a writer’s use of words. This feeling may be serious, humorous, or satiric, etc.
Mood – is the feeling a text arouses in the reader: happiness, peacefulness, sadness, etc.

50. What is a symbol??

51. Symbol A symbol is a person, a place, an activity, or an object that stands for something beyond itself.

52. Theme
A theme is the universal message or truth about life that an author expresses through a work of literature.
It is ONE statement (sentence)
In most cases, the theme is not stated directly but must be inferred.
Themes can be revealed by
A story’s title
Key phrases and statements about big ideas
The ways the characters change and the lessons they learn about life

53. CONCLUSION
Now that we have identified and defined the elements of a short story, let us use the elements to analyze a short story.

55. Bibliography
Dinneen, K. Elements of the Short Story. Retrieved Jun , 2003, from Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute:
Five Elements of a Story. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003,
Guevin, D. Short Story Elements. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003,
Anderson, Robert, Et. al. Elements of Literature. Austin: Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1989.