The Short Story English I. The Elements of a Short Story 1. Setting 2. Characterization 3. Theme 4. Point of View 5. Plot.

The Short Story

English I

The Elements of a Short Story

1. Setting

2. Characterization

3. Theme

4. Point of View

5. Plot

1. Setting

Setting= the __time___, __place__ and general background information in a story

Example- a town, city, or country Example- a historical time period

Example- a particular social status or lifestyle

The Purposes of a Setting

1. Establishes the story’s mood or atmosphere

2. Enhances or brings characters to life

3. Creates an illusion of reality (makes the story more believable, more real)

4. May be used ironically to contrast the action in the story and make it more dramatic or complex

2. Characterization

Characterization- the method an author uses to acquaint his or her readers with the characters in the story

Example: Pieces of information in the story that let the reader know about a character

Types of Characterization

____________________- the author gives clues about the character but places the burden for understanding the character upon the reader.

Example: Clues given through a character’s actions, words, etc.

Types of Characterization

__Indirect Characterization _- the author gives clues about the character but places the burden for understanding the character upon the reader.

Example: Clues given through a character’s actions, words,

hobbies, etc.

Types of Characterization ___Direct Characterization__- the author

clearly states the entire description of a character.

Example: “The man was tired; he had not slept in days.”

Notes about Characterization...

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Characterization continued…

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3. Theme

Theme- the central idea, universal truth, or “message” within the story

The theme of the story may be __clearly stated__ or ___implied____.

Implied themes are suggested indirectly through the experiences of the characters or through the events and setting of the work.

Application of Theme

A story’s theme is the idea you can take from the story and apply within some part of your life- or to humanity in general.

Example: The “moral” of the story. Examples of general themes:

Friendship Love Revenge Growing up

4. Point of View

Point of view- the voice of the story; the author’s choice of narrator for the story

Types of Point of View

__First Person_______- an actual character within the story (a limited point of view)

Example: “Scout” in To Kill a Mockingbird- she tells the story from her point of view

Types of Point of View

__Omniscient________- “all knowing,” the narrator stands out of the story and knows everything about all of the characters and action

This point of view is also called ___third person____omniscient______________.

Example: In “Star Wars,” words scroll across the screen at the beginning telling us the background story… “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away…” (Lucas)

Types of Point of View

___Limited Omniscient_____- the narrator is outside of the story and only has a limited amount of information (ex. only about one character or event). This is also called __third person limited omniscient _______.

Example: The short story, “The Secret Life of Walter Mitty”

Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows the a causal arrangement of events and actions within a story.

5. Plot Structure through Short Stories (Source adapted from: Readwritethink.com, used with permission)

Types of Linear PlotsPlots can be told in

Chronological order

Flashback

In media res (in the middle of things) when the story starts in the middle of the action without exposition

Pyramid Plot Structure The most basic and

traditional form of plot is pyramid-shaped.

This structure has been described in more detail by Aristotle and by Gustav Freytag.

Plot Components

Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts

Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax

Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action

Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax

Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads (Dénouement)

Conflict / Inciting Incident: something that captures the reader’s attention and keeps the story moving

Conflict Conflict is the dramatic struggle

between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.

Types of Conflict

Human vs. Nature

Human vs. Society

Human vs. SelfInternal Conflict

Human vs. HumanInterpersonal / External Conflict

External conflict: a struggle against an outside force

Internal conflict: a character’s struggle with himself/herself

Protagonist: the first or main character within a story, usually associated with the hero (but not always)

Antagonist: the character in direct opposition to the protagonist; he/she tries to stop the protagonist from achieving his/her goal

1. Poetic Justice

Poetic Justice: rewarding the good and punishing the bad usually in an unexpected or ironic way

2. Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing: clues the author gives to portray future story events

3. Suspense

Suspense: a feeling of uncertainty encouraging the reader to find out more about the story.

4. Mood

Mood: the atmosphere or feeling created in a literary work—usually created through descriptive details

5. Denotation 6. Connotation

Denotation: literal meaning of a word or phrase

Connotation: suggestive meaning of a word or phrase; a subjective, cultural and/or emotional coloration in addition to the explicit or denotative meaning of any specific word or phrase in a language, i.e. emotional association with a word

7. Irony

Irony: a difference or contradiction between appearance and reality or between what is expected and what actually happens

8. Situational Irony

Situational Irony: an event or situation that contradicts the expectations of a character, reader or audience

9. Verbal Irony

Verbal Irony: a character’s spoken words that present a contradiction between appearance and reality or between expectation and reality

10. Protagonist11. Antagonist

Protagonist: the first or main character in a story (usually associated with the hero); the character trying to accomplish something

Antagonist: the character who is directly opposite or in conflict with the main character and acts as an obstacle for him/her The antagonist is introduced after the protagonist

in the story.

12. Gothic Literature

Gothic Literature: literature style characterized by haunted mansions, secret passageways, old and mysterious buildings, dark secrets and dark tales of vengeance, revenge, and intense passions.

13. Reverse Psychology

Reverse Psychology: a method of getting another person to do what one wants by pretending not to want it or by pretending to want something else

14. Banality of Evil

Banality of Evil: the thesis that the great evils in history generally were not executed by fanatics or sociopaths but rather by ordinary people who accepted the practices and premises of their state and therefore participated in evil with the view that their actions were normal

banal : lacking originality, freshness, or novelty : trite

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Point of view: the voice of the story; the author’s choice of narrator for the story

First person: an actual character within the story tells the story (a limited point of view)

Setting: the time, place and general background information in a story

Symbol: something that stands for or represents something else

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Conflict: a struggle between two opposing forces External Conflict: a struggle against an outside

force Person against person Person against nature

Internal Conflict: conflict that occurs when a character struggles with himself or experiences opposing ideas or feelings at the same time