Analysing a Short Story

The basic components of a short story

1. Plot (introduction, conflict, climax, resolution )
The sequence of events or incidents of which the story is composed. In the plot there may be different kinds of conflicts (person against person person against environment person against him/herself). Artistic unity is essential to a good plot; nothing irrelevant should be there that does not contribute to the total meaning. A good plot should not have any unjustified or unexpected turns or twists, no false leads. * What is the basic story line? * What is the main conflict? * What are the minor conflicts? * How are the conflicts related? *What/Who caused the conflicts? * Are the conflicts internal or external? * How is the conflict resolved? * Where does the main climax occur? * Why does the main climax occur? * Is there more than one climax? * How does the story end?

2. Characters
The character can be presented directly or indirectly. A flat character is known by one or two traits; a round character is complex and manysided; A stock character is a stereotyped character; A static character remains the same from the beginning of the plot to the end; and a dynamic character undergoes permanent change. The protagonist is the central character. The forces working against him or her are called the antagonists. The characteristics of a person The author reveals the character to us in several ways, including: *His/her physical appearance, age, gender, etc. *What he/she says *What he/she does or does not do *What others say about him/her and their reactions to him/her About a specific character * What is the character like? * How is X person characterized by the author? * What are his/her character traits? * Is he or she flat, round, dynamic or static? * What makes him or her complex (if he or she is)? Does he/she change? * How and why does he or she change? *What sort of self realization does he/she experience?

About the characters in general * Do the characters understand each other and themselves? * Who is the protagonist? * Is there an antagonist? Who (or what) is the antagonist? * What do the characters learn? * Does the author want us to compare one character to another?

3. The theme
It is the controlling idea or central insight. It can be 1) a revelation of human character; 2) may be stated briefly or at great length 3) a theme is not the moral of the story. * What is the theme (what is this story about)? * What is the author trying to say about that subject? * How does the author communicate this theme (how do you know what the theme is)? The theme could be summed up in one word (such as death) or could be summed up in a phrase. Theme is subjective. Not everyone may agree on what the theme is. Some examples of themes from Literature, TV and film are: Love is blind, Death is final, People are afraid of change

4. The setting and time

It is so to say the framework of the action * Where does the action take place * What time period, time of the day, time of year, etc. Does this action take place? * How long does it take for the action to occur? *What is the social environment of the place and time? *How does this time and place affect the characters? *How does it affect the readers perception of the characters?

5. Irony
A term with a range of meanings, all of them involving some sort of discrepancy or incongruity. It should not be confused with sarcasm, which is simply language designed to cause pain. Irony is used to suggest the difference between appearance and reality, between expectation and fulfilment, the complexity of experience * Are there important ironies in the work? * What kind of ironies are in the work? * What do these ironies reveal to the reader?

6. Symbols
A literary symbol means more than what it is. It has layers of meanings. Whereas an image as one meaning, a symbol has many. * Are there important symbols in the work? * What do they mean? * How do you know they are symbols?