READING AND WRITING FICTION

Short Story
-a brief work of literature, usually written in narrative prose.

7 Elements of a Short Story

1. Character - is a person, or sometimes even an animal. who takes part in the action of a short story or other literary
work.
Types of Characters
Round vs. Flat - (Aspects of the Novel, E.M. Foster)
- Flat characters are two-dimensional, in that they are not complicated.
- Round characters are complex figures with many different characteristics and undergo development, sometimes
sufficiently to surprise the readers.
Dynamic vs. Static
-Dynamic characters are the ones who change over the course of the story
-Static characters remain the same throughout

2. Point of View – is the angle of considering things, which shows us the opinion, or feelings of the individuals involved in a situation.
In literature, point of view is the mode of narration that an author employs to let the readers ‘hear’ and ‘see’ what takes place.

Kinds of point of view (POV)

First person POV- the narrator does participate in the action of the story. You will see the words "I," "me," or "we" in first-person POV
Examples:“It was times like these when I thought my father, who hated guns and had never been to any wars, was the
bravest
man who ever lived.” - To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee
“I cannot but conclude that the Bulk of your Natives, to be the most pernicious Race of little odious Vermin that
Nature ever suffered to crawl upon the Surface of the Earth.” - Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift
“I could not unlove him now, merely because I found that he had ceased to notice me.” - Jane Eyre

Second person POV- employs the pronoun ‘you’. When writing in second-person point of view, the writer has the narrator speaking
to the reader. The words "you," "your," and "yours" are used in this point of view.
Examples: In just a few simple steps you can make a big change in your life!
You gotta fight for your right to party! - "Fight for Your Right," Beastie Boys

Third person POV- the narrator does not participate in the action of the story, but let readers know how the characters feel. It uses
the pronouns “he, she, it, they, them, him, her, etc.”
Types
a. Third person Omniscient – “omniscient” means all-knowing. The narrator is not part of story but knows all the thoughts and
feelings of all characters.
b. Third person Limited – the narrator only knows the thoughts and feelings of one character.
c. Third person Objective- the narrator tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story’s action and
dialogue. The narrator is a detached observer.

3. Setting – the time and place in which the story happens

- This has been referred to as story world or milieu to include a context (especially society) beyond the immediate
surroundings of the story
- It may include culture, historical period, geography and hour.

4. Plot- a series of events and character actions that relate to the central conflict.
- sequence of events inside a story which affect other events through the principle of cause and effect.
- in the narrative sense, plot highlights the important points which have important consequences within the story (Ansen Dibell)
- plot is similar to the term storyline

Traditional parts of plot

Freytag’s pyramid - In 1863, Gustav Freytag, a German writer, advocated a model based upon Aristotle’s theory of tragedy. Freytag’s
pyramid divides a story into five parts and each provides function. These are exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution.
5. Conflict – the struggle between or among opposing forces.

Person vs. Self

"Man vs. Self" is the only true version of internal conflict you will find in literature. In this mode, the conflict takes place within
the mind of the main character, and often involves the character deciding between right and wrong, or other mixed emotions.
However, this struggle could also exist in the form of a character battling mental illness.

Person vs. Person

"Man vs. Man" is probably the most common form of external conflict, and is also known as interpersonal conflict. This mode
lies at the heart of all dramatic arts and places the struggle directly between the protagonist and the antagonist -- otherwise
known as the good guy and the bad guy.

Person vs. Society

This mode of external conflict occurs when the protagonist is placed at odds with a government or cultural tradition. This type
of conflict applies to societal norms as well.

Person vs. Nature

"Man vs. Nature" pits the main character against the forces of nature -- in the form of a natural disaster or a similarly
dangerous situation -- and is often associated with literary naturalism, which hinges on the idea that nature is indifferent to
humanity.

Person vs. Machine/Technology

"Man vs. Machine" can mean that a person is in direct combat with robots, in the context of science fiction, or it could mean
simply that technology stands in the way of the protagonist getting what she wants.

Person vs. Fate/Supernatural

"Man vs. Fate" exists in any story in which the protagonist is struggling against a god or gods. It is sometimes considered part
of "Man vs. Self" when focused on an internal, moral struggle, but should be considered separate in the context of epics --
such as the "Iliad" and "Odyssey," in which the gods are present antagonists.

6. Theme -the central idea or belief in a short story.

Two categories
- thematic concept is what readers “think the work is about”
- thematic statement being “what the work says about the subject”
Question: How does a writer develop a theme for a short story, poem or narrative?
-It really comes down to what the writer believes in life.
 2 Types of Theme
a. Major theme – the most significant idea in a literary work
b. Minor theme – an idea that is apparently related to the major theme
Example: Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice revolves on ideas about matrimony, love, friendship, and affection
The narrative revolves around the major theme of matrimony. The rest are minor ones.

7. Literary Devices
a. Flashbacking - The author interrupts the plot of the story to recreate an incident of an earlier time.
Example: It is common in movies for there to be a flashback that gives the viewer a look into the characters life when they
were younger, or when they have done something previously. This is done to help the viewer better understand the
present situation.

b. Foreshadowing - The author provides clues or hints as to what is going to happen later in the story.
Examples: “The leaves fell early that year.” This is a line in Ernest Hemingway’s opening line of A Farewell to Arms that
foreshadows an early death.
A gun is a sign of upcoming events. Sometimes it will be hidden in a drawer or glove compartment.

c. Allusion- It is a reference to a well-known person, place, object, or event. This can be real or imaginary and may refer to
anything,
including fiction, folklore, historical events, or religious manuscripts. The reference can be direct or may be inferred, and
can broaden the reader’s understanding.
Examples:
Literary Allusion
- “I was surprised his nose was not growing like Pinocchio’s.” This refers to the story of Pinocchio, where his nose grew
whenever he told a lie. It is from The Adventures of Pinocchio, written by Carlo Collodi.
- “He was a real Romeo to the ladies.” Romeo, the lead character in Shakespeare’s play, Romeo and Juliet, is considered to
be a true romantic hero, and won over Juliet against her family's wishes.

Biblical Allusion
- “He was a Good Samaritan yesterday when he helped the lady start her car.” This refers to the story of the Good Samaritan
who was the only one to stop and help a man in need.
- “This place is like a Garden of Eden.” The Garden of Eden was the paradise God made for Adam and Eve.

Historical Allusion
- French Revolution/Waterloo - A decisive or final defeat or setback; Belgian 1816, source of Napoleon's last defeat
- Martial Law

d. Deus ex machina - It refers to the incidence where an implausible concept or character is brought into the story in order to make
the conflict in the story resolve and to bring about a pleasing solution.
Example: If in a suspense novel the protagonist suddenly finds a solution to his dilemmas because of divine intervention.

e. Epistolary- comes from a Greek word, epistolē, which means “letter.” Epistolary is a literary genre pertaining to letters, in which
writers use letters, journals, and diary entries in their works, or they tell their stories or deliver messages through a series of
letters.
Example: Diary of a Young Girl (By Anne Frank)
A teenage girl, Anne Frank, wrote Diary of a Young Girl, recording her experiences during World War II. She recounts her
feelings and thoughts, including some important and some trivial details. After a month while writing this diary, Anne along with
her family members was forced into hiding in some building in Amsterdam to avoid religious persecution at the hands of the
Nazis.

f. Local Color/Cultural Implication - This is the use of local words and details such as weather, building, geography, manner of
speaking,
and others which reflect the culture in the said context.
Examples: The calling of Monsieur, Madame, Mademoiselle
 Caste system

g. Symbol - It is a character, an action, a setting, or an object representing something else and has deeper meaning in the context
Example: The phrase “a new dawn” does not talk only about the actual beginning of a new day but also signifies a new start, a
fresh chance to begin and the end of a previous tiring time.
My Father Goes to Court by Carlos Bulosan
When I was four, I lived with my mother and brothers and sisters in a small town on the island of Luzon. Father’s farm had
been destroyed in 1918 by one of our sudden Philippine floods, so for several years afterward we all lived in the town,
though he preferred living in the country. We had a next-door neighbor, a very rich man, whose sons and daughters
seldom came out of the house. While we boys and girls played and sand in the sun, his children stayed inside and kept
the windows closed. His house was so tall that his children could look in the windows of our house and watch us as we
played, or slept, or ate, when there was any food in the house to eat.

Now, this rich man’s servants were always frying and cooking something good, and the aroma of the food was wafted
down to us from the windows of the big house. We hung about and took all the wonderful smell of the food into our
beings. Sometimes, in the morning, our whole family stood outside the windows of the rich man’s house and listened to
the musical sizzling of thick strips of bacon or ham. I can remember one afternoon when our neighbor’s servants roasted
three chickens. The chickens were young and tender and the fat that dripped into the burning coals gave off an
enchanting odor. We watched the servants turn the beautiful birds and inhaled the heavenly spirit that drifted out to us.

Some days the rich man appeared at a window and glowered down at us. He looked at us one by one, as though he were
condemning us. We were all healthy because we went out in the sun every day and bathed in the cool water of the river
that flowed from the mountains into the sea. Sometimes we wrestled with one another in the house before we went out to
play.

We were always in the best of spirits and our laughter was contagious. Other neighbors who passed by our house often
stopped in our yard and joined us in our laughter.

Laughter was our only wealth. Father was a laughing man. He would go in to the living room and stand in front of the tall
mirror, stretching his mouth into grotesque shapes with his fingers and making faces at himself, and then he would rush
into the kitchen, roaring with laughter.

There was plenty to make us laugh. There was, for instance, the day one of my brothers came home and brought a small
bundle under his arm, pretending that he brought something to eat, maybe a leg of lamb or something as extravagant as
that to make our mouths water. He rushed to mother and through the bundle into her lap. We all stood around, watching
mother undo the complicated strings. Suddenly a black cat leaped out of the bundle and ran wildly around the house.
Mother chased my brother and beat him with her little fists, while the rest of us bent double, choking with laughter.

Another time one of my sisters suddenly started screaming in the middle of the night. Mother reached her first and tried to
calm her. My sister cried and groaned. When father lifted the lamp, my sister stared at us with shame in her eyes.

“What is it?” other asked.

“I’m pregnant!” she cried.

“Don’t be a fool!” Father shouted.

“You’re only a child,” Mother said.

“I’m pregnant, I tell you!” she cried.

Father knelt by my sister. He put his hand on her belly and rubbed it gently. “How do you know you are pregnant?” he
asked.

“Feel it!” she cried.

We put our hands on her belly. There was something moving inside. Father was frightened. Mother was shocked. “Who’s
the man?” she asked.

“There’s no man,” my sister said.

‘What is it then?” Father asked.

Suddenly my sister opened her blouse and a bullfrog jumped out. Mother fainted, father dropped the lamp, the oil spilled
on the floor, and my sister’s blanket caught fire. One of my brothers laughed so hard he rolled on the floor.

When the fire was extinguished and Mother was revived, we turned to bed and tried to sleep, but Father kept on laughing
so loud we could not sleep any more. Mother got up again and lighted the oil lamp; we rolled up the mats on the floor and
began dancing about and laughing with all our might. We made so much noise that all our neighbors except the rich family
came into the yard and joined us in loud, genuine laughter.

It was like that for years.

As time went on, the rich man’s children became thin and anemic, while we grew even more robust and full of fire. Our
faces were bright and rosy, but theirs were pale and sad. The rich man started to cough at night; then he coughed day
and night. His wife began coughing too. Then the children started to cough one after the other. At night their coughing
sounded like barking of a herd of seals. We hung outside their windows and listened to them. We wondered what had
happened to them. We knew that they were not sick from lack of nourishing food because they were still always frying
something delicious to eat.

One day the rich man appeared at a window and stood there a long time. He looked at my sisters, who had grown fat with
laughing, then at my brothers, whose arms and legs were like the molave, which is the sturdiest tree in the Philippines. He
banged down the window and ran through the house, shutting all the windows.

From that day on, the windows of our neighbor’s house were closed. The children did not come outdoors anymore. We
could still hear the servants cooking in the kitchen, and no matter how tight the windows were shut, the aroma of the food
came to us in the wind and drifted gratuitously into our house.

One morning a policeman from the presidencia came to our house with a sealed paper. The rich man had filled a
complaint against us. Father took me with him when he went to the town clerk and asked him what it was all about. He
told Father the man claimed that for years we had been stealing the spirit of his wealth and food.

When the day came for us to appear in court, Father brushed his old army uniform and borrowed a pair of shoes from one
of my brothers. We were the first to arrive. Father sat on a chair in the center of the courtroom. Mother occupied a chair by
the door. We children sat on a long bench by the wall. Father kept jumping up his chair and stabbing the air with his arms,
as though he were defending himself before an imaginary jury.

The rich man arrived. He had grown old and feeble; his face was scarred with deep lines. With him was his young lawyer.
Spectators came in and almost filled the chairs. The judge entered the room and sat on a high chair. We stood up in a
hurry and sat down again.

After the courtroom preliminaries, the judge took at father. “Do you have a lawyer?” he asked.

“I don’t need a lawyer judge.” He said.

“Proceed,” said the judge.

The rich man’s lawyer jumped and pointed his finger at Father, “Do you or do you not agree that you have been stealing
the spirit of the complainant’s wealth and food?”

“I do not!” Father said.

“Do you or do you not agree that while the complainant’s servants cooked and fried fat legs of lambs and young chicken
breasts, you and your family hung outside your windows and inhaled the heavenly spirit of the food?”

“I agree,” Father said.

“How do you account for that?”

Father got up and paced around, scratching his head thoughtfully. Then he said, “I would like to see the children of the
complainant, Judge.”
“Bring the children of the complainant.”

They came shyly. The spectators covered their mouths with their hands. They were so amazed to see the children so thin
and pale. The children walked silently to a bench and sat down without looking up. They stared at the floor and moved
their hands uneasily.

Father could not say anything at first. He just stood by his chair and looked at them. Finally, he said, “I should like to
cross-examine the complainant.”

“Proceed.”

“Do you claim that we stole the spirit of your wealth and became a laughing family while yours became morose and sad?”
Father asked.

“Yes.”

“Then we are going to pay you right now,” Father said. He walked over to where we children were sitting on the bench and
took my straw hat off my lap and began filling it up with centavo pieces that he took out his pockets. He went to Mother,
who added a fistful of silver coins. My brothers threw in their small change.

“May I walk to the room across the hall and stay there for a minute, Judge?” Father asked.

“As you wish.”

“Thank you,” Father said. He strode into the other room with the hat in his hands. It was almost full of coins. The doors of
both rooms were wide open.

“Are you ready?” Father called.

“Proceed.” The judge said.

The sweet tinkle of coins carried beautifully into the room. The spectators turned their faces toward the sound with
wonder. Father came back and stood before the complainant.

“Did you hear it?” he asked.

“Hear what?” the man asked.

“The spirit of the money when I shook this hat?” he asked.

“Yes.”

“Then you are paid.” Father said.

The rich man opened his mouth to speak and fell to the floor without a sound. The lawyer rushed to his aid. The judge
pounded his gravel.

“Case dismissed,” he said.

Father strutted around the courtroom. The judge even came down to his high chair to shake hands with him. “By the way,”
he whispered, “I had an uncle who died laughing.”

“You like to hear my family laugh, judge?” Father asked.

“Why not?”

Did you hear that children?” Father said.

My sister started it. The rest of us followed them and soon the spectators were laughing with us, holding their bellies and
bending over the chairs. And the laughter of the judge was the loudest of all.