BAHASA DAN SASTRA INGGRIS

SHORT STORY

GROUP 3 :
1) Muhammad Haikal
2) Mutia Arum
3) Nayla Alifya A.
4) Yohannes Martha D.R.
 A. Definition of Short Story

Short story is a brief fictional prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and that usually
deals with only a few characters.

The short story is usually concerned with a single effect conveyed in only one or a few
significant episodes or scenes. The form encourages economy of setting, concise
narrative, and the omission of a complex plot; character is disclosed in action and
dramatic encounter but is seldom fully developed. Despite its relatively limited scope,
though, a short story is often judged by its ability to provide a “complete” or satisfying
treatment of its characters and subject.

Before the 19th century the short story was not generally regarded as a
distinct literary form. But although in this sense it may seem to be a uniquely
modern genre, the fact is that short prose fiction is nearly as old as language itself.
Throughout history humankind has enjoyed various types of brief narratives:
jests, anecdotes, studied digressions, short allegorical romances, moralizing fairy tales,
short myths, and abbreviated historical legends. None of these constitutes a short story
as it has been defined since the 19th century, but they do make up a large part of
the milieu from which the modern short story emerged.

B. Generic Structure of Short Story

• Introduction. Here’s where you introduce your readers to your characters and
establish your story setting and tone. I will dive into characters and setting more
in later posts. Your protagonist is usually called to action here. Popular Fantasy
writer Brandon Sanderson calls this an “inciting incident”, some sort of crisis point
that makes your character get out of his or her world (or comfort zone) into a new
world. Here you make some promises to your reader as to where the story leads
to.

• Confrontation. In the middle part, a writer has a difficult task to keep the reader
interested, before reaching the conclusion of the story. The protagonist and his or
her allies face some complications as they moving along. Often things get worse
for them and they need to find ways to tip the scale.
• Resolution. Which is what your main character tries to do in the last act. He or
she is actually doing something to tip the balance, face trials, solve problems. As
a writer, you have to build towards a satisfying conclusion here that is living up to
the promises you’ve made early on in the story.

C. Elements of Short Story

1) Setting: tells the readers where and when the story takes place.
Thetime and locationin which a story takes place is called the setting. For
some storiesthe setting is very important, while for others it isnot. There
are several aspects of a story's settingto consider when examining how
settingcontributes to a story (some, or all, may be present in a story):
place- geographical location.·time- (historical period, time of day, year,
etc)· weather conditions- rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?·social conditions- the
daily life of the character,local color·mood or atmosphere- What feeling is
created atthe beginning of the story?Is it bright and cheerful or dark and
frightening?

1) Characterization : cretion of imaginery-people who appear to be real to the

reader. The writer gives information about the characteristics in the story.
Character are the persons repesented in a dramatic or narrative work, who are
interpreted by the reader as possessing particular moral, intellectual and
emotional qualities by inferencesfrom what the persons say and their distinctive
ways of saying it the dialogue and from what they do the action.

There are two meanings for the word character:

• The person in a work of fiction
• The characteristics of a person

The chief character in a plot, on whom our interestcenters, is called the

prontagonist (or alternatively, the hero or heroine), and if the plot is such that he
or she is pitted against an important opponent, that character is called the
antagonist. If the antagonist is evil, or capable of cruel andcriminal actions, he or
she is called the villain.

Types of characters :
• Rounded Characters, A round character is complex intemperament and
motivation and is represented withsubtle particularity; such character
 therefore is as difficult to describe with any adequacy as a person in real
life, and like real persons, is capable of surprising us.

• Flat Characters, personalities that are presented only briefly and not in
depth, A flat character (also called a type, or “two-dimensional”), Forster
says is built around a single idea or quality and is presented without much
individualizing detail, and therefore can be describe adequately in a single
phrase or sentece.

• Dynamic, many sided personalities that change, for better or worse, by the
end of the story.

• Static, These characters are often stereotypes, have one or two

characteristics that never change that are emphasized e.g. brilliant
detective, drunk, scrooge, cruel stepmother, etc.

2) Plot : a series of events through which the writer reveales what is happening, to
whom, and why.
3) Point of view : the position of the narrator of the story and what the writer sees
from that vantage point.

• 1st pont of view : (I, me…)

• 3rd pointof view : (He, she, they, them…)

4) Value : the message the writer intends to communicate by telling the story. It is
different with topic. And must be written in a sentence.

Example :

Value of beauty and the beast is “don’t judge a book by its cover”

Topic : a lovely young woman who ends up falling in love with the beast.

5) Conflict : a struggle between two people or things in a short story. Conflict is

essential to plot. Without conflict there isno plot.It is the opposition of forces
which ties oneincident to another and makes the plot move.Conflict is not merely
limited to open arguments,rather it is any form of opposition that faces the
maincharacter. Within a short story there may be only one centralstruggle, or
there may be one dominant struggle withmany minor ones.
 There are two types of conflict:

• External- A struggle with a force outside one'sself.

• Internal- A struggle within one's self; a personmust make some decision,
overcome pain, quiettheir temper, resist an urge, etc.
There are four kinds of conflict:
• Human vs. Human (physical) - The leading character struggles with his
physical strength againstother men.
• Human vs. Nature- The leading characterstruggles the forces of nature.
• Human vs. Society(social) - The leading characterstruggles against ideas,
practices, or customs of other people.
• Human vs. Self (psychological) - The leadingcharacter struggles with
himself/herself; withhis/her own soul, ideas of right or wrong,
physicallimitations, choices, etc.
6) Theme: the central ideaa or belief in a short story

D. Languange Features of Short Story

the followings are language features of short story
1. Use of specific noun as pronoun of person or animal in the story.
For example: the queen, the kin, etc.
2. Use of past tense. Include simple past tense, past continous tense, past
perfect tense.
a. Simple past tense

E.g. there, he was surprised to find juliet on the balcoy

- romeo returned late that night
 b. Past continous tense

c. Past perfect tense

E.g. Romeo reaized he had made a terrible mistake

3. Use of present tense: include simple preent tense, perfect continous
tense, present perfect tense.
a. Simple prese
 b. Present continouos tense

4. Use of either first person singular or third person singular

I, Me, Mine He, him, his, she, her, hers, it, its
5. Use of action verbs.
6. Use of adjectives
7. Use of adverb of time
Example: every morning, tomorrow
8. Use of adverb of place
Example: in a small village
9. Use of time connectives and conjunction
Example: next, after, before, when.

E. Different Types of Short Story

Short stories come in all kinds of categories: action, adventure, biography,
comedy, crime, detective, drama, dystopia, fable, fantasy, history, horror, mystery,
philosophy, politics, romance, satire, science fiction, supernatural, thriller,
tragedy, and Western. Here are some popular types of short stories, literary
styles, and authors associated with them:

• Fable: A tale that provides a moral lesson, often using animals, mythical
creatures, forces of nature, or inanimate objects come to life (Brothers
Grimm, Aesop)
 • Flash fiction: A story between 5 to 2,000 words that lacks traditional plot
structure or character development, and is often characterized by a
surprise or twist of fate (Lydia Davis)
• Mini saga: A type of micro-fiction using exactly 50 words (!) to tell a story
• Vignette: A descriptive scene or defining moment that does not contain a
complete plot or narrative, but reveals an important detail about a
character or idea (Sandra Cisneros)
• Modernism: Experimenting with narrative form, style, and chronology
(inner monologues, stream of consciousness) to capture the experience of
an individual (James Joyce, Virginia Woolf)
• Postmodernism: Using fragmentation, paradox, or unreliable narrators to
explore the relationship between the author, reader, and text (Donald
Barthelme, Jorge Luis Borges)
• Magical realism: Combining realistic narrative or setting with elements of
surrealism, dreams, or fantasy (Gabriel García Márquez)
• Minimalism: Writing characterized by brevity, straightforward language,
and a lack of plot resolutions (Raymond Carver, Amy Hempel)

F. Example of Short Story

Bawang Merah Bawang Putih

A long time ago, in a nice quiet village, there lived a wealthy merchant with his
daughter--Bawang Putih who was obedient and kind-hearted. The merchant’s wife
had long since passed away. One day, he brought a woman whom he was about
to get married. The woman also has a daughter--Bawang Merah. They now
became Bawang Putih’s stepmother and stepsister.
When Bawang Putih’s father went to trade, the stepmother and Bawang Merah
always treated her like a servant. Bawang Putih did all the work such as cleaning
the house, cooking, washing clothes and looking for firewood that was ordered by
her stepmother. Whenever her work went wrong, the stepmother would punish her
by not feeding her.
Every morning, her stepmother and Bawang Merah took turns shouting at
Bawang Putih to wash their clothes, yet they did not give her enough time to finish,
and would even get mad because of their starvation. It made Bawang Putih’s body
became thinner until her father fell ill, she was very sad because of it. She never
left her father alone, but then God decided differently, her father died. She said in
tears “Father, don’t leave Bawang Putih!”.
All her life was more miserable, yet her stepmother and Bawang Merah were
excited because the property and house of Bawang Putih’s father now belonged
to them. They further tortured her, sometimes she would cry at night.
 On the other hand, they were in for quite a surprise. Because they found
venomous animals such as snakes, scorpions, and spiders inside the pumpkin.
They were bitten by the snakes and died in the middle of the forest. Their greed
brought them to disaster. Meanwhile, Bawang Putih became wealthy because of
the jewellery she had and continued her father’s business---She enjoyed the fruits
of her obedience and kindness.

Sample analysis of a short story:

Past tense: Orientation: Setting:

a) long time ago, in a niceA long time ago, in a nice in a nice quiet village.
quiet village, there quiet village, there lived
lived a wealthy a wealthy merchant with Character:
merchant with his his daughter--Bawang - Bawang Merah
daughter--Bawang Putih who was obedient - Bawang Putih
Putih who was and kind-hearted. The - Step Mother
obedient and kind- merchant’s wife had long - Bawang putih’s father
hearted. since passed away. One - Grand Mother
b) One day, he brought a day, he brought a
woman whom he was woman whom he was Plot:
about to get married. about to get married. - The merchants's wife
Etc. The woman also has a had long since passed
daughter--Bawang away
Present tense: Merah. They now - Bawang merah
a) they did not give her became Bawang Putih’s become Bawang Putih's
enough time to finish, stepmother and stepsister
and would even get stepsister. - Whenever her work
mad because of their went wront, the
starvation. Complication: stepmother would
b) On the other hand, they When Bawang Putih’s punish her by not
were in for quite a father went to trade, the feeding her
surprise. Because they stepmother and Bawang - Bawang Putih's body
found venomous Merah always treated became thinner until her
animals such as her like a servant. father fell ill
snakes, scorpions, Bawang Putih did all the - They found venomous
and spiders inside the work such as cleaning animals such as snakes,
pumpkin. They were the house, cooking, scorpions, and spiders
bitten by the snakes washing clothes and inside the pumpkin
and died in the middle looking for firewood that - Their greed brought
of the forest. was ordered by her them to disaster
stepmother. Whenever - Bawang putih became
hera) work
t went wrong, wealthy because of the
the stepmother
h would jewellery she had and
punishe her by not continued her father's
feeding
y her. business.
d
Everyi morning, her
stepmother
d and Bawang Confilict:
Merahn took turns Evil stepmother and
shouting
o at Bawang stepsister.
Putih t to wash their
clothes,
g yet they did not
give her
i enough time to
finish,v and would even
get made because of their
starvation.
h It made
Bawang e Putih’s body
became r thinner until her
fathere fell ill, she was
very sad
n because of it.
She never
o left her father
alone,u but then God
decidedg differently, her
fatherhdied. She said in
tears t “Father, don’t
leave iBawang Putih!”.
All herm life was more
miserable,
e yet her
stepmother
t and Bawang
Meraho were excited
becausef the property
and house
i of Bawang
Putih’sn father now
belonged
i to them. They
furthers tortured her,
sometimes
h she would
cry at ,night.
a
Resolusion:
n
On the d other hand, they
were win for quite a
surprise.
o Because they
foundu venomous
animalsl such as snakes,
scorpions,
d and spiders
insidee the pumpkin.
They vwere bitten by the
snakes e and died in the
middlen of the forest.
Their g greed brought
them e to disaster.
Meanwhile,
t Bawang
Putih mbecame wealthy
because
a of the jewellery
she had
d and continued
her father’s
b business---
She enjoyed
e the fruits of
her cobedience and
kindness.
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