LITERARY

ELEMENTS,
STRUCTURES AND
TRADITION
ELEMENTS
OF SHORT
STORY
 CHARACTER

Character is a person, or
sometimes even an animal,
who takes part in the action
of a short story or a piece
of literary work.
 MAIN CHARACTER

-those who are

most important in
the story.
 MINOR CHARACTER

-usually static or
unchanging.
Characters According To
Principality

1. Protagonist is the
character with whom
the reader
empathizes.
2. Antagonist is the
character hat goes
against the
protagonist.
Characterization is the
method used by the
writer/author to reveal the
personality of the character/s.
The characters are revealed
according to:
1. Actions of the
character
2. Thoughts of the
character
3. Descriptions of the
character
4. Descriptions of
other characters
5. Descriptions of
the author
 SETTING

 Setting is the time and place

that a story occurs.
PLACE

-Geographical
location. Where is
the action of the
story taking place.
 TIME
- When is the story taking
place?
(historical period, time
of day,year,etc.
WEATHER
CONDITIONS
-Is it rainy, sunny,
stormy, etc.
SOCIAL
CONDITIONS
-What is the daily life
of the characters like?
Does the story contain
local color?
 MOOD or ATMOSPHERE
- What feeling is created at
the beginning of the story?
Is it bright and cheerful or
dark and frightening?
Authors often use
descriptions of landscape,
scenery, buildings, season
or weather to provide a
strong sense of setting.
 PLOT
 Plot is a pattern of events that
develop from the interactions
between characters.
 A plot is a series of events and
character actions that relate to
the central conflict.
 It is the main action that runs
through the whole story.
There are 5 elements of plot:
Exposition or Introduction
- The beginning of the story
where the characters and
setting is revealed.
Rising Action
- This is where the events in
the story become
complicated and the conflict
in the story is revealed.
Climax
- This is the highest point and the
turning point of the story. The
readers wonder that will happen
next; will the conflict be resolved
or not?
Falling Action
- The events and
complications begin to resolve
themselves. The readers knows
what has happened next and if
the conflict was resolve or not.
Conclusion or Resolution
- The part of the plot that
concludes the falling action
by revealing or suggesting
the outcome of the conflict.
FREYTAG PYRAMID
 CONFLICT
 Conflict is any of the problem that
a character encounters in a story.
 The conflict is a struggle between
two people or things in a short
story.
Conflicts can be:
1. External- A struggle with a force
outside one’s self.
2. Internal- A struggle within one’s
self; a person must make some
decision, overcome pain, quiet their
temper, resist an urge, etc.
TYPES OF
CONFLICT
 A. MAN VS. MAN
- A type of conflict where
one character in the story has
a problem with one or more
of the other characters.
 B. MAN VS. SOCIETY
 a type of conflict where a character
has a conflict or problem with
some element of society-the
school, the law, the accepted way
of doing
things, and so on.
 C. MAN VS. NATURE
 a type of conflict where a character
has a problem with some natural
happening: snowstorm, typhoon,
avalanche, bitter cold, or any
elements common to nature
D. MAN VS. SELF
-is a type of conflict
where a character has
trouble deciding what
to do in a particular
situation.
THEME
 Theme in a story is its underlying
message, or big idea. It pertains
to critical belief about life is the
author trying to convey in the
writing of a novel, play, short
story or poem.
 The theme may be the author's
thoughts about a topic or view of
human nature. The theme is the
controlling idea or the central
insight. A theme can be expressed
as a general statement about
people or life.
 POINT OF VIEW

-the angle from which

the story is told.
There are four types of
Point of View:
 First person POV
–First person is when “I”
am telling the story,
relating his or her
experiences directly
Second person POV
 the story is told to “you.”
This POV is not common in
fiction, but it’s still good to
know (it is common in
nonfiction)
Third person POV limited
- the story is about “he” or “she.”
This is the most common point of
view in commercial fiction. The
narrator is outside of the story and
relating the experiences of a
character.
Third person POV omniscient
- the story is still about “he”or
“she”, but the narrator has full
access to the thoughts and
experiences of all characters in
the story
LITERARY TRADITION
One of the most fascinating
and challenging aspects of
literature is the vastness of its
historic and geographic range.
This means that through
literary texts, twenty-first
century readers like us can
have access to the lives and
thoughts, sorrows and
pleasures, fears and desires
not only of men and women
around us,but also those of
people who lived hundreds
or years before us or
hundreds of kilometers
away from us.
ORAL TRADITION
Is also called orality. The first
and still most widespread
mode of human
communication.
Oral Tradition is a form of
human communication in
knowledge, art, ideas and
cultural materials is received,
preserved, and transmitted
verbally from one generation
to another.
This transmission may
include speech, song,
folktales, ballads, chants,
prose or verses.