Elements of Short Story

Humanities 1
Short Story

 A work of fiction; fiction is anything imagined.

 A work of prose (written or spoken language in its ordinary form-no metrical
structure).
 Can usually be read in one sitting.
 As the name implies, it is short and concise. Shorter than a novel.
 Focuses on one incident or a series of connected incidents.
 Usually deals with only a few characters.
 Intends to evoke a single effect, mood, or point.
 Elements of Short Story
 Character
 A character is a person, or sometimes even an animal, who takes part in the action of a short
story.
 Protagonist- the main character. The world in the story revolves around him and his
life/experiences.
 Antagonist- the enemy of the main character; opposes the protagonist; hostile;
a plot device set up to create conflicts, obstacles, or challenges for the protagonist..
 Characters are:
 Round- fully-developed characters who are affected by the events of the story. They can learn,
grow, change, or even deteriorate after experiencing the events of the story. Has good and bad
traits; life-like and realistic.
 Flat- stereotyped character; not well-defined; bear little traits; minor character.
 Static- the character does not go through change (in personality, for example) even if years have
already gone by.
 Dynamic- characters who grow during the events of the story; undergoes permanent change of
personality because of some realization.
Elements of Short Story

 Setting
 The setting of a short story is the time and place in which it happens.
 Place- geographical location.
 Time- What period? Year? Time of the Day?
 Weather- Is it snowing? Raining? Sunny?
 Atmosphere- do you get a sinister feeling? Does the story make you feel afraid? Happy?
 Local colour- does the story tell or imply to you a specific place? Marawi City perhaps?
Padian? Do the characters wear hijab? Kimono? Something that is specific only in a
particular place?
Elements of Short Story

 Plot
 The plot is the sequence of events in the short story; main events which have
interrelated arrangement (cause and effect).
 It shows how the writer arranges the events in order to develop the idea he wants
shown to his readers.
 It has a logical sequence: a beginning, a middle, and an end.
 It has 5 key parts:
 Exposition- introduces the characters, the circumstances involved, and the setting.
 Conflict- the struggle present in the story.
 Climax- the turning point of the story. (The character acts to resolve the conflict).
 Falling action- Resolution starts and everything begins to fall into place.
 Resolution- final outcome of the story.
Elements of Short Story

 Point of view
 The angle from which the story is told. POV.
 First-person POV
 Pronouns “I,” “me,” and “we”
 The story is told through this person’s eyes. We experience what this person feels, thinks, and sees.

 Second-person POV
 The narrator directly addresses the reader or some person as “you.”
 “You wake up to discover that you have been transported to some other world.”

 Third-person POV
 The story is told by a character who sees everything, like all actions that happen or are happening.
 “He,” “she,” “they”
 Omniscient POV- God-like; all events are open to the reader by moving from one character’s mind to
another.
 Limited POV- the readers sees all happening but only through the eyes of the narrator.
Elements of Short Story

 Conflict
 The conflict is a struggle between two people or characters in a short story. The main
character is usually on one side of the central conflict.
 The main character may struggle against another important character (Man vs. Man),
against the forces of nature (Man vs. Nature), against society (Man vs. Society), or
even against something inside himself or herself (feelings, emotions, illness) (Man vs.
Himself).
Elements of Short Story

 Theme
 The theme is the central idea or belief in the story.
 The moral of the story.
 Usually the title emphasizes the message.
 You can check symbolisms, ironies, resolution to the conflict etc. to help you
determine the message.
 Common themes are:
 What people would do for power and beauty.
 Love is blind.
 You can be brave and courageous. You just have to find and believe in yourself—in both of your
strengths and weaknesses.
“That is part of the beauty of all literature. You discover that your
longings are universal longings, that you're not lonely and isolated
from anyone. You belong.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald