short story

THE SHORT STORY

A short story• Is a brief work of FICTION• One main character faces a CONFLICT• The conflict is resolved in the PLOT

There are 5 major elements in every short story

• Plot• Setting• Characters• Point of view• Theme

The plot The sequence of EVENTS Involves CHARACTERS and a problem

(CONFLICT) Has 7 basic parts

CLIMAX

EXPOSITION RESOLUTION

RISING ACTION

FALLING ACTION

STORYTITLE

MOMENT OFDISCOVERY

INCITINGINCIDENT

CLIMAX

EXPOSITION RESOLUTION

RISING ACTION

FALLING ACTIONSTORYTITLE

MOMENT OFDISCOVERY

INCITINGINCIDENT

Introduces setting, characters, situation

All the events leading upto the climax

High point of interest or suspense

All the events after the climax leading to theresolution

The “ah-ha!” for thecharacter

The conflict is resolved

Sets the plot in motion

CLIMAX

EXPOSITION RESOLUTION

RISING ACTION

FALLING ACTIONSTORYTITLE

MOMENT OFDISCOVERY

INCITINGINCIDENT

Introduces setting, characters, situation

All the events leading upto the climax

High point of interest or suspense

All the events after the climax leading to theresolution

The “ah-ha!” for thecharacter

The conflict is resolved

Sets the plot in motion

The setting• The TIME of the story including HISTORICAL

PERIOD, YEAR, SEASON, TIME OF DAY• WHERE the story takes place including

geographical LOCATION (region, country, state, town), SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, CULTURAL environment

• Presents the EXISTING SITUATION • Provides a PROBLEM the characters must face

and overcome

Characters• The people or animals who PARTICIPATE IN

THE ACTION• Details are revealed through: physical DESCRIPTION words (WHAT THE CHARACTER SAYS) actions (WHAT THE CHARACTER DOES) interactions with others (WHAT OTHERS SAY

ABOUT THE CHARACTER)

Point of view• The vantage point from which the story is told• First-person narration: the narrator is a character IN THE ACTION uses first-person pronouns; I, ME, WE

• Third-person narration: the story-teller REPORTS events the story-teller DOES NOT TAKE PART in the

action

THEME• The CENTRAL MESSAGE or INSIGHT

INTO LIFE; the LESSON to be learned • A GENERALIZATION about people or

about life • The main idea

The theme is NOT a summary of the plot.

The theme can be:• STATED DIRECTLY• The author expresses the theme directly in a sentence or

two.

• IMPLIED• The reader must “read between the lines” and decide

what the work is saying about the nature of people or life.

Read between the lines to find the theme by analyzing:

The TITLE = clues to the main ideaThe SETTING = details revealing the author’s

attitude toward the world in generalThe PLOT = conflict and resolution of the

conflictThe CHARACTERS = actions, traits,

motivations, moment of discovery, conclusions they draw

There are 5 major elements in every short story

• Plot• Setting• Characters• Point of view• Theme