What is a short story? Brief (short) work of fiction Has plot, setting, characters and dialogue (like novel)
How is a short story different than a novel? Shorter, can be read in one sitting Contains less characters and other details Concise: author begins story close to climax (main
event) Edgar Allan Poe, father of short story, believed a
short story leaves a single dominant impression on the reader—story is usually built around one character, place, idea or act
Characteristics of a Short Story
Elements of Short Story: Setting
Setting: time and place of a story’s action-background against which incidents of story take place-helps to create tone or feeling in story
Example: “The story takes place inthe woods a long timeago…”
Elements of a Short Story: Characters
Characters: actors in the story’s plot.
Protagonist: main character
Antagonist: in conflict with main character
Example: Protagonist: Little Red Riding HoodAntagonist: Big Bad Wolf
Types of Characters: Flat character: reveals only one personality
trait Round character: many personality traits
(multidimensional much like an actual human) Dynamic character: changes throughout
the course of the story (Ex. a boy who once teased his brother starts to treat his brother kindly)
Static character: one who does not change in the story
Elements of a Short Story: Characters
Characterization: methods a writer uses to
tell us about the characters-through character’s actions-what others say about character-author’s word choice in descriptive passage
Direct characterization: author states directly what character’s personality is like (Ex. “the old man was very mean”)
Indirect characterization: authors show character in action, lets reader find out character’s personality through character’s actions, words, or other character’s observations or reactions (Ex. “the old man smiled a wicked smile”)
Elements of a Short Story:Characterization
Elements of Short Story: Point-of-View
Point of view: perspective from which the story is told
Narrator: speaker who tells the story First-person: narrator is character in story—uses
“I” Third-person limited: narrator reveals thoughts of
only one character, refers to character as “he”, “she”
Third-person omniscient: narrator knows everything about the story’s events, reveals thoughts of all characters
Example: “Little Red Riding Hood” is told from third-person omniscient point of view: narrator explains what Little Red Riding Hood is doing as well as what is happening to her grandmother
Elements of Short Story:Theme
Theme: Central message of the story
Stated theme: directly stated in the story
Implied theme: must be inferred by considering all the elements of the story
Example: The theme in “Little Red Riding Hood” is implied: be suspicious of things or people that do not appear the way they should.
Elements of a Short Story:Plot
Plot: Sequence of events in a story (what happens)
Plot is often created through conflict, a struggle between opposing forces
Elements of Short Story:Types of Conflict
External Conflict: struggle between character and outside forces (another character, nature, society or fate)
Person vs. Person Person vs. Nature Person vs. Society
Internal Conflict: struggle takes place in the mind of the character
Person vs. Self
Example: In “Little Red Riding Hood,” the conflict is external person to person conflict: Little Red Riding Hood vs. the wolf.
Most short stories have a specific formula and
develop in 5 stages: Exposition: introduces the story’s characters,
setting and conflict Rising Action: occurs as complications, twists,
and conflict happen in the plot Climax: action reaches its highest point Falling action: decline in action that comes
after climax Resolution: the conclusion of the story—
central conflict is ended or resolved
Short Story Structure:Plot Stages
Short Story Diagram
Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts
Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax
Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action
Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax
Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads
1. Little Red Riding Hood begins walking through the forest
with a basket for her grandmother.2. Little Red Riding Hood comments on grandmother’s teeth
—he responds by eating her.3. The woodsman arrives to the scene to discover the wolf
dressed in the bonnet of the grandmother.4. The woodsman kills the wolf and out steps the
grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood, happy and safe.5. The big bad wolf spots Little Red Riding Hood walking and
asks her where she is going.6. Wolf eats grandmother; disguises himself as grandmother
Little Red Riding Hood arrives at her grandmother’s house and sits at her bedside.
Mapping Activity
Group Activity: Diagram “Little Red Riding Hood”
Exposition: Little Red Riding Hood begins walking through the forest with a basket for her grandmother.
Rising Action: The big bad wolf spots Little Red Riding Hood walking and asks her where she is going.
Climax: Little Red Riding Hood comments on grandmother’s teeth—he responds by eating her.
Falling Action: The woodsman arrives to the scene to discover the wolf dressed in the bonnet of the grandmother.
Resolution: The woodsman kills the wolf and out steps the grandmother and Little Red Riding Hood, happy and safe.
--Wolf eats grandmother; disguises himself as grandmother.
--Little Red Riding Hood arrives at her grandmother’s house and sits at her bedside.
Short Story Elements:Mood, Tone, Style and Imagery Mood: overall feeling in
a story (dark, happy or gloomy)
Tone: clues that tell writer’s attitude about the subject of the story
Style: unique way the author tells the story
Imagery: words or “word pictures” writers use that help reader imagine smells, sights, tastes and sounds in story (Ex. The smell of the crisp bacon sizzling on the stove wafted through the house).
Short Story Elements:Foreshadowing, Flashback &
Suspense Foreshadowing: gives
reader clues about events that will happen later in the story
Suspense: technique author uses to keep reader interested in the story
Flashback: earlier episode, conversation, or event is inserted into the story (the story “flashes” back to the past)
Irony: A contrast between appearance and
reality Verbal Irony – saying one thing but meaning
something completely different Calling a clumsy basketball player “Michael
Jordan” Situational Irony – A contradiction between
what we expect to happen and what really does happen
Dramatic Irony – occurs when the reader knows something important that the characters in the story do not know
Short Story Elements:Irony
Short Story Elements:Dialogue, Diction, and Dialect
Dialogue: conversation between characters in a story
Diction: an author’s choice of words Denotation: literal meanings
of words (Ex: Abercrombie & Fitch denotes a clothing store)
Connotation: images or associations that word might suggest (Ex: Abercrombie & Fitch brings up connotations (associations) of teenage popularity, wealth, etc.
Dialect: language spoken by people of a certain region (Ex. Southern dialect)