Thurs. Nov. 7 Elements of Short Story

Today, we worked on note-taking skills using the following to introduce short stories.

The Elements of the Short Story

 

A short story is a brief work of fiction that can usually be read in one sitting.  Short stories generally focus on one or two main ideas.  They are works of prose (everything BUT poetry) which usually deal with a single conflict and a single theme.  When all of the elements of the short story genre (i.e. plot, setting, character and theme) work together to communicate this theme, the story is said to have unity (when everything works together).  Since stories tend to be brief (relative to novels and plays), they have few characters, only one main character, and no sub-plots.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.      Plot:  The chain of related events that make up a story.

a.      Exposition – the opening of a short story frequently provides background information that the reader needs to know.  It introduces the characters and situations, describes the setting, and may recap important events that occurred before the action of the story.  (The story’s conflict may also be introduced). Contains the initial five Ws.

 

b.      First Complicating Incident (initial incident) – this starts the Rising Action because it is the first indication of conflict or trouble.

 

c.       Rising Action – this is where the story progresses, the chain of events becomes more complex, the actions and feelings of the characters intensify as their problems become more complicated, and it creates a desire in the reader to find out what will happen next.  This is the main action or plot and is developed through:

 

1.      Conflict – one or more major problems in the story

 

2.      Suspense – the tension or excitement in a plot

 

3.      Motivation – why do the events occur?

 

4.      Plausibility – believability; lifelike

 

5.      Point of View – through whose eyes is the story presented?

a.      Omniscient – the story is told by the author, using the third person, and his/her knowledge and prerogatives (choices) are unlimited.  The author describes the thoughts and feelings of any or all the characters.  He/She knows all, and can tell as much or as little as he/she pleases. (God-like… or… Santa Claus!!!!!).   

b.      Limited Omniscient – the author tells the story in the third person, but is told from the viewpoint of only one character in the story (either a major or minor character).

c.       First Person – a character in the story tells it from his or her own point of view using “I” and “we” (either a major or minor character).

d.      Objective – an outside observer describes what he or she sees and hears.  With this point of view the reader is placed in the position of a spectator at a movie or play.  It is like a newspaper reporting.  The narrator does not know the characters’ thoughts and feelings.

 

d.      Climax – when the intensity of the story reaches a peak, a turning point in the action usually occurs.  The climax of a story usually involves an important event, decision, or discovery that affects the final outcome.  It is an emotional highpoint and the complication builds up to this climax.  It is usually near the end of the story, novel, play, movie, etc. Moment of highest intensity!!!!!

 

e.      Falling Action – Following the climax, the intensity of the story may decrease.  The falling action describes the results of the major events as the action winds down.  This explanation and/or unraveling of the plot is usually very brief. If it’s not there, the story is a cliffhanger.

 

f.        Conclusion/Resolution – this is the actual ending of a story.  In this section, any loose ends are tied up and any remaining questions are resolved.  It is often blended in with the Falling Action.

 

2.      Setting:  The time and place of the story (plot).

a.      Mood and Atmosphere – the ‘feel’ of the story that the writer creates in the reader through carefully selected details and words.  It is often set in the opening paragraphs.

 

b.      Local Colour – the proof of locality.  Things that are peculiar to a certain setting. (E.g. Speech, dress, food, animals, plants, geography, names, customs, etc.)

 

3.      Character:  The people, and sometimes animals, in the story.

a.      Dynamic or Round – these characters are complex (many sided), and they grow and change throughout the story (usually a main character).

 

b.      Static or Flat – these characters can be characterized by one or two traits, summed up in a sentence, and they do not change throughout the story.  Static characters are the same sort of persons at the end of the story as they were at the beginning.

 

c.       Protagonist – the main character in the story.  The plot is the series of closely related events which happen to the protagonist.

 

d.      Antagonist – the character working against the protagonist.  The antagonist may be another person or persons; it may be nature; or it may be the main character’s environment.  These are external conflicts.  Or the character may be between warring elements within the main character’s mind, such as the struggle between honesty and greed.  This is called an internal conflict.

 

e.      Characters are revealed through:

                                                              i.      What they say (words).

                                                            ii.      What they do (actions).

                                                          iii.      What is said about them by the author or by other characters in the story.

 

4.      Theme:  The central, dominating, unifying idea in a story.

a.      Themes can be morals.

b.      Themes usually arise out of characters and symbols.

c.       Not all stories have ‘great’ themes.  An author’s purpose may be simply to entertain.

d.      As readers, we do not have to accept the author’s theme, only to recognize it.