Elements of a Short Story



Elements of a Short Story

Characteristics of a Short Story

• a short story can be read in one sitting

• a short story involves characters in conflict

• a short story has few characters

• a short story has a single plot line

• the purpose of a short story is to impart to the reader a message about life

1. Character(s) – Any person in the story.

• Protagonist: the main character of the story

• Antagonist: the character or force in conflict with the main character

2. Point of view – Point of view is the position from which the narrator tells a story. There are four main points of view:

• First person: the narrator is a character in the story, relating events using personal pronouns such as “I” and “we”. The narrator can only relate to those events in which he/she is present.

• Omniscient: from the Greek word meaning “all knowing.” The narrator is not a character in the story, but rather an observer who can be in all places at once and know the thoughts of all characters.

• Limited Omniscient: similar to omniscient in that the narrator is an observer, not a character, but the limited omniscient narrator knows the thoughts of only one character and can relate only the events at which that character is present

• Second person (Objective): an attempt to make the reader a character in the story using the pronoun, “you”.

3. Characteristics – Personal human qualities such as bravery, jealously, cruelty, kindness.

4. a) Setting – A time and place in which the story happens or occurs.

b) Local Color – Detail of the regional setting (i.e., landscape, dialect, customs, etc.).

5. Theme – Message of the story.

6. Atmosphere – A cloud of feelings with which you envelop your story (i.e., falling leaves and rain used to create an atmosphere of sadness).

7. Mood – The feeling created in a reader by the events in the story (i.e., pity, joy, terror, etc.)

8. Suspense – A tense feeling of waiting or expectation; created by various means hinting at actions to come, putting the hero in danger.

9. Conflict – The struggles which is the basis of the story. There are three types of conflict. They are as follows:

• Physical: man against man; man against nature

• Mental: man against man; “outfoxing”

• Inner: man against himself

10. Plot – The arrangement of a series of incidents or events which lead by cause and effect, from the opening of the story to the climax.

• Crisis: turning point where the fortunes of the protagonist either improves or declines

• Climax: the moment of highest excitement or dramatic intensity

• Anticlimax: occurs after the climax

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