Elements of a Short

Story

Prepared by:

Rigen V. Maalam
La Salle University
College of Education
5 Elements of a Short
Story
• Characters

• Setting

• Plot Development

• Point of View

• Theme
 Characters

• They are the peopie, or sometimes, the

animals that participate in the action of
a short story.

• They may be classified as major or

minor, depending on their role and
significance in the building of the
story’s plot.
 Protagonist/Hero/Heroine

- the central character in the story.

- always involved in the main conflict or problem of the story.

* Sometimes more than one character appears to be the protagonist of the

story.

* In short stories that are written in the first person, the narrator often is
the protagonist.
 Antagonist/Villain/Villainess

- the one who challenges or opposes the protagonist.

- may be one of the characters, a force of nature, a group of people,
or even some aspects of the protagonist’s personality.
 Setting

• It refers to the time and place in which the action of a story

occurs.

• It is one of the major elements of the short story.

 Plot Development

• It refers to the actions and events that take place in the story.

• Each event has a conflict or struggle which may be between or

among characters, within one character’s mind, or between a
character and nature, or society.
 Plot Development con’t…

• Each conflict has a point of interest.

• The story ends soon after the climax, sometimes without offering a
solution.

• Usually the reader is left to think about a probable solution to

the problem.
 Parts of the Plot:

* Introduction
- includes the setting and the characters
* Conflict or Problem
- the basis of the plot
* Climax or Turning Point
- the peak of interest and the strength of the plot
* Resolution or Conclusion, or the Denouement
- focuses on the ending of the story
 Point of View

• It refers to the person who tells the short story.

• The two basic points of view are the first person and third person.
 Points of View

The story is in the first person point of view when one of the
characters is the one telling the story using his/her own words.

* Words, such as I, me, or myself are used.

 Points of View

The story is in the third person point of view when it is told by

someone who is not actually involved in the events.

* The happenings are usually told by the narrator.

 Theme

• It is the main idea or message of a story.

• It shows the important matters covered in the story that ranges

from friendship, love, reconcilation, cooperation, and many more.
 Example of a Worksheet
Title of the story: ________________ Plot:
Characters: 1. Introduction _______________
Protagonists/Heroes 2. Conflict ___________________
1. __________________________ 3. Climax ____________________
2. __________________________ 4. Resolution _________________

Antagonists/Villians Point of View: ___________________

1. _________________________
2. _________________________
Setting:
1. ________________________
2. ________________________
Theme:
_______________________
______________________________
______________________________
______________________________