Reading Short Story

 definition
 Short Story is one kind of narrative text.
Short Story is a prose narrative of shorter length than novel, especially one the
concentrates on a single theme.
 Social Function of Short Story:
a. To amuse or entertain the readers with a story.
b. To teach a moral lesson through a story.
c. To provide unique literary experience through reading specific artistic genres.
d. To provide a path to understand human experience and brings in rich insights to one
self and to others who have special contribution of art to civilization.
 Structure of Short Story
Short stories belong to narrative text, so they have similar structure as the following:
a. Orientation
It introduces the character, setting, and the situations. It is the background
information.
b. Rising Action.
This include the events leading up to the main problem or conflict.
c. Climax.
This is when the problem reaches a high point. The story reaches a crucial moment.
d. Falling Action.
This is when the characters work to solve the problem or conflict.
It is sometimes called the denouement. This part of the story explores the
consequences of the climax. The tension in the story begins to ease.
 The elements that go into every great short story: 
1. Characters are people, animals, strange creatures or objects that think and talk.
Type of characters: Protagonist and Antagonist.
2. Setting is provides the locale (place) and period (time) of the short story.
3. Conflict is the series of events which leads to a climax, or high point of interest.
4. Plot :
 Exposition, the characters and setting are introduces.
 Conflict: the struggle between a character and some other force.
5. Theme is a general truth about life. This considered as the message of story to the
readers.
Example of short story:
Timun Emas

Orientation
This tale brings us to the mystical island of Java Indonesia. There was a widow named
Mbok Srini that lived alone on her farm.
Rising problem
The widow was a kindly woman and she was overwhelmed by loneliness and longed to
have a child by her side. When her loneliness became to much to bear. Mbok Srini decided to
pray to Bhuto Ijo for help. Butho Ijo was a mounstrous ogre who lived on the outskirts of the
village and was known to occasionally grant wishes to people. The monster offered to grant
Mbok Srini’s wish at a terrible price. “When the child turns six years old, you will return her to
me to become my meal”, he said. Despite the condition, the desperate woman agreed to his
demand. The giant then gave a single cucumber seed to be planted at her farm. In two weeks,
the cucumber started to bear fruit. In among them, there was one which was larger than the
rest that emitted a golden radiance. Splitting it carefully, Mbok Srini found a beautiful baby girl
inside. Filled with joy, she named the girl Timun Emas. Alas, she had come to love her daughter
over the years and couldn’t bear to lose Timun Emas and yet, she wouldn’t never be able to
stand up to the powerful ogre. Desperate for help, she journeyed to Gunung Kidul the Southern
Mountain to seek advice from a powerful hermit. After hearing her plight, the hermit presented
Mbok Srini, the four small pounches. “Give these to Timun Emas”, the hermit told her. They will
help your daughter againt the monster. The day finally arrived when the ogre came to Mbok
Srini’s house eager for her to fulfill her promise. “Where is my meal?” “Hey”. For hours the
monster chased after Timun Emas and Butho Ijo steady getting closer.

Falling Action
Remembering her mother’s advice, she threw the first of the pounches bag of cucumber
seeds at the monster. Vines of cucumber magically sprang fromg from the earth. The ogre
enticed by the fruit, stopped on its tracks to gorge on them. It wasn’t long before he ate them
all and resume his chase. Just as the monster was about to catch up Timun Emas, she threw the
second gift, the small bag of needles at him. The dense forest of shack bamboo trees appeared
where the needles had fallen trapping Butho Ijo. The giant ogre went through first to the
bamboo trees wounded and enridged.
Once more, as he near to Timun Emas, she tossed the third pouch full of salt at the monster
hoping to slow him down. Suddenly, an embracing and powerful tom to seek forming a giant
wave which swept the ogre off his feet. Butho Ijo wanted more than ever to catch this little girl,
who troubled him. Timun Emas had nowhere left to run and in her hand, she just held the last
of the hermit’s gifts. She buried the small bag as hard as she could at the monster.

Resolution
 She hurled the small bag as hard as she could at the monster. The bag containing spice
transformed into a boiling see of mud burning Butho Ijo’s skin. The monster struggled in the
mud, he shrieked and howled in pain. And then all was silent…..
Timun Emas has finally stopped Butho Ijo, once, and for all.
Returning to her house, her delighted mother embraced her in her arms. And they both lived
out their rest of their days in peace.

 Language Features of Short Story

The following are language features of short story.
1. Use of specific noun as pronoun of person or animal in the story.
2. Use of past tense.
3. Use of present tense.
4. Use of either first person singular or third person singular.
5. Use action verbs, for example, played, ran, etc
6. Use of adjectives, for example, lovely, beautiful, selfish, etc
7. Use of saying verbs, example, asked, said, answered, etc
8. Use of adverb of time, for example, every afternoon, one winter morning, etc
9. Use of adverb of place, for example. In a small village, etc
10. Use of time of connectives and conjunctions, for example, next, after, before, when,
etc

No Title Timun Emas

1 Social function To amuse or entertain the reader or listener
To teach a moral lesson through a story.
2 Verbs used Decided, offered, advice, threw, gave, catch,
3 Point of view Third person
4 Adjective used Mounstrous, desperate, golden, beautiful, powerful, delight,
carefully, emberace
5 Adverb of time used Once, in two weeks, the day
6 Adverb of place used The Farm, Gunung Kidul the Southern Mountain,
7 Connective and For, when, after, before,
Conjunction used

Moral Values are set of principles guiding us to evaluate what is right or wrong