21ST CENTURY LITERATURE HUMSS11 – STUDY NOTES, AUGUST 2021

ELEMENTS OF SHORT STORY

What is a short story?

- A short story is a work of short, narrative prose that is usually centered around
one single event.
- It is limited in scope and has an introduction, body and conclusion. Although a
short story has much in common with a novel, it is written with much greater
precision.

I. SETTING
Description of where and when the story takes place. In a short story there
are fewer settings compared to a novel. The time is more limited. Ask yourself the
following questions:
 How is the setting created? Consider geography, weather, time of day, social
conditions, etc.
 What role does setting play in the story? Is it an important part of the plot or
theme? Or is it just a backdrop against which the action takes place?
 Does the setting change? If so, how?
 Study the time period, which is also part of the setting, and ask yourself the
following:
 When was the story written?
 Does it take place in the present, the past, or the future?
 How does the time period affect the language, atmosphere or social
circumstances of the short story?

 Place – Geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place?
 Time – When the story taking place? (historical period, time of the day, year,
etc.)
 Weather Conditions – Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc.?
 Social Conditions – What is the daily life of the character like? Does the
story contain local color (writing that focuses on the speech, dress,
mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular or place)?

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  Mood or Atmosphere – What feeling is created at the beginning of the
story? It is bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?

II. CHARACTERS
Is a person, or sometimes even an animal, who takes part in the action of a
short story or a piece of literary work.
 Main characters - those who are most important in the story
 Minor characters - usually static or unchanging

Characters According to Principality

1. Protagonist – is the character with whom the reader empathizes
2. Antagonist – is the character that goes against the protagonist

Characters According to Development

1. Dynamic – a character that exhibits noticeable development. Goes through a
dramatic change as a character in the fiction
2. Static – a character who exhibits no changes and development. Has traits
which do not change throughout the story, the same from the start to the end
of the story.

Characters According to Personality

1. Round – is a character that displays different/multiple personalities throughout
the story. Has complex traits with distinct personality, background, and motive
2. Flat – it is the character that reveals conventional traits; who remains the same
throughout the story. Displays few character traits and often does not change in
the whole story

Characterization
o The method used by the writer/author to reveal the personality of the
character/s.
o Deals with how the characters in the story are described. In short stories
there are usually fewer characters compared to a novel. They usually
focus on one central character or protagonist. Ask yourself the following:

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  Who is the main character?
 Who or what is the antagonist?
 Are the main character and other characters described through
dialogue – by the way they speak (dialect or slang for instance)?
 Has the author described the characters by physical appearance,
thoughts and feelings, and interaction (the way they act towards
others)?
 Are they static characters who do not change?
 Are they dynamic characters who change?
 What type of characters are they? What qualities stand out? Are they
stereotypes?
 Are the characters believable?
 Do the characters symbolize something?
 Are they static characters who do not change?
 Are they dynamic characters who change?
 What type of characters are they? What qualities stand out? Are they
stereotypes?
 Are the characters believable?
 Do the characters symbolize something?

The characters are revealed according to:
1. Actions of the character
2. Thoughts of the character
3. Descriptions of the character
4. Descriptions of the other characters
5. Descriptions of the author

III. PLOT
The main sequence of events that make up the story. In short stories the plot is
usually centered around one experience or significant moment. Consider the
following questions:
o What is the most important event?
o How is the plot structured? Is it linear, chronological or does it move around?
o Is the plot believable?

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 Kinds of Plot
1. Linear Plot – Moves with the natural sequence of events where actions are
arranged sequentially.
2. Circular Plot – A kind of plot where linear development of the story merges
with an interruption in the chronological order to show an event that happened in
the past.
3. En Medias Res – A kind of plot where the story commences in the middle part
of the action.

Five stages
a. Introduction – the beginning of the story where the characters and the setting
is revealed.
b. Rising action – this is where the events in the story became complicated and
the conflict in the story is revealed (events between the introduction and climax.)
c. Climax – This is the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story.
The reader wonders what will happen next; will the conflict be resolved or not?
d. Falling Action – the events and complications begin to resolve themselves.
The reader knows what has happened next and if the conflict was resolved o not
(events between climax ad denouement.)
e. Denouement – this is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story.

IV. CONFLICT
Is the opposition of forces which ties one incident to another and makes the plot
move.
Usually, the heart of the short story and is related to the main character. In a
short story there is usually one main struggle.
o How would you describe the main conflict?
o Is it an internal conflict within the character?
o Is it an external conflict caused by the surroundings or environment the
main character finds himself/herself in?

Two Major Types

 External – a struggle with a force outside one’s self.

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 a. man vs. man – a type of conflict on character in the story has a
problem with one or more of the other characters.
b. man vs. society – a type of conflict where a character has a conflict or
problem with some element of society-the school, the law, the
accepted way of doing things, and so on
c. man vs. nature – a type of conflict where a character has a problem
with some natural happening: snowstorm, typhoon, avalanche, bitter
cold, or any elements common to nature.

 Internal – a struggle within one’s self; a person must make some decision,
overcome pain, quiet their temper, resist an urge, etc.
 man vs. self – is a type of conflict where a character has trouble
deciding what to do in a particular situation

V. POINT OF VIEW
The angle from which the story is told.

First-Person POV
the story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters who interacts
closely with the protagonist or other characters (using pronouns I, me, we, etc.)

Stream of Consciousness
the story is told so that the reader feels as f they are inside the head f one
character and knows all their thoughts and reactions.

Third-Person Omniscient POT (third person)

the narrator tells the story from all-knowing point of view. He can move
from character to character, event to event, having free access to the thoughts,
feelings and motivations of his characters and he introduces information where
and when he chooses.

VI. STYLE
The author’s style has to do with the his or her vocabulary, use of imagery, tone,
or the feeling of the story. It has to do with the author’s attitude toward the subject. In
some short stories the tone can be ironic, humorous, cold, or dramatic.

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 o Is the author’s language full of figurative language: metaphors, symbols,
personification, etc.?
o What images are used?
o What is the tone or mood of the story?

VII. THEME
 The controlling idea or the central insight.
 It is the author’s underlying meaning or main idea that he trying to convey.
 The theme may be the author’s thoughts about a topic or view of human
nature.
 The theme is built on a topic, such as death, hope, the American dream, etc.
and how the topic affects the human condition, society, or life. As a reader,
focus on what the story is revealing about the topic. The theme should be
expressed as a statement, a general observation about human nature.

To help you write a thematic statement, consider the following:

 What is the story about – its general topic(s) (IE: money, wealth, death,
etc.)?
 How is the topic developed? (Consider how characters change, symbols,
climax, etc.)
 Do you notice any patterns in imagery, diction, etc.?
 Does the title have any significance?
 Does the narrator or character include any statement(s) that reveals a
theme or observation?

What a theme is NOT:

○ a word or phrase (topic or subject)
○ a command
○ a judgment

To help you construct the thematic statement, make a list of important images,
topics, etc. found in the text. Try to create a statement that includes the words in your
list.