Elements of a Short Story

1.       Plot. The plot is the sequence of the actions and events in a story to convey a theme. It is the
skeleton or the blueprint of a story. The following terms explain what happens in a plot.

    a)      Exposition (Introduction) - This comes at the beginning of a story.

    b)      Rising Action (Complication) –n The struggle grows stronger.

    c)       Climax – The most exciting part in the story. It is the turning point.

    d)      Falling Action – Events move towards the end of the story.

    e)      Resolution (Denouement) – The study is brought to an end.

Kinds of Plot

    a)      Man in a hole. The action begins with a man or group of men getting trapped in some kind of a
hole, goes on to show how they try to climb out and ends with them either escaping to safety or sliding
back to the bottom for good.

    b)      Man on a road. This kind of pot is found more often in a novel than in a short story. A novel is an
expanded short story. It has the same elements as in a short story.  Many novels and short stories
achieve their unity, not through a single action, but through a single hero, walking through various
stages on the road of life. “Man on a road” is episodic. It tends to stretch out.
    c)       Man in a tub. Landy and others explain this kind of plot by giving a story of the Greek
mathematician, Archimedes who was once asked to determine whether a crown belonging to a ruler,
was made of pure gold. For some weeks he puzzles about the problem, but without success. He knew
that the silver weighs less than gold, but how could he measure any silver the crown might contain
without destroying the crown? Still baffled, he went one day to the baths, as he stepped into a tub,
observed the overflow of water. It suddenly dawned on him that he had found the solution to his
problem. So overjoyed was he by hi discovery that he forgot his towel and ran home through the street
naked, shouting “Eureka!”  (“I have found it!”) Man in a tub involves two steps: first a straightforward,
constructed, usually commonplace event, and then a flash of realization, can form the skeleton of a plot.

Devices in Plot

    a)      Chronological arrangement. It starts from the beginning of the events.

    b)      Medias res. This starts at the middle of the story.

    c)       Flashback. Past events are shown to justify the conflict at present.

    

    d)      Foreshadowing. The author presents insignificant events or details of the present to take on
value by being indicators of future events.

    e)      Stream of consciousness. A continuous and random flow of ideas, feelings, sensations,
association, and perceptions as they register on the protagonist’s consciousness.

2.        Conflict. The struggle or complication involving the characters.

Types of Conflicts:

                Man vs. Self- occurs when the protagonist struggles within himself or herself or the protagonist
is pulled by two courses of action or by differing emotions.

                Man vs. Man- Pits the protagonist against someone else. (Person-against-person)

                Man vs. Society- Person against society happens when the protagonist is in conflict with the
values of his or her society.

3.       Point of view. This refers to the angle of narration or form whose viewpoint the incidents in the
story are told. The person who tells a story is called the narrator. 

    a)      First Person Point o View. The writer narrates the story by using the personal pronoun “I” who
may be the central character or a minor figure who either observes or participates in the action.

    b)      Third Person Limited Point of View. The unidentified author refers to his characters in the third
person but limits himself by telling only what can be seen or heard inside the world of the story. It is
otherwise called “camera-eye technique” as the narrator does not reveal about what the character
thinks or feel.

    c)       Third Person Central Point of View. The narrator refers to his characters in the third person but
limits himself to narrating only what the central character thinks, feels, does and what and whom the
central character can observe.

    d)       Omniscient Point of View. The narrator acts as if he knows everything that happens including
the thoughts of the characters.

4.       Setting. This is the locale and period in which the events occur. A story must take place in space
and time, and, therefore, must have some setting. But the importance of setting varies greatly from
story to story. Usually the setting is introduced at the beginning. However, details about time and place
are scattered throughout the story.

5.    Character. This refers to any of the make-believe persons that are encountered in fiction.

    Kinds of Characters

    a)        Protagonist. The admirable character who embodies certain human ideals.

    b)        Antagonist. The character who provides some sort of contest or opposition for the protagonist.

    c)        Static or Flat. The character which do not have flesh and blood qualities. They do not undergo
changes.

    d)        Dynamic (or full or round). They live lives of sorrow and joy, sinking and swimming in the visible
tides of life - a very much like us.

6.    Theme. The theme is the writer's message. It may be specifically stated in a story or it may be
derived from the total effect of all the elements of a story. It is a generalization about life or human
character that a story explicitly or implicitly embodies.

7.    Symbol.  A symbol is a word or phrase, a scene, or an episode that refers directly to one thing but
suggests another thing as well. For a symbol to carry this double meaning, the affinity between the
symbol and the thing symbolized must be recognizable. Ex. Rose symbolizes love.