The Short Story

Professor Joel J. Seda Orona

Ninth Grade
Plot Elements:
1. Introduction – It refers to the beginning of the story. It usually tells the reader the initial
characters and setting, as well as starts establishing the story’s tone and mood.
Sometimes the introduction starts in an advanced point in the plot and looks back on the
events that have happened. That type of introduction is called a retrospective.
2. Rising Action – It refers to the part of the story immediately after the introduction. In it,
the author establishes the problem or problems that the characters will face. Also, the
rising action starts developing the characters, sometimes introducing new ones. The
setting may also change here. In this section, the reader should start questioning the
characters, motives, reasons, relationships, and situations that are pushing the plot
forward. The rising action establishes questions that must be answered throughout the
story.
3. Climax – It refers to the point of highest tension in the story, where the problems that
have been growing during the rising action come to a boil and some or all the characters
must take the most critical choices. It is here where the characters decide to conform to
or confront the problems. This section is also called the crucible, or the turning point.
4. Falling Action – It refers to the part of the story immediately after the climax. In it, the
author usually resolves the problems and tells us about the real reasons for the tension
built up throughout the story. If the author takes the time to answer all the questions
he/she asked during the rising action, the falling action is rather long. However, the
author may choose to not solve the problems, or to not tell us about the reasons for them.
If that were the case, the falling action is very fast, just a few paragraphs long. In some
instances, it can even be just a few sentences long.
5. Ending – It refers to the latter part of the story. It can be happy, fulfilling, sad, enigmatic,
or just plain weird. If the author gave us the answers to the questions posed during the
 rising action, the ending is called a closed ending. If, on the contrary, the author didn’t
provide answers or answered partially, the ending is called an open ending. Closed
endings usually gives the reader a sense of satisfaction and conclusion about the story.
However, open endings are a very powerful tool to force the reader to think more deeply
about the story, because they leave the readers with questions that they must answer by
themselves.

Setting:
1. It is the world in which the author creates the story.
2. It can be real, imaginary, or a combination of both.
3. It includes:
a. The places where the characters live
b. The time where the characters live
c. The characters’ physical environment
d. The characters’ emotional environment
e. The characters’ religion or spirituality
f. The characters’ society status
g. The characters’ culture
h. The characters’ country’s government
i. The characters’ economic status
4. It tells us how all the above shapes the story and the characters.

Characters:
1. Protagonist: The main character of the story is the protagonist. They should be
carefully crafted with a logical backstory, personal motivation, and a character arc over
the course of the story. Often the story will be told from their point of view. From a
heroine like Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games to a miserable wretch like DC
Comics’ Batman, the protagonist is the character the audience is most invested in. The
protagonist is a principal character.
 2. Antagonist: The villain of the story is the antagonist. Think Lex Luthor in Superman, or
Lord Voldemort in Harry Potter. Note that an antagonist is not the same as an anti-hero
like the Joker. Anti-heroes are villainous people who function in a protagonist’s role.
The antagonist and anti-hero are principal characters.
3. Love interest: The love interest is the protagonist’s focus of desire, passion, or love. A
good love interest will be compelling and three-dimensional, like Daisy Buchanan
in The Great Gatsby or Rhett Butler in Gone with the Wind. Depending on how the
author presents and develops it, the love interest can be a principal or a secondary
character.
4. Confidant: This type of character is the best friend or sidekick of the protagonist, the
Sancho Panza to their Don Quixote. Often the protagonist's goal flows through the
confidant—although not every story needs one. A particularly famous confidant is
Robin in Batman, as is Hermione in Harry Potter. Depending on how the author
presents and develops it, the confidant can be a principal or a secondary character.
5. Tertiary characters: Tertiary characters populate the world of the story but do not
necessarily link to the main storyline. These minor characters serve any number of
functions and may have varying degrees of personal dynamism. Think of Padma and
Parvati Patil in the Harry Potter series. In Spider-Man, various tertiary characters help
fill out the world of Peter Parker’s New York.

(The information about characters was retrieved from

https://www.masterclass.com/articles/guide-to-all-the-types-of-characters-in-literature#5-
character-types-that-appear-in-fiction.)