Learning Objectives:

After going through this topic, you are expected to:

a. Demonstrate understanding of a short story;

b. analyze a short story by identifying its basic
elements;
c. appreciate the use of multimedia in sharing the
lessons learned from a short story; and
d. perform a self or peer-assessment in evaluating
one’s work
BASIC ELEMENTS
OF A
SHORT STORY
 Guide Questions

1. What is a short story?

2. What are the elements of a short story?
3. What are the two types of character?
4. What are the different parts of a plot story’s
structure?
5. What are the two basic kinds of conflict?
6. What are the seven kinds of conflict?
7. What are the types of point of view in a
short story.
 What is a short story?

-It is a fully developed theme but significantly shorter

and less elaborate than a novel.

-Focuses on one plot, one main character and one

central theme.

-Can be read in one sitting only, usually between 20

minutes and an hour only.

-Falls between 3,000-7,000 words.

 1. Character
-Who takes part in the action of
the story or other literary work.

-It is said that the heart of the

story are the characters.
 a. Protagonist

-is considered as the main character or

most important of all the characters.

-In any case, the story always revolves

around the protagonist.
 b. Antagonist
-is the character that challenges the
main character.
-It has no concern for the well-being
of the main character.
-The antagonist may be a person, the
nature, the society, or any intangible
matter that contends with or creates
a problem for the protagonist.
 2. Setting
-The place (locale) and time
(period )when the story happens is called
the setting.

-The setting may be based on real place

and real time or it may also be based on
the author’s imagination.
 3. Plot
 A plot is the actual story.

 It is what the story is all about.

 It is a series of events.
The following are the different
parts of a story’s plot
structure:
Exposition –This is the beginning of
the story. This is where the author
introduces the characters, identifies
where the story is happening,

Rising Action–This event occurs as

you begin to move throughout the
story. This is where conflicts start to
build.
 Climax– It is the most exciting part of a short
story. This is the part in the story when important
decisions are made or important things are made.

 Falling Action– This point occurs after the

climax as the problems in the story start to work
themselves out. The excitement becomes less and
less as the conflict is resolved.

Resolution– This is the solution to the

problem in a story. The solution may not be what
you hoped for but as long as it fits the story in tone
and theme, the conflict has resolved.
 4. Conflict
-The problem of the story.
-The main character, also called the protagonist,
needs to have someone or something to challenge
him.
-Without conflict, the story will not go anywhere and
will not be very interesting to the readers.
There are two basic kinds of conflict:

1. External Conflict
2. Internal Conflict
 External Conflicts

-it pits the character against some

exterior force or world-view and happens
outside the character’s body. Five of the
seven types of conflicts are of the
external kind.
Five of the seven types of conflicts are of the
external kind.
 1. Person vs. Person

Also called man vs. man and protagonist vs.

antagonist, this is the most common type of
external conflict.

The heart of this type of story involves two

characters with opposing outlooks, opinions, or
goals.

Murder mysteries with the investigator vs. murderer

also are person vs. person stories
 2. Person vs. Nature

This type of conflict counters a character

against some force of nature, such as an
animal or the weather.

In Life of Pi, the protagonist must face a

tiger trapped in the boat with him.
 3. Person vs. Society

When a novel sets a character against a

tradition, an institution, a law, or some other
societal construct, it is a Person vs. Society
story.
Atticus Finch opposed his racist community
in Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird
Wilbur fights for his survival against a society
that eats pigs in Charlotte’s Web
 4. Person vs. Technology

When science moves beyond human control, conflicts

of Person vs. Technology develop.

I, Robot
 5. Person vs. Supernatural

Vampires, werewolves, aliens, and ghosts –

any typically unbelievable, supernatural, or
inexplicable phenomena – provide Person vs.
Supernatural conflicts.
Examples of such stories include:
The Exorcist
Jeff Vandermeer’s Southern Reach series
Almost anything by Edgar Allan Poe
 Internal Conflicts

-The two remaining types of conflicts are

internal – ones that happen inside the
character’s mind or heart.
When your main character has an inner
turmoil that’s causing some emotional pain,
it increases the tension of the story.
 6. Person vs. Self

A character battling inner demons, one who has an

inner moral conflict (think Hamlet), or is simply
striving to become a better person is in a Person vs.
Self conflict.

The conflict between his intellect and emotion are

central

Katniss Everdeen in The Hunger Games (again!) must

reconcile her need to survive in the battle arena with
her desire not to kill another human being.
 7. Person vs. Destiny (Fate/Luck/God)

This is an ambiguous conflict type.

Sometimes aspects of it get split up and
parsed out among the other categories.
Or some might reframe Person vs. God
as being person against religion and,
therefore, would put it in the external
conflict type of Person vs. Society.
 5. Theme

- This is the central idea in a short

story and a general truth. This is
considered as the author’s message to
the readers.
 6. Point of View

-This is the way the story is told or narrated. It is also

known as the vantage point that a writer uses to narrate
the story.

-'Point of view' is one of the first elements of storytelling

an author has to decide upon when writing fiction. POV,
as it's often known as, is all about narrative voice: who’s
telling your story, and how is it being filtered to the
audience?
The following are the types
of point of view in a
short story.
 First person

A first person narrative is common to all of us and

relatively intuitive to write because it’s how we tell
stories in everyday life.
It’s typical for a first person narrator to be the
protagonist of a story.
An example would be a sentence with first person
pronouns, such as:
“Bring me the prisoner,” I told my chief of police.
 Second person

Second person narratives are less common.

It’s all about putting the reader directly in the
headspace of a particular character: either the 
protagonist or a secondary figure.
The pronouns associated with second person
include you, your, and yours, as in:
You instruct the chief of police to bring the
prisoner to your office.
 Third person (limited)

Everyone’s read a third person limited narrative. This

POV uses third-person pronouns such as “he” and
“she” to relate the story.

“Third person limited is where the narrator can only

reveal the thoughts, feelings, and understanding of a
single character at any given time — hence, the reader
is “limited” to that perspective.
 Third person (omniscient)

Third person omniscient is a little different. As you

might be able to tell, this type of narration is “all
knowing” — they’re not just limited to one character’s
perspective and information, but instead can reveal
anything that is happening, has happened, or will
happen in the world of the story.