ELEMENTS OF THE SHORT STORY

A)    Setting: the time, place, and general environment that the story takes place.

B)    Character: a person, animal, or thing in a story, play, or other literary work.

C)    Protagonist: the main character in a work of literature.

D)    Point of view: the point of view from which the story is told; the narrator of the story:

1)      Omniscient: the narrator is all knowing, looking down on the action like a god; we learn the characters’ thoughts and often their motivations; the narrator is not part of the story.

2)      First person: told through the eyes of one of the characters (the first-person pronoun “I” is used); we only learn what this one character can tell us which means this point of view is not always reliable; the narrator is obviously in the story and is the one who is telling us the story.

3)      Third-person limited: the narrator zooms in on the thoughts & feelings of one character; we see things through the eyes of one of the characters, but the character is not telling the story (the first-person pronoun “I” is not used); the narrator does not know all thoughts of all characters.

4)      Third person: the narrator tells the story from an outside perspective; the narrator is a detached observer who can describe the characters and what they do and say but not their thoughts and feelings.

E)     Plot: series of incidents in a story:

1)      Conflict: a struggle between opposing forces.

a)      Internal: struggle takes place in a character’s mind – man versus himself.    

b)      External: struggle with another person(s) or with a force of nature (a tornado, a bear, an icy mountain path).

(1)   Man versus man.

(2)   Man versus nature.

2)      Incident: something that happens in a story.

3)      Complication: something that makes the main character's problem worse.

4)      Foreshadow: the writer gives the reader clues or hints of future events.

5)      Crisis: the point right before the main problem is settled; right before the reader learns which way the story will go — the worst point or most suspenseful moment.

6)      Climax: the point at which the outcome is decided one way or the other; the turning point in the story.

7)      Resolution/Dénouement: how the story ends; the tying up of loose ends.

F)     Methods of characterization: the techniques the author uses to reveal the personality and character of a fictional person.

1)      Describes physical appearance.

2)      Through speech and actions.

3)      Reveals inner thoughts and feelings.

4)      Describes affect on other characters.

G)    Theme: an idea about life expressed in a literary work.  It is the main idea. A theme may be stated directly, but, more often, it is implied.  Most of the time, the reader must think before understanding the theme or message the author is trying to get across.

 

OOW

2009