Notes – Short Story Elements Heather Sanders 8

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Grade English Fall Semester 2007

What Makes a Good Short Story?

A Good Short Story: •Can usually be read in one sitting •Has one or two well-developed characters •Tries to leave behind a single impression or effect •Has a problem/conflict which is developed as the story progresses •Has a recognizable solution to the conflict

Elements of a Short Story •Plot •Character •Setting •Conflict/Resolution •Theme •Point of View

What is Conflict ?

All stories are built on CONFLICT. It provides the central source of tension and drama that make stories interesting to read.

Types of Conflict: Man vs. Man Man vs. Society Man vs. Nature Man vs. Self Man vs. Fate Man vs. Technology

Man vs. Man – involves conflicts between people – such as family conflict, trouble with a buddy, difficulties in romance, etc.

Man vs. Society – involves conflict between an individual and larger groups – such as the outsider in a strange culture, a poor character’s struggle to “make it” in the business world, etc.

Man vs. Nature desert, etc.

– involves conflict between and individual and the natural world – such as fighting a powerful hurricane, surviving a plane crash in the Man vs. Self loved one, etc.

– involves characters’ psychological conflicts with themselves – such as overcoming a drug habit or alcoholism, grieving over the loss of a Man vs. Fate – involves conflict with what seems to be an uncontrollable problem – such as destiny.

Man vs. Technology – involves a conflict with the forces of man-made technology – such as a robot.

What is Plot ?

•The sequence of events, or basically what happens in a story.

Questions to ask about PLOT when reading a Short Story: • Can you state the central problem of the story?

• Does the story conflict fit one of the six traditional story conflict categories?

• In the story structure, can you locate the exposition? Rising action? Climax? Falling action? Resolution?

What is Setting?

The SETTING of a story serves different functions in the action and the emotional effect it has on the reader. In some stories, the setting might almost be considered a “character” itself!

Setting works in many important ways in the short story: Provides a backdrop for the action (mood).

Establishes atmosphere.

Shapes character and action.

Reflects character psychology.

How Do Authors Create Setting?

Details o By building their description of setting with realistic details, authors make their story seem more believable – such as using actual street names when setting a story in a real city, or choosing authentic details to depict a setting set in a foreign country.

Sense Images o By describing settings in images that appeal to the reader’s senses, the author creates a vivid atmosphere that readers can associate with settings in their own experiences – such as the smell of bread baking in a farmhouse kitchen, the feel of swimming in cool lake water, or the sound of rain falling on a tin roof.

Questions To Ask While You Are Reading a Short Story: 1. What physical backdrop does the setting provide for the story?

2. Does it create atmosphere? Shape characters’ actions? Reflect inner psychology?

3.What techniques did the author use to create setting?

4. Does the author use details and images that speak to the reader’s senses?

What is Character?

Short story authors may develop characters in 4 ways: •What the character does.

•What the character says.

•How a character looks.

•What other characters say about him.

Types of Character

•Protagonist – the main

character , typically the “good guy” (but not always)

•Antagonist – the character or

force in conflict

•Who is the protagonist in Hatchet?

•Who/What is the antagonist?

What is Resolution?

 The way in which the conflict is resolved How is the conflict resolved in Hatchet?

What is Point of View?

 Determines who is telling the story—the perspective, or vantage point from which an author presents a story.

First Person Point of View

 In first person point of view, the story is told by one of the characters.

 Uses the pronouns, “I,” “we,” “us,” etc.

Third Person Point of View

 In the third-person point of view the story is told by a narrator who is not a character in the story: Third Person Limited - The story is being seen through the eyes of one particular character. The narrator reveals only one character's inner thoughts.

Omniscient Narrator – Narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters.

What is Theme?

 Theme is a novel/short story/poem’s central message or insight into life; a “universal truth.”  It is NOT “What is the story about.” It is what the work MEANS.

 (Note: not every story has a theme – sometimes it’s just for entertainment!)

Flashback/Foreshadowing

 Flashback is an interruption in the present action of a story to tell about something that happened in the past—a jump back in time.

 Foreshadowing is when the author gives clues or hints about what might happen later on in a story.

What is Figurative Language?

 Figurative language is a tool that an author uses to help the reader visualize what is happening in a story or poem. Figurative language is meant to be interpreted imaginatively, not literally.

Types of Figurative Language

 Simile- a figure of speech that compares two dissimilar things by using the key words “like” or “as”  Metaphor- a figure of speech that compares two unlike things describing one as if it were the other. *Does not

use “like” or “as”

 Personification- a figure of speech in which human qualities are given to a nonhuman subject

Figurative Language, Cont.

 Hyperbole - an exaggerated statement or overstatement. It’s a figure of speech that is not to be taken literally.

 Idiom - Idioms are words, phrases, or expressions that cannot be taken literally.

 Examples – I am exhausted; I have been burning the candle at ends lately.

I went over my paper with a fine-toothed comb and couldn’t find a single spelling error.

Ben Franklin kicked the bucket a long time ago.

Symbolism

 Symbols are animals, elements, things, places, or colors, writers use to represent other things.

What might these things symbolize?

Lamb Black Fox Red Snake Purple Sunset Spring Winter Thunderstorm

Style, Tone, Mood

 STYLE is the way an author uses words, phrases, sentences, language, and conventions. It is the author’s unique way of expressing his/her ideas. Two authors’ styles can be as different as their speaking voices or signatures.

 Example: Edward Bloor vs. Ray Bradbury J.K. Rowling vs. Stephen King

Style, Tone, Mood

 TONE is the author’s attitude/feelings about the subject of his/her writing.  It is the way a writer uses words (connotation), creates images, chooses details, uses language, and structures sentences to present a certain attitude or feeling to the reader about his/her writing topic.  Tone can be positive, negative, or nuetral.

Woo Hoo!

That’s All Folks!

(Smashing, baby!)

Buh-Bye

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