THE SHORT STORY

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THE SHORT STORY
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A short story

• Is a brief work of FICTION
• One main character faces a CONFLICT
• The conflict is resolved in the PLOT

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There are 5 major elements in every short story

• Plot
• Setting
• Characters
• Point of view
• Theme

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The plot

• The sequence of EVENTS
• Involves CHARACTERS and a problem (CONFLICT)
• Has 7 basic parts

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CLIMAX
MOMENT OF DISCOVERY
RISING ACTION
STORY TITLE
FALLING ACTION
INCITING INCIDENT
RESOLUTION
EXPOSITION
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CLIMAX
High point of interest or suspense
MOMENT OF DISCOVERY
The ah-ha! for the character
RISING ACTION
All the events leading up to the climax
STORY TITLE
FALLING ACTION
All the events after the climax leading to
the resolution
INCITING INCIDENT
Sets the plot in motion
RESOLUTION

EXPOSITION
The conflict is resolved
Introduces setting, characters, situation
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CLIMAX
High point of interest or suspense
MOMENT OF DISCOVERY
The ah-ha! for the character
RISING ACTION
All the events leading up to the climax
FALLING ACTION
STORY TITLE
All the events after the climax leading to
the resolution
INCITING INCIDENT
Sets the plot in motion
RESOLUTION

EXPOSITION
The conflict is resolved
Introduces setting, characters, situation
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The setting

• The TIME of the story including HISTORICAL
  PERIOD, YEAR, SEASON, TIME OF DAY
• WHERE the story takes place including
  geographical LOCATION (region, country, state,
  town), SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, CULTURAL environment
• Presents the EXISTING SITUATION
• Provides a PROBLEM the characters must face and
  overcome

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Characters

• The people or animals who PARTICIPATE IN THE
  ACTION
• Details are revealed through
• physical DESCRIPTION
• words (WHAT THE CHARACTER SAYS)
• actions (WHAT THE CHARACTER DOES)
• interactions with others (WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT
  THE CHARACTER)

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Point of view

• The vantage point from which the story is told
• First-person narration
• the narrator is a character IN THE ACTION
• uses first-person pronouns I, ME, WE
• Third-person narration
• the story-teller REPORTS events
• the story-teller DOES NOT TAKE PART in the
  action

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THEME

• The CENTRAL MESSAGE or INSIGHT INTO LIFE the
  LESSON to be learned
• A GENERALIZATION about people or about life
• The main idea

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The theme is NOT a summary of the plot.
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The theme can be

• STATED DIRECTLY
• The author expresses the theme directly in a
  sentence or two.
• IMPLIED
• The reader must read between the lines and
  decide what the work is saying about the nature
  of people or life.

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Read between the lines to find the theme by
analyzing

• The TITLE clues to the main idea
• The SETTING details revealing the authors
  attitude toward the world in general
• The PLOT conflict and resolution of the
  conflict
• The CHARACTERS actions, traits, motivations,
  moment of discovery, conclusions they draw

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There are 5 major elements in every short story

• Plot
• Setting
• Characters
• Point of view
• Theme