The Short Story

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The Short Story
He's little but he packs a big punch!
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Compression

• A short story contains all the same literary
  features as a novel, in a shorter format.
• Compression unnecessary details and information
  are left out.
• Everything is important one single detail can
  deeply affect a character or have many
  consequences on the plot.

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STRUCTURE

• Theme the central abstract idea of a literary
  work or film
• Contains a view about life and how people behave.
• It is expressed as a complete thought.
• Implicit vs. explicit

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Irony

• Verbal
• Dramatic
• Situational

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Symbolism

• A character, and action, a setting, or an object
  representing something else.
• E.g.
• Objects viewed as symbolic may be described in
  detail, included in the title, referred to
  frequently, or emphasized at the beginning or
  ending of the story.

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To develop theme the writer must develop

• Setting
• Characters
• Plot
• Narrative point of view

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Setting

• Setting is an extremely powerful tool in story
  telling as it can be used to dictate the emotions
  of characters and elicit emotions in the reader
  as well.
• Setting the when, where, and atmosphere (mood)
  of the story.
• TAP time, atmosphere, place
• Integral setting essential to the plot
• Background setting relatively unimportant

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Characters
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Character types

• The protagonist the central character (person,
  animal, or personified object) in the plot's
  conflict. It is not always a good or likeable
  character.
• The antagonist the force in conflict with the
  protagonist.

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Character Types contd

• Foil is a character whose traits are in direct
  contrast to those of the protagonist.
• A stereotype is a character who possesses
  expected traits of a group rather than being an
  individual.

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Character Development

• A flat character is not fully developed we know
  only one side of the character.
• A round character is fully-developed, with many
  traits--bad and good--shown in the story. We feel
  that we know the character so well that he or she
  has become a real person.

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Character Quality

• A static character is one who does not experience
  a basic character change during the course of the
  story.
• A dynamic character is one who experiences a
  basic change in character through the events of
  the story. This change is internal and may be
  sudden, but the events of the plot should make it
  seem inevitable.

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Yours to Discover!

• We discover what a character is like by
• What he/she says
• What she/he does
• What others say about him/her
• What he/she looks like
• How she/he interacts with others

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• Constituents of the Plot
• Exposition The situation that the protagonist
  finds himself/herself in at the beginning of
  the story (background information)
• Trigger Point
• Rising Action The actions, events or thoughts
  which take place throughout the story. These
  incidents or conflicts build up with
  increasing tension to the climax
• Climax The point in the story where the
  protagonist has to make a decision or take
  action that will solve the conflict (for better
  or worse). After the climax there are no more
  conflicts.
• Falling Action After the climax is the falling
  action, made up of the final incidents of the
  story it may say more about the climax.
• Resolution The resolution is not always
  explicitly stated but it should be implied so
  that the reader can move on.

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Plot

• Plot is different from Story
• Plot
• Story

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Plot devices

• Flashback
• Foreshadowing
• Suspense

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Conflict

• Basic element of the plot
• Opposition between two forces in a story, the
  protagonist and the antagonist
• Types of conflict
• Man versus man
• Man versus nature
• Man versus society
• Man versus self

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Other Elements of Plot

• Suspense is a state of tension, a sense of
  uncertainty, an emotional pull which keeps the
  reader reading. All plots need some suspense to
  sustain interest.
• Foreshadowing is the planting of hints about what
  will happen later in the story.
• A flashback occurs when the author narrates an
  event that took place before the current time of
  the story.

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Narrative Point of View

• Storytelling technique who is telling the story?
• The narrator is not to be confused with the
  author.
• Who tells the story and how s/he tells it are
  critical to interpreting the story.
• Is the narrator trustworthy?
• Objective vs. subjective (biased)

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• First person uses the subjective I. The
  narrator is a character in the story.
• Third person uses the objective he, she, they.
  The narrator is an outsider.
• - Omniscient We are told everything about the
  story, including the thoughts and feelings of all
  the characters, and even information in the
  author's mind which no character knows.
• Limited omniscient We are told the thoughts and
  feelings of only one character (sometimes, but
  very seldom, of two or three characters

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Tone

• The writers implied attitude toward the subject
  and/or the audience of a literary work.
• Tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn,
  sombre, playful, serious, ironic, condescending,
  or many other possible attitudes. Tone and mood
  are not interchangeable.

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Sources

• Mr. Kyle Stewart
• Dr. Marilyn H. Stauffer.