English short story elements (Q1)

• What is short story?

  • A brief imaginative narrative containing few characters, simple plot, conflict, and suspense which leads to a climax and a swift conclusion
  • Can be read in one sitting
• The 4 elements of the story

  1. plot
  2. setting
  3. character
  4. theme
• The chain of events in a story

  Plot
• the plot consists of 6 main ingredients:

  1. Introduction/Exposition
  2. Inciting incident/conflict
  3. Rising action
  4. Climax
  5. Falling action
  6. Resolution
• The introduction introduces the reader to :

  • Setting
  • Basic situation
  • Characters involved
  • Narrative hook: question or statement that grabs the reader's attention
• The first major action in the story that sets the story in motion (gets the ball rolling)

  Inciting Incident
• Incidents that carry the plot along

  Rising Action
• The Rising Action often includes:

  • Foreshadowing
  • Flashback
  • Conflict
  • Suspense
• A technique for hinting at events that may occur later in the plot

  Foreshadowing
• The insertion of an earlier event into the time order of a narrative

  Flashback
• Conflict

  • It prevents the main character from getting what he or she wants.
  • The plot is driven by the climax and it is THE MOST IMPORTANT FEATURE OF THE STORY
  • There are two types of conflict: Internal and External
• Person vs. Self

  Internal Conflict
• Person vs. Person

  External Conflict
• Person vs. Society

  External Conflict
• Person vs. Environment

  External Conflict
• Person vs. Fate

  External Conflict
• Person vs. Technology

  External Conflict
• Person vs. Supernatural

  External Conflict
• The feeling of excitement and curiosity that keeps the reader turning the pages; created by making the readers wonder how the conflict will be resolved

  Suspense
• Climax

  • The highest point of interest in the story when the character(s) solves his/her struggles
  • Usually the point of highest emotion
  • The climax can be SUBJECTIVE (there may be different answers, so you must prove your choice)
• The character completes the action of his/her decision

  Falling action 
• The resolution

  • The final workings of a story's conflict
  • All of the loose ends are tied up (usually)
  • Narrative Twist: a surprise ending
• Setting

  • The time (time of day, season, present, past, future) and the location (country, planet, town, buildings, PLUS a description of the surroundings) where the action occurs
  • Helps to create the mood and atmosphere of the text
• Atmosphere


  The feeling that the setting evokes (i.e. mysterious, happy, eerie)
• Mood

  • The author's emotional attitude toward the subject matter (i.e. excitement, nostalgia)
  • NOT the mood of the characters
• Characters

  • Any personalities who are involved in the plot of the story (people, animals, fantasy characters)
  • Usually less than 6 in a short story
• Protagonist

  • Usually the" good guy" or hero in the story
  • The main character that we follow
  • The character that strives to solve the conflict
• Antagonist

  • The" bad guy" or villain in the story
  • Usually creates conflict for the main character
• Secondary Characters

  • Other characters who are necessary to moving the plot along, but may not be involved with the central conflict
• • Theme is NOT the moral of the story
  • Theme is NOT plot
  • Theme IS the general subject matter of a work of art
  • Theme may contain a message
• Theme

  The central idea about life that the story highlights; THE MAIN IDEA (universal truths).

  The message the author is conveying.

  1. Determine the specific conflict
  2. Decide what side of the conflict the story represents
  3. How is the conflict resolved? Who wins? Who loses?
• Physical and personality characteristics that are revealed through:

  1. What the character does
  2. What the character says
  3. What other characters say or do about the character
  4. What the author states directly
  5. What the author infers
• Not all short stories have a theme; some are just for entertainment or fun