Download Elements of a Short Story

ELEMENTS OF A SHORT
STORY
SETTING
 The time and location in which a story takes place
 EX: To Kill a Mockingbird
a) place (small, rural town in Alabama)
b) time (just after The Great Depression)
c) weather conditions (very hot, very dry)
d) social conditions (tense race relations)
e) mood or atmosphere (laid back, poor
economy)
PLOT
 The sequence of events in a story or play
PLOT (cont’d)
 EX: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
a) Exposition: Mr. Dursley experiences many strange
events on the way to work: cat reading a map, people in cloaks,
thinks he hears the name “Potter”
b) Rising Action: arriving at Hogwarts, break-in at
Gringott’s, mystery of the Sorcerer’s Stone
c) Climax: finding the dead unicorns, attack in the Forbidden
Forest
d) Falling Action: three-headed dog; Devil’s Snare, live
chess match, fighting Quirrell/Voldemort
e) Resolution: defeating Voldemort (for now)
CONFLICT
 There are two types of conflict:
 EX: Anchorman
1. External : A struggle with a force outside one's
self.
a) A struggle to be the highest rated news team in
San Diego (against Channel 9’s Wes Mantooth)
2. Internal: A struggle within one's self
a) A struggle with loving Veronica Corningstone yet
wanting to be the best anchor
CONFLICT (cont’d)
 There are four kinds of conflict:
 EX: Anchorman
1. Man vs. Man (physical)
a) The brawl among the various news teams
2. Man vs. Circumstances (classical)
a) Ron dealing with a woman joining the news team
3. Man vs. Society (social)
a) The changing of the news world now that a woman is an
anchor
4. Man vs. Himself/Herself (psychological)
a) Ron’s mental breakdown after Veronica successfully anchors
the news by herself
CHARACTER(S)
EX: The Lion King
 PROTAGONIST: Central character
 Simba
 ANTAGONIST: The opposer of the main character
 Scar
Characters should be: consistent, motivated, and life-like
(resemble real people/animals)
POINT OF VIEW
 Point of view, or p.o.v., is defined as the angle from which
the story is told.
1. Innocent Eye: through the eyes of a child
a) EX: To Kill a Mockingbird, “Pink Champagne”
2. Stream of Consciousness: inside the head of
a character
a) EX: Fight Club
3. First Person: told by one of the characters
a) EX: The Kite Runner
4. Omniscient: author narrates the story
a) EX: Harry Potter series
THEME
 Controlling idea or central insight; author's
underlying meaning
 EX: Romeo and Juliet
 Love: exhilarating, and they are willing to die for it
 Fate: “start-crossed lovers”
 Hastiness: rush into love
 Infatuation: were they truly in love?