Elements of Short Stories Miss Giesler’s LA Class

What is a short story?

 The term “short story” most often refers to a work of fiction no shorter than 1,000 and no longer than 20,000 words (5 to 20 pages)  Stories with fewer than 1,000 words are sometimes referred to as "short short stories”, or "flash fiction.”

What makes a short story different than a novel?  Short stories tend to be less complex than novels.  Usually a short story has a single plot, a single setting, a small number of characters, and covers a short period of time.  Gets quickly to the point and “action” of the story  Characters typically don’t have a lot of back story  Usually only a few details about setting

5 Elements of a Short Story  Plot  Character  Conflict  Theme  Setting Flocabulary

Plot Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows arrangement of events and actions within a story.

Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads Plot Components

Plot: Conflict Conflict is the dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.

Plot: 4 Types of Conflict Man vs Nature Man vs Society Man vs SelfMan vs Man

Plot: Types of Conflict  There are 3 other types of conflict that are not as common:  Man vs Fate  Man vs Supernatural  Man vs Technology

Man v Man

Man v Nature

Man v Society

Man v Self

Theme  Theme is the big message or lesson  Also called “The Big Idea” or “the moral of the story”  It is the major idea of the story  What the author is trying to tell us

Theme  There are two main types of themes:  A stated theme is directly expressed by the narrator or character; they come right out and say it  An implied theme is only suggested by events and the characters actions and reactions

Theme  Most themes are implied- you need to dig down to find them  Notice: Themes need to connect to the real world and go beyond the story

Common Themes  Faith  Honesty  Hope  Courage  Trust  Hard work  Guilt  Fate  Cruelty  Isolation  Justice  Freedom  Ambition  Prejudice  Sacrifice  Family/Frie ndship  Life lessons  Kindness  Love  Death and Dying  Forgiveness

Characters  Characters are the people in the story who carry out the action  Can be human or non-human (animals, objects, etc)  Think Beauty and the Beast—there are humans, animals, and objects!  Different types: protagonist, antagonist, and supporting/minor characters

Characters  Authors reveal more about the characters and the story through characterization— revealing the personality of the character  Characterization is shown in two ways- direct and indirect :  Direct: the author tells the audience what the character’s personality is  Indirect: the author shows the audience what the characters personality it; the audience must make inferences to understand the character

Characters  Direct Characterization: the author tells the audience what the characters personality is  Ex: “The patient, well-mannered students sat quietly in their desks, working silently and diligently on their homework.”  Key words: patient, well-mannered, silently, diligently show us the personality of the students.

Characters  Indirect Characterization: the author shows the audience what the characters personality is  Ex: “The students sat, heads down, headphones in ears, pencils scribbling furiously, as the teacher walked in the silence.”  We can infer that the students are working hard and being quiet and they are good students

Characters  For indirect characterization, think STEAL:

Irony  Irony is a literary device where words are used to show a contradiction between appearance and reality  Meaning: reality is usually the opposite of what it seems  There are 3 types of irony: verbal, situational, and dramatic

Irony  Verbal irony - A character says one thing but really means the opposite

Verbal Irony  A character says one thing but really means another  Sarcasm is one type of verbal irony  To find verbal irony, ask yourself: What is really being said?  If what the person actually says is not exactly what they mean, it’s most likely verbal irony

Verbal Irony-Examples  When someone asks, “Does that bruise hurt?”  And you say, “No”  When your teacher says, “I see how hard you worked on your homework!” after you hand in a blank worksheet

Irony  Verbal irony - A character says one thing but really means the opposite  Situational irony – When what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate.

Situational Irony  When what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate.  Comes from the situation or circumstances the characters find themselves in  To find situational irony, ask yourself: “What was I expecting to happen?”  If the opposite happened, it’s most likely situational irony

Situational Irony-Examples  Someone breaks in to a thief’s house at the same time he is out robbing another house  The founder of match.com was dumped by his long-time girlfriend—after she found someone else on match.com

Irony  Verbal irony - A character says one thing but really means the opposite  Situational irony – When what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate.  Dramatic irony – The reader or audience understands more about the events of a story than a character.

Dramatic Irony  The reader or audience understands more about the events of a story than a character.  Comes from the audience’s understanding—or “inside joke” or “inside knowledge”  To find dramatic irony, ask yourself, “Did I already know what happened or was going to happen?”  If you answered yes, it’s most likely dramatic irony

Dramatic Irony-Examples  Almost every horror movie…we know the killer is waiting, but the characters don’t…  Jaws…da na…da na…da na da na…da nanananananana AAAHHH!!!!

Dramatic Irony-Examples  Simba spends most of the movie trying to rid himself of the guilt from killing his father  Meanwhile, we know it was Scar who killed Mufasa

Dramatic Irony-Examples  Hercules must drink “Every last drop” to become mortal— but one drop remains  Hades does not know this, but Pain, Panic, and the audience do!

Irony v. Coincidence  Be careful not to confuse irony with coincidence  Coincidences are unexpected and sometimes unexplainable, but seem to have no cause or connection  Note: that “CONNECTION” word is the big give away!

Irony v. Coincidence  Examples of coincidence:  2 girls wearing the same outfit without planning it  A young boy surviving a terrible fall while wearing a Superman shirt  Mr. Zajic walking in while Miss G is talking smack about him  Geez guys, why didn’t you warn me?!  Just kidding, I’d never talk smack about him

Irony or Coincidence…You Tell me!  Rain on a wedding day  COINCIDENCE  Why? It’s unfortunate, but no one has done anything to cause it—the two are unrelated (And, honestly, the weather doesn’t care what you’re doing!)

Irony or Coincidence…You Tell me!  A policeman having a warrant out for his arrest for unpaid parking tickets  IRONY!  Why? He’s a policeman; he knows better and he caused the situation to happen

Irony or Coincidence…You Tell me!  IRONY!  Why? The sign for “Fasteners” clearly needs a fastener itself…

Irony or Coincidence…You Tell me!  Forgetting to study for a test, then finding out the teacher doesn’t feel good and lets you watch a movie instead  COINCIDENCE!  Why? Your lack of preparation had nothing to do with the teacher being ill (or lazy)

Narrator  The narrator of the story is the person who gives an account of what happens—they are the ones who tell the story  Narrator is voice the author has chosen to tell the story, but is not always the author themselves  For example, in “The Tell-Tale Heart,” Edgar Allan Poe’s narrator is a man who is literally going insane

Narrator  The audience learns the story from the narrator’s Point of View (or POV)  May have multiple narrators  Flocabulary POV Flocabulary POV

POV  There are 3 Points of View:  1 st Person  2 nd Person  3 rd Person

POV-1 st Person  1 st Person POV is told from one character’s perspective  Shows us the inner thoughts and frustrations or triumphs of that particular character  Everything we learn is “colored” by that character’s thoughts and opinions  Used frequently in novels and short stories when one character (usually protagonist) is dominant  Key Words: “I” “We” “My”  Opening Scene Example Opening Scene Example

POV-2 nd Person  2 nd Person POV addresses the audience directly  Very rarely seen in literature or film, except perhaps choose-your-own adventure stories  Most often seen in nonfiction (Letters, s, speeches, directions, recipes), songs, or video games  Key words: “You” “Your” “Yourself” “Yourselves”  N64 Game Example N64 Game Example

POV-3 rd Person  3 rd Person POV is told from the narrator’s perspective, but the narrator is NOT a character in the story  Narrator is removed from the story, and seems to “know all”  Most common POV in literature  Key words: “He” “She” or character’s names

POV-3 rd Person  3 types of 3 rd Person POV:  Omniscient  Limited  Objective

POV-3 rd Person  Omniscient: Narrator knows everything— the thoughts, feelings, and actions of every character  However, the narrator may not always reveal all of the information  Has a “bird’s eye view” or “hole in the cloud” view of the action

POV-3 rd Person  Limited: Narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of one character  Very similar to first person, but still an “outsider’s view”  Example: Harry Potter

POV-3 rd Person  Objective: Narrator is not part of the story, and only tells the reader what the characters do and say  The reader must infer the character’s thoughts or motivation  A “reporter” or “observer”