The Short Story

	Definition & General Information		Historical References
	Elements		10th Grade Home Page
	Reading List

Def.: fictional narrative brief enough to be transmitted in single hearing or reading.

Designed to entertain or instruct

Found in all modern literary cultures

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT
7th c. B.C. - Aesop's Fables
Biblical Parables
Stories of Arabian Knights
Canterbury Tales by Chaucer
Decameron by Boccaccio
Edgar Alan Poe	Edgar Alan Poe - father of the short story Established standards by which stories are judged

PLOT
Gives order to series of actions or events
Def.: characters performing actions involved with conflict
CONFLICT		Def.: struggle between two opposing forces
		Provides interest, suspense, tension
		Connects one incident to another --develops cause and effect pattern
		Develops plot line
TYPES OF CONFLICT
External
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Fate
Man vs. Technology
Internal		Man vs. Self

PARTS OF PLOT LINE
Exposition (introduction)
Narrative Hook
Rising Action (complications)
Climax
Highest point in the conflict
Occurs before the end of the story
Meeting of two forces - one comes out the winner
Outcome relies on climax

Falling Action (resolution)
Denouement
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CHARACTERIZATION
Def.: method by which author reveals a character's personality
Direct Characterization		Author tells a reader directly about a character
Indirect Characterization		Author shows character's actions and reader draws conclusions
		Through character's actions
		Through character's speech & thoughts
		Through other character's speech, thoughts and actions

TYPES OF CHARACTERS
Round		Fully developed personality - many or opposing traits
Flat		Character with only a few developed traits
Dynamic		Character experiences personality change
Static		Character stays the same
Protagonist		Central character
		Evokes reader sympathy
Antagonist		Person or force that opposes the protagonist
Stereotype		One trait which immediately identifies personality
		Rapidly establishes character
		Lacks individuality
		Often a foil
Foil		Character in similar situation who reacts opposite to main character
		Sets off another by contrast
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SETTING
Environment in which the story takes place
Functions in action and/or emotional effect
Sometimes almost a character in itself
Elements of setting	Time or period action takes place
	Geographical location - topography, scenery, physical arrangements
	Occupations and daily habits of characters
	General environment of characters religious/mental/moral/emotional/social
	Regionalism - setting is stressed locale, manners, customs
Functions of Setting
provides background for action
Shapes character and attitudes of characters
Establish atmosphere
Reflects character psychology - reflects inner feeling of character

Creating Setting
By details - realistic/authentic
By sense images - appeal to reader senses (sight, sound, smell, feel, taste)
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POINT OF VIEW
Narrator tells story
Different persona from author
Different attitudes from author
Ask "Is narrator reliable?"
Def.: perspective from which the story is told/relationship between the narrator and the story
Ask "Who is telling the story?"
Usually only one consistent per short story
Determines the type of information and how much information
Types of Point of View
3rd person omniscient	Author outside story
	Knows thoughts and actions of all characters
	Most reliable, most objective
3rd person limited	Narrator outside story
	Narrator tells from viewpoint of one character, one character's thoughts
	Helps develop particular character
	Can slant story, less reliable
1st person	Narrator part of story
	Tells from one side, narrator's thoughts and feelings only
	Least reliable
	Easily slanted
	Key word "I"

THEME
Def.: universal or general statement that suggests the idea or moral behind the story
What the story is about
Problems or issues it explores
Universal idea suggested by specifics in story
Holds true for whole story - not just part of the story
Essential meaning of the story
Can be more than one theme in longer works
Not a summary of the plot

Clues to Theme
		Title
		Images or symbols in story
		Observations made by author, narrator, or characters
		Moral suggested by outcome of conflict
Traditional Theme Topics
Good vs. Evil		1
Nature vs. Civilized Society
Country Life vs. City Life
Free Will vs. Fate
Childhood vs. Adolescence
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IRONY
	Figure of speech
	Tone created when speaker intends a meaning opposite to what is said or done
	More emphasis than direct speech
	Humorous or serious

Types of Irony
Verbal	Intent and actual words opposite
	Meaning is different or opposite to what is said
	Hyperbole: exaggerated statement for strong effect ex. "I couldn't do that in a thousand years."
	Pun: play on words - double meaning
	Double entendre: plays on connotation and denotation Usually sexual
Situational	Opposite to what is expected or appropriate ex. Go to a party to have fun and someone dies.
Dramatic	Audience or reader knows more than speaker or narrator
	Meaning hidden from character
	Most often in theater ex. Audience knows murderer is behind curtain.
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SYMBOLISM
Something that stands for, suggests, or means something else
Can be an image, object, character, or action	ex. flag stands for a nation
Language is symbolic
Suggests a larger meaning
Uses denotation & connotation

Types of Symbolism
Universal/conventional	Commonly recognized
	Voyage suggests life
Particular/nonconventional	Developed by a specific use - context
	More than one meaning
	snow white - goodness cold - cruelty
Functions in a specific environment

Recognizing Symbols
	In titles, characters, place names
	Nature images - snow, thunderstorm
	Allusions to classical, literary, or historical references
	Images or figures that appear at important points
	Images that receive special emphasis - repeated
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