The Short Story

DIRECTORY

Definition & General Information Historical References
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DEFINITION & GENERAL INFORMATION

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

Edgar Alan Poe

Canterbury Tales by Chaucer

Decameron by Boccaccio

Edgar Alan Poe - father of the short story

Established standards by which stories are judged

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ELEMENTS OF THE SHORT STORY

Plot - conflict Characterization
Setting Theme
Point of View Irony
Symbolism

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 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

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

Different functions in action and 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

Provide backdrop for action - physical background for action

Shapes character and action - shapes 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

Def.: perspective from which the story is told/relationship between the narrator and the story

**Determines the type of information and how much information**

Author creates narrator

Narrator tells story

Different persona from author
Different attitudes from author

Is narrator reliable?

Ask "Who is telling the story?"

Usually only one consistent per short story

Types of Point of View

3rd person omniscient Narrator 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"

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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

Nature vs. Civilized Society
Country Life vs. City Life
Free Will vs. Fate

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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

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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