Guide

1. www.ibscrewed.org

3.  A short story can be identified by a
number of features
 They have a small number of characters,
as there is not enough time for many to be
developed
 Typically fiction, written in prose in a
narrative format
 The setting or plot is simpler
 Contain most of the key elements of a
novel

4.  When there is a plot, it may lack the
typical climax or build up that is seen in
most novels
 The story may be left incomplete or
unfinished, without resolution
 Some short stories may lack a plot, instead giving a
snapshot in time of the protagonists thoughts, feelings
and situation. In this case, there is often a message,
moral or lesson in the story.
 This is different from the story, as it does not need to
be in chronological order.

5.  A typical contour of a narrative is shown below.
However, a short story does not necessarily
follow this.

6.  When you are analysing the plot,
consider:
 What is the nature of the conflict?
 What are the other elements of the plot,
such as time, foreshadowing, flashbacks,
etc?
 What changes take place as the plot
unfolds?
 Identify the different sections of the plot.
 Techniques such as irony, suspense and
coincidence
 What is the effect of the order of events?
 What effect does the plot have on the
readers’ emotional response?

7.  The story may be told in first or third person
 This is the narrator
 The type of narrator affects the tone,
interpretation and meaning.
 Narrator may be unreliable or
omniscient
 There may be multiple
narrators

8.  Political, cultural, historical, physical,
emotion, geographical
 Can be in time or space
 Usually only have one setting
 Consider how the story is established, and
what function does it serve?

9.  Single or two settings – do not go far from it
 Brief time period
 Rely on metaphor
 Round Characters – Have many traits and are
real

10.  Characters may be static or dynamic
 Mariam in “A Red Spot” is static, whereas the
protagonist in dynamic.
 You should identify the protagonist,
antagonist, and any flat, round, foil, static,
dynamic

11.  The intended lesson, moral or idea contained
in the story
 Can you identify a them in the story
 There can be a stated theme, or an implied
theme.
 Are there generalisations about human life
made in the story
 Many short stories use implied theme

12.  Conveys a meaning through another objects
or thing.
 The suggested meaning is different from the
literal meaning
 Includes allegories

13.  Techniques and devices in the language of
the story
 Includes diction, syntax, dialect, dialogue,
tone, irony, oxymoron, colloquialisms

14.  Parables – Has a lesson in mind
 Fables – Story with a moral, but doesn’t
always have a lesson. Not an explicit
teaching – there is more focus on the story
itself
 Anthology – A collection of short stories,
usually with a similar context (place, time) –
Sardines and Oranges

15.  Static Characters – Stay the same – Mariam Red
Spot
 Dynamic Characters – Develop and change over
time – Main character tortoise
 Foil Character – A characters that is juxtaposed
against the protagonist -
 Omniscience – A third person narrative, when
they are removed and see everything that is
going on
 Unreliable narrator – Does not give reliable
information because they misinterpret it or are
deceptive, such as a child, or insane person

16.  Grammatical structure
 - past
 Usually have a lingering message

17.  Setting – where the story takes place
 Philosophical
 Time
 Place
 Political
 Historical
 Geographical
 Cultural
 Emotional
 Often exposition -> complication -> crisis ->
climax -> resolution -> moral

18.  Third person
 Point of view
 Subjective
 Symbolism
 Syntax
 Diction
 First person narrative