2. WHAT IS A SHORT STORY? A short story is shorter than a novel, but longer than a poem. It is usually between 1,000 and 20,000 words long. It tells a story which can usually be read quite quickly. It often concentrates on one, central event; it has a limited number of characters, and takes place within a short space of time.
3. How to Analyze a Short Story ? 1. Basic Questions • Who is the main character? • Who are the two or three other most important characters? • How are they related to one another?
4. How to Analyze a Short Story ? 2-Big questions: A FirstShot • What is the story about? • What are the Big Ideas here? (Can you tell yet?)
5. How to Analyze a Short Story ? MAPPING I: PLACES • Draw a map of the most important places the main character goes through the story, and trace his or her movement. • Next — maybe in another color? -- tell how the character feels at each place, and what he or she thinks. • Next — maybe in another color? — tell what the character learns at each place. • If you like, add other important characters to the map, or perhaps draw new maps for each important character
6. How to Analyze a Short Story ? MAPPING II: EVENTS • Do the same mapping exercise, but this time make it a "time line" listing the important events of the story. (Again, map how the character feels at each place, and what he or she learns.)
7. How to Analyze a Short Story ? MAPPING III: CHARACTER (THESE CAN BE APPLIED TO ANY IMPORTANT CHARACTER MAPPING IV: THEMES ANALYSIS I: CHARACTER AND PLOT ANALYSIS II: IMAGES AND IDEAS ANALYSIS III: EXPERIENCE AND IDEAS
8. CONCLUSSION Stories and storytelling have existed for as long as people have had language. People love and need stories. They help us explain and understand the world. Before people could read and write storytellers travelled from village to village, telling stories. The first written stories developed from this storytelling tradition.
