A short story contains the following key elements: a plot involving a conflict that builds to a climax and is resolved, characters that experience events and develop over time, a setting that establishes the story's time and place, and a theme about some aspect of human nature or experience. Short stories use literary devices like irony, tone, and point of view to engage the reader and convey their meaning in a concise format that can be read in one sitting.

1. SHORT STORY
ELEMENTS
A short story is a work of fiction that can be read in one sitting.

2. PLOT
Plot is the action or sequence of events in a literary work. It is a series of
related events that build upon one another.
Plots may be simple or complex, loosely constructed or close-knit.
Plot includes the following:
whatever the characters do
whatever the characters say
whatever the characters think
whatever happens to the characters
whatever the characters cause to happen to others

3. There are five basic elements to the plot:
exposition
rising action
climax
falling action Climax
resolution
tion(
Falli
ction
s)
plica
s) &
flict(
ng A
ng A
Com
Con
ction
Risi
Exposition Resolution
(Denouement)

4. Exposition-gives the background of the story
Rising Action-introduces complications; builds
suspense
Climax- the turning point of the story,
suspense reaches its peak
Falling Action and Resolution-resolves the
conflict, usually ties up loose ends

5. The plot of a short story
centers around conflict.
Conflict is a struggle
between opposing forces.
Complications build the
reader’s excitement.

6. A conflict is the struggle between two
opposing forces or characters in a story that
triggers action.
Conflict can be internal or external.
Internal Conflict = Man vs. Self
This is the conflict that takes place
within an individual (an inner battle of
conscience)

7. External Conflict: This is an individual’s struggle against something
outside of themselves. There are five basic types of external conflict…
1) man vs. man (or group of people)
2) man vs. society
3) man vs. nature/animal
4) man vs. supernatural
5) man vs. fate or destiny
Conflicts are also known as complications.When you read, keep in
mind that there may be a single conflict that is uncomplicated or easy to
recognize in the story or there may be several,
more subtle conflicts involved.

8. CLIMAX
This is the point of greatest intensity, interest, or suspense in a narrative
which will somehow determine the outcome of the story. In drama, the
climax is also identified with the terms crisis and/or turning point.
It’s the point of the story that “changes everything.”

9. FALLING ACTION
This is the part of the
story that shows the
“working out” of the
action that occurred
during the story’s
climax. (Certain
issues/ happenings
must be resolved
[worked out] to reach a
resolution).

10. RESOLUTION
The resolution is also called the
denouement. This is the portion of the
story where the problem is somehow
resolved. It follows after the climax and
falling action and is intended to bring the
story to a satisfactory end/close.

11. SETTING
This is the time and place of the action of a story.
Setting can be of great importance in establishing not only the physical
background, but also in creating the atmosphere/
mood of the story (tension, suspense, peacefulness, etc.)
Setting can include time (minute/hour, year, month, decade, etc.), weather
(season, literal weather, etc.), places (planets, countries, cities, buildings,
homes, stores, etc.) or any other thing that helps set the background.

12. CHARACTERIZATION
This is the personality a character displays as well as the means by
which an author reveals that personality.
A storyteller generally develops a character through indirect methods of
characterization (the author allows reader to draw his or her own
conclusions).
Storyteller/Author does this…
by showing a character acting or speaking
by giving a physical description of the character
by revealing the character’s thoughts
by revealing what others think of or say about the character

13. Stories often include a protagonist and an antagonist.
PROTAGONIST: This is the chief character in a work on whom our
interest centers. This term is preferable over the terms hero or heroine
because a protagonist can sometimes include characters who might be,
for example, villainous or weak (but characters whom we are still
interested in or concerned about regardless of their flaws in character).
ANTAGONIST: This is the character or force which opposes
(literally “wrestles”) the main character; therefore, if the protagonist is
pitted against an important opponent, that opponent is called the
antagonist.

14. POINT OF VIEW
This is the angle or position from which the story is told. There are
two basic points of view for storytelling: the first-person point of view
and the third-person point of view.
FIRST-PERSON: Through this view, the story is told by one of the
characters in his or her own words by using “I.”
First-person point of view is always considered to be a limited point
of view since he reader is told only what one specific
character knows and observes.

15. THIRD-PERSON: Through this view, the story is told
by someone outside of the story itself by using “he” or
“she.” The third-person narrator may be working from
an omniscient view or a limited omniscient view.
OMNISCIENT: This narrator is an all-knowing
observer who can describe all the characters’ actions,
thoughts, and feelings.
LIMITED OMNISCIENT: This is a storyteller who
shares the thoughts and feelings of only one particular
character or a select group of characters (clearly lacking
or failing to share information about other characters).

16. THEME
This is the main idea or the basic meaning of a literary work. It is a statement
about life…specifically “the human condition”.
Themes are UNIVERSAL truths about life.
Because they are universal, they stand the test of time, and themes are repeated
over-and-over in books, movies, songs, etc. Then they become what’s called a
motif.
Theme is rarely a moral/lesson (it is usually just
a statement about life that we know/accept to be true).
Ex:Pride and Prejudice. A theme from that book is not to judge people before you
get to know them-- don't have prejudices.
In the Hobbit... one theme is that even a small person can make a difference.

17. Theme can be expressed directly, but more often, theme is implicit
(this is…it is implied and must be dug out and thought about).
A theme should not be expressed as a single word; rather, it should
be expressed as a thematic phrase or sentence.
In other words, never say the theme of a story is LOVE! Be sure
your thematic phrase or sentence answers…WHAT ABOUT LOVE?
Remember, themes are commentaries on life (the “human
condition”) that we all know and accept as truth to some degree
(“universal truths”) .
Some example: all children will experience a loss of innocence…
death will come to us all…greed often guides human desires…evil
exists in the word without explanation…the bond of the family is a
strong one…all people have prejudices…etc.

18. MOOD
Mood is the feeling a text arouses and creates in the reader/ audience
(such as happiness, anger, sadness, depression, joy, etc.). It is the attitude
of the audience/reader toward the subject matter he or she is reading.
TONE
Tone is the overall feeling, or effect, created by a writer’s use of
words. Tone reveals the author’s attitude toward his own subject
matter and the audience.
So…
mood is the attitude of the audience/reader toward the
particular subject matter he or she is reading AND tone
is the author’s apparent attitude toward his own subject
matter and/or the audience

19. IRONY
Irony is a contrast or
discrepancy between what is
stated and what is really meant
(reality and appearance), or
between what is expected to
happen and what actually does
happen. There are three kinds
of irony:
verbal irony
dramatic irony
situational irony

20. VERBAL IRONY
A writer/speaker says
one thing and means
something entirely
different. (Ex. After
walking out into the
rainstorm without her
umbrella, the girl says,
“Well isn’t this just a
beautiful day!?”)

21. DRAMATIC IRONY
A reader or an audience perceives
something that a character in the story
or play does not know. The character is
completely unaware of something that
the reader is aware of. The audience is
aware of the character’s mistakes.
"In There's Something About Mary
(1998), [when] Ted thinks he's been
arrested for picking up a hitchhiker while
the audience knows he's being
questioned by police about a murder,
otherwise innocuous lines he delivers,
such as 'I've done it several times before'
and 'It's no big deal,' generate laughter."

22. IRONY OF SITUATION
A writer shows a discrepancy (great difference) between the expected result of a
particular action and the actual result.
Examples: a man who takes a step aside in order to avoid getting sprinkled by a
wet dog, and falls into a swimming pool.
If the president of Microsoft, Bill Gates, were to win a contest whose grand prize
was a computer system, the irony would be situational because such a circumstance
would appear ridiculous or "funny" for a number of reasons. Bill Gates doesn't
need a computer, he runs the world's largest software company, and he's filthy rich,
so winning a computer seems silly and "ironic". This list of half-justified reasons
for the oddness of the situation could go on and on but on a very basic level of
reasoning all these reasons does really adds up.

23. SYMBOLISM
A symbol is something (such as an object, person,
situation, or action), in a literary work which maintains its
own meaning while at the same time representing
something broader than itself. When a symbol is used in
writing, its “double nature” can make it very complex and
sometimes difficult to recognize.
There are many symbols that are used over and over again.
! the rose ! = ! love
! spring ! = ! rebirth
! dove !! = ! peace
! flag ! ! = ! patriotism, honor