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Elements of a Short Story

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8 views

Elements of a Short Story

Uploaded by

glendelbernales4
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
Available Formats
Download as PPTX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Elements of

Short
Story
A short story is one of the forms of fiction
writing. Fiction is a series of events made from the
imagination of the author. It is a prose writing
which does not depend on verses, rhymes or
meters for the organization and presentation of
the narrative.

SHORT STORY
Setting
This element refers to
the place and time of
the story. When
evaluating the setting,
look for where the
action takes place. In
addition, the historical
period may be
important.
Conflict
In every story, there has to be
a problem. The main
character has to be
challenged in some way or the
story will go nowhere. There
are four basic conflicts to look
for that may face the main
character:

● Man versus man


● Man versus nature
● Man versus himself Man vs himself
● Man versus society
Man vs nature

Man vs man
Man vs society
Character

The characters
are the heart of
the story. The
two primary
characters are
called the
protagonist
and the
antagonist.
The protagonist is
the main character.
It is not safe to call
him the hero
because the main
character is not
always heroic.
He/she is the person
with which the story
is most concerned.
The antagonist
does not have to
be a human being.
If he is a person,
he may be the
villain. This
character does not
have the main
character’s best
interest at heart.
Some characters do not
change in a story: these
characters are called FLAT.
The characters that change or
grow are called ROUND.

A character is considered flat


(or static) when he or she
does not experience change
of any kind, does not grow
from beginning to end.
Shakespeare often uses comic
villains as flat characters, like
Don Jon in Much Ado About
Nothing..
Flat Character

Gertrude from “Hamlet”


(William Shakespeare)

Severus Snape from


“Harry Potter Series”

Round Character
Dynamic - A dynamic character is a
person who changes over time, usually as a
result of resolving a central conflict or facing
a major crisis. Most dynamic characters tend
to be central rather than peripheral
characters, because resolving the conflict is
the major role of central characters.
Sydney Carton,
A Tale of Two Cities
(by Charles Dickens)

Static - A static character is


someone who does not change
over time; his or her personality
does not transform or evolve. Scar,
The Lion King
(by Don Ferguson)
Plot
The plot is the arrangement
of the events in the story.
The plot should follow some
logical sequence of events.
There are five elements to
look in the plot.

The Exposition-The initial


events, the introduction of
characters, and beginning of
the story.
The Rising Action- The
beginning of the conflict.
Complications arise.

The Climax-This is the highest


point of interest in the story. It is
the turning point that aims toward
the conclusion of the story.

The Falling Action- The events


that occur which begin to resolve
the conflict.

Denouement-This is the final


outcome of the story.
Theme

This is the controlling


idea or the insight
that the author wants
the reader to
understand at the
end of the story. The
theme is often the Romance, Family
author’s thoughts or Feud and Tragedy
view of a subject.
Point of view
This element of the story
is how the story is told . It
also determines who will
be the narrator of the
story.

First Person-One of
the characters tells the
story and interacts in the
story as well.
Third Person-the
author can narrate the
story using a “god-like”
position in which he can
see into the minds of the
characters.

Limited Omniscient-
Still in third person, the
narrator will only know
what the character
knows or what the
author tells the narrator.
THE END

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