Elements of a Short Story

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Elements of a Short Story

• Mrs. Fox
• English I and English I - Honors

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Elements of a Short Story

• Plot
• Setting
• Mood
• Character
• Point of View
• Theme
• Imagery
• Symbolism

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Plot Definition and Components

• The series of events that give a story its meaning

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1. Exposition

• background information that sets the status quo.
• Status Quo -- the norm, the way that things have
  been going in the past.

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2. Inciting Incident

• Event that breaks the status quo, a conflict that
  changes the norm and leads to the Rising Action

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3. Rising Action

• Conflicts or events leading to the climax
• Conflicts the struggle between two opposing
  forces
• Internal Conflict
• Man v. Self
• External Conflicts
• Man v. Man
• Man v. Nature
• Man v. Society

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4. Climax

• 4. Climax turning point of the conflict it
  determines which side of the major conflict will
  win.

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5. Falling Action

• Events after the climax leads to denouement

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6. Denouement

• 6. Resolution - the solution to the conflict.
  At this point, the story either returns to the
  status quo or the creates a new status quo.

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Setting

• Time
• Place
• The time and place of the story also show the
  social context cultural or historical issues
  that affect a story (ex WWII Germany, Civil
  Rights Movement)

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Mood

• The feeling or atmosphere that the reader
  perceives while reading the story
• Created through the authors description of plot,
  characters, and setting

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Character

• A person or creature that takes part in a story
• Characterization presentation and development
  of a character

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Theme

• The main idea of the story
• The message of the story or an insight to life
• Answers the question, What did I learn from this
  story?

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Imagery

• Imagery descriptive language used by authors to
  create pictures in the readers minds
• Authors use the five senses (sight, sound, smell,
  taste, touch) when creating images.

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Symbols

• Symbol an extended metaphor. Objects that
  represent a greater idea
• Images or metaphors that are repeated should be
  examined for symbolism.