Literary ElementsFiction

Conventions

A short story is a short piece of fiction

Learn the elements of short stories through the classic

“Cinderella”

Setting• Setting is the time and place of

the story’s action. Setting includes ideas, customs, values, and beliefs.

The setting in “Cinderella”

• The story takes place a long time ago in a land ruled by a king and a queen.

Characters• Characters are the actors in a

story’s plot. They can be people, animals, or whatever the writer chooses.

• There is a main character in every story.

• There is another person in the story that is usually in conflict with the main character. Not all stories have this though.

Characters in “Cinderella”• Who is the main character in “Cinderella”?• The main characters is Cinderella.• Who is in conflict with Cinderella?• The stepsisters, their mother• Who are some additional Characters?• Prince and Fairy Godmother

Point of View• Point of view refers to the relationship of

the narrator, or storyteller, to the story.• In first-person point of view, the narrator

is a character in the story, referred to as “I.”

• In third-person limited point of view, the narrator reveals the thoughts of only one character, referring to that character as “he” or “she.”

Plot• Plot is the sequence of events in a story.

Each event causes or leads to the next. Plot is often created through conflict, a struggle between opposing forces.

• An external conflict is one between a character and an outside force, such as another character, nature, society, or fate.

• An internal conflict takes place within the mind of a character who is torn between opposing feelings or between different courses of action.

Problem and Conflict in “Cinderella”

• Problem: Cinderella wants to go to the ball, but her stepsisters prevent her from going.

• Conflict: The conflict is external—Cinderella versus the stepsisters and their mother.