ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY

SETTING

The time and location in which a story takes place

EX: To Kill a Mockingbirda) place (small, rural town in Alabama)b) time (just after The Great Depression)c) weather conditions (very hot, very dry)d) social conditions (tense race relations)e) mood or atmosphere (laid back, poor

economy)

PLOT The sequence of events in a

story or play

PLOT (cont’d) EX: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s

Stonea) Exposition: Mr. Dursley experiences many

strange events on the way to work: cat reading a map, people in cloaks, thinks he hears the name “Potter”

b) Rising Action: arriving at Hogwarts, break-in at Gringott’s, mystery of the Sorcerer’s Stone

c) Climax: finding the dead unicorns, attack in the Forbidden Forest

d) Falling Action: three-headed dog; Devil’s Snare, live chess match, fighting Quirrell/Voldemort

e) Resolution: defeating Voldemort (for now)

CONFLICT

There are two types of conflict: EX: Anchorman

1. External : A struggle with a force outside one's self.a) A struggle to be the highest rated

news team in San Diego (against Channel 9’s Wes Mantooth)

2. Internal: A struggle within one's selfa) A struggle with loving Veronica

Corningstone yet wanting to be the best anchor

CONFLICT (cont’d) There are four kinds of conflict: EX: Anchorman

1. Man vs. Man (physical)a) The brawl among the various news teams

2. Man vs. Circumstances (classical)a) Ron dealing with a woman joining the news

team

3. Man vs. Society (social) a) The changing of the news world now that a

woman is an anchor

4. Man vs. Himself/Herself (psychological) a) Ron’s mental breakdown after Veronica

successfully anchors the news by herself

CHARACTER(S)

EX: The Lion King PROTAGONIST: Central character

Simba ANTAGONIST: The opposer of the main

character Scar

Characters should be:  consistent, motivated, and life-like (resemble real people/animals)

POINT OF VIEW Point of view, or p.o.v., is defined as

the angle from which the story is told. 1. Innocent Eye: through the eyes of a child

a) EX: To Kill a Mockingbird, “Pink Champagne”

2. Stream of Consciousness: inside the head of a character a) EX: Fight Club

3. First Person: told by one of the charactersa) EX: The Kite Runner

4. Omniscient: author narrates the story a) EX: Harry Potter series

THEME

Controlling idea or central insight; author's underlying meaning

EX: Romeo and Juliet Love: exhilarating, and they are

willing to die for it Fate: “start-crossed lovers” Hastiness: rush into love Infatuation: were they truly in love?