Elements of a
Short Story
OBJECTIVES
 Identify
elements of a short
story
 Define elements of a short
story
 Demonstrate mastery of short
story elements
OVERVIEW
Short stories often contain
structural and character elements
that should be familiar to you.
These elements can be used as
guides to help you think about the
actions, themes, and contexts of
the story.
 Theme
 Plot
- exposition statement
 Setting
- rising action
 Characters
- conflict
climax
 Point of view
- falling action
 Characterization
- resolution
THEME
 The
main idea of a literary work,
usually expressed as a generalization
and in sentence form.
 Example: “Forgiveness is the key to
true happiness.”
SETTING
• The time and place in which
the story is set.
“Characters
in the plot connect us with the
vastness of our secret life, which is
endlessly explorable.” – Eudora Welty
CHARACTERS
 The
point of writing stories: telling
us what human beings are like.
 Characters allow readers to “see”
life from different perspectives and
to “meet” new (or familiar) people.
 Protagonist- The
main character in
the story, usually the good guy.
 Antagonist- The
character who
works against the protagonist in the
story.
Character Types

A Static Character is one who does not
change or grow in the story.
Scar, from The Lion King, was evil and self-serving in the beginning,
and he kept those traits until he died.

A Dynamic Character changes as a result of
the story’s events.
Ebenezer Scrooge, in A Christmas Carol by Dickens, was very
stingy with his money. He worked his employees very very hard for
little pay. After his experiences with the ghosts that visited him, he
changed his ways, paying his employees a more than fair wage,
providing days off work and actually giving gifts.
CHARACTERIZATION
The description of the
personalities of the characters
in the story and the ways in
which authors indirectly reveal
their personality traits:
-
Speech
Thoughts
Effect on other characters
Action
Looks
PLOT

The sequence or order of events in a
story, each event connected to the next
like a chain. Each event in a plot
“hooks” our curiosity and pulls us
forward to the next event.

Suspense builds as the series of related
events hook our curiosity.

The plot includes the following (4)
parts:
CHRONOLOGICAL PLOT
DIAGRAM
Climax
Conflict
Exposition
Resolution
1. Basic Situation/Exposition
-
Exposition – This is the part of
the plot that tells how the story
begins. The characters,
conflict, and setting are usually
introduced.
-
Example ~ Cinderella
The basic situation shows us
Cinderella, a beautiful and good
heroine, in a conflict with her evil
stepmother and nasty stepsisters.
2. Rising Action/Complication

The part of the story in which the
main character takes some action
to resolve the conflict and meets
with problems or complications:
danger, fear, hostility, etc.

Example ~ Cinderella
Cinderella wants to go to the ball. Her
stepmother says “No,” but a Fairy
Godmother promises to get her to the ball if
she obeys one rule: “Be home by midnight.”
Cinderella goes to the ball, the Prince falls
in love with her, she flees at midnight, and
she loses one of her glass slippers.
3. Climax
- Climax: the KEY scene of the
story
That tense or exciting moment
when we realize what the
outcome of the conflict is going
to be.
- Example ~ Cinderella
The Prince makes a house-to-house search
for the foot that fits the slipper and finds
that foot on Cinderella.
4. Falling Action(s)
All of the action which follows the climax
 Example ~ Cinderella:
Cinderella and the prince make preparations
for their wedding.

5. Resolution/Denouement



The final part of the story. (The French
word, denouement, means “unraveling
the knot”).
All the loose ends are tied up.
Example ~ Cinderella
Cinderella marries the Prince and they live
happily ever after. In the original Girmm story,
you also learn that ravens peck out the eyes of
the evil stepmother.
Conflict = Struggle
Conflict

External Conflict:
Conflict between a character and
another person OR a character and
something non-human.
- Man vs. Man
- Man vs. Society
- Man vs. Nature
Conflict

Internal Conflict:
Conflict takes place inside a
character’s mind
Man vs. Himself (fears, self-doubts,
etc.)
CONCLUSION
Now that we have
identified and defined the
elements of a short story,
let us use the elements to
analyze a short story. You
may use your notes from
the PowerPoint
presentation.
Bibliography
Dinneen, K. Elements of the Short Story. Retrieved Jun.
19, 2003, from Yale-New Haven Teachers Institute:
http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1983/3/83.03.09.x.html
Five Elements of a Story. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003,
http://www.teachervision.com/lesson-plans/lesson-2277.html
Guevin, D. Short Story Elements. Retrieved Jun. 19, 2003,
http://www.uvm.edu/~dguevin/Elements.html
Anderson, Robert, Et. al. Elements of Literature. Austin:
Holt, Rinehart, and Winston, 1989.