Short Stories
M. Jones - English
What is a Short Story?
 Semi-official definition:
A work of fiction that
can be read in one
sitting.
Have we read any short stories thus
far?
 Duffy’s Jacket
 3 Skeleton Key
 The Legend of Sleepy Hollow
Famous Short Stories
 A Clean Well-Lighted Place – Ernest Hemingway
 The Lottery – Shirley Jackson
 The Last Leaf – O. Henry
 Araby – James Joyce
 The Tell-Tale Heart - Edgar Allen Poe
Many of the most famous book authors
have also written short stories.
Elements of a Short Story
All short stories have certain characteristics
that most novels, books, stories, movies etc
have.
1. Characters
 The story’s “actors.” Could be people or animals.
 Protagonist: the main character. This person is the one facing
the problem.
 Antagonist: The character or force that conflicts with the
protagonist.
2. Plot
 The chain of related events that take place in a story. “What
happens in the story!”
What is a Basic Situation?
What is Rising Action?
What is the Climax?
What is a Resolution?
Conflict
 A struggle between 2 opposing forces.
 External Conflict:
 Man vs. Man
 Man vs. Nature
 Man vs. obstacle or society
 Internal Conflict:
 Man vs. Himself
4. Theme
 The idea about human life and human nature that gives
meaning to the story. The central message. What is it that this
author is trying to say??
 Characteristics of a Theme?
 A theme must be stated in at least one complete sentence.
 A theme must be expressed as a generalization about life or
human nature.
 Should explain the whole story, not just parts of it.
 A theme is not the same as a moral.
How to determine a Theme?
 Ask how the protagonist has changed during the story.
 Think about the story’s title or statements in the story that
point to the writer’s view of the world or human nature.
 You will have to think about the Theme! The writer usually
does not come out and say it.
5. Point of View
 The vantage point from which the story is told. Who’s telling
it??
 1st Person:
 Narrator is a character in the story
 Uses first-person pronouns “I, me, my, we us, our”
 Knows thoughts feelings of one character, speaks directly to the
reader
Point of View
 3rd Person Limited:
 Narrator does not participate in action of story
 Does not refer to themselves
 Knows the thoughts and feelings of ONE characters
 3rd Person Omniscient:
 Narrator doesn’t participate at all.
 Narrator does not refer to themselves.
 Narrator knows thoughts and feelings of all characters.