Analysis of a Short Story
Introduction
A Writer’s Checklist
Selecting a story
Analyzing literary elements
Finding a focus
Crafting a thesis
Identifying key points and details
A Writer’s Model
Your Turn: Write a short-story analysis
Introduction
Did you ever discuss a movie that you have just seen?
If so, you probably discussed some of the elements
important to movies, such as special effects and plot.
Yeah, but it
was the
surprise ending
that impressed
me.
The special
effects in
that movie
were so cool!
Who would have
thought the baby would
turn into a hamster!
Introduction
Similarly, you can take an in-depth look at a particular
short story by analyzing the elements important to
short stories.
Explain your thoughts and ideas about the story by
writing a literary analysis.
A Writer’s Checklist
When you write a literary analysis of a short story,
you should:
 Select a story that interests you, and actively read
the story.
 Analyze the author’s use of literary elements in
the story.
 Find a focus for your analysis.
 Craft a thesis that states the main idea of your
writing.
 Identify key points and details to support your
thesis statement.
Selecting a story
When choosing a short story to analyze, think about
the kinds of stories that you enjoy. Do you like
mysteries, science fiction, or historical stories?
You can also choose a story by locating collections of
stories by authors whose work you have enjoyed in the
past.
Selecting a story
Read the story actively and think about your
personal response to it. As you read, answer the
following questions:
How do I feel about the story?
How do I feel about the
characters, events, and
situations in the story?
What will happen next?
What about the story is confusing?
Analyzing literary elements
Authors manipulate various literary elements to
create different effects. These elements are the
building blocks from which short stories are made.
To analyze a short story, you must identify the literary
elements being used and investigate the ways the
author uses them.
plot
irony
setting
point of view
characters
foreshadowing
Analyzing literary elements
Literary Element: Plot
The plot is the action or series of events in a story.
A story’s plot takes the reader from the starting point
to the conclusion and includes everything that
happens in between. For instance, you might
summarize the plot of a story like this:
Jim and Della face the problem of wanting
to buy each other Christmas gifts, even
though they have very little money.
Analyzing literary elements
Plot includes conflict, or the problems that characters
face, and a climax—the point at which the story’s main
conflict is resolved.
For instance, the climax of a story might be the point at
which a boy finally sticks up for himself against the
school bully.
Analyzing literary elements
Analysis Questions: Plot
The following questions will help you analyze plot.
What important problems or difficulties
do the characters face?
How are the characters’ problems
resolved?
Do the events in the story happen
logically?
Analyzing literary elements
Literary Element: Setting
The setting is the time and place in which the story
occurs.
Setting provides important clues for understanding
the people and events in the story.
In “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry
describes Jim and Della’s apartment as
shabby and run-down. This helps illustrate
that the main characters are struggling to
make ends meet.
Analyzing literary elements
Analysis Questions: Setting
Where and when does the story take place?
How do the time and place
affect characters and events,
cause a conflict, or set a
mood?
Analyzing literary elements
Literary Element: Characters
The characters are the individuals in a short story.
Authors reveal their characters’ qualities through
characterization. These qualities can be revealed
directly through description, thoughts, or feelings; or
indirectly through characters’ dialogue.
O. Henry uses Della’s reflections on Jim
to reveal key aspects of his personality,
such as his quietness and strong
character.
Analyzing literary elements
Direct characterization: Landon had a talent for
procrastination unmatched among his fellow students.
Indirect characterization: “I have never encountered
an assignment that I can’t put off until the last minute,”
Landon bragged.
Analyzing literary elements
Analysis Questions: Characters
What is the main character like?
How are the characters’ qualities revealed?
What motivates the characters?
Does the main character change? If so, how and why?
Analyzing literary elements
Literary Element: Point of View
The point of view is the angle from which a story is
told.
When told from the perspective of a character in the
story, the point of view is called first person.
When told from the perspective of a person outside the
story, the point of view is called third person.
The narrator reveals Della’s
thoughts in this story. The point
of view is third person.
Analyzing literary elements
Analysis Questions: Point of View
How does the point of view affect your
response to the story?
Does the narrator speak with the
pronoun I? This point of view is called
first person.
Does the narrator reveal the thoughts of
only one character? This point of view is
called third person.
Analyzing literary elements
Literary Element: Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a hint or suggestion of coming
events.
A character might say, “I didn’t know how much I would
regret those words in the days to come.” This statement
suggests that an important event will happen later in
the story, and it creates suspense for the reader.
The author’s discussion of Jim’s watch and
Della’s hair early in the story hints at the
important role these items will play in the
outcome of the story.
Analyzing literary elements
Analysis Questions: Foreshadowing
The following questions will help you analyze
foreshadowing:
Does the author hint at events
that might take place later?
If so, where and how?
What do these hints suggest
about the outcome of the story?
Analyzing literary elements
Literary Element: Irony
Irony is a surprising contrast between appearance or
expectation and reality. Irony can be humorous or
bitter, but it always makes us think.
Della and Jim find themselves in an
ironic situation when they discover that
the gifts they have purchased one
another can no longer be used.
This difference between expectation and
reality is a form of irony.
Analyzing literary elements
Analysis Questions: Irony
The following questions will help you analyze irony:
Do characters say one
thing while meaning
another?
Do characters encounter
situations that do not
resemble their
expectations?
Finding a focus
After you have analyzed the literary elements of a
story, you can begin to develop a focus for your work.
For example, you might choose a single literary
element to study or consider the ways in which two
elements work together.
plot
irony
setting
point of view
characters
foreshadowing
Finding a focus
Here are some ideas to help you find a focus:
Recall the ideas that went through your mind when you first
read your story. This may provide a clue to insights to share
with your reader.
Decide what you want to say about the elements of the
story that you find most important. Your thoughts will
become your main idea, or thesis.
I’ll focus on plot so that I can discuss
O. Henry’s ironic ending to “The Gift
of the Magi.”
Crafting a thesis
Next, craft a preliminary thesis statement. It should
identify the elements on which you will focus and give
your main idea about those elements.
In “The Gift of the Magi,” O. Henry
uses the plot’s ironic ending to
highlight the story’s message about
generosity and giving.
Identifying key points and
details
An effective analysis contains key points that support
its thesis statement. To identify key points for your
analysis, ask yourself:
What types of
information will I
need to convince
my audience of
the ideas in my
thesis?
What
contrasts are
present in the
story? What
are their
meanings?
Identifying key points and
details
You can also develop your key points by drawing an
idea map that traces the step-by-step progression of
your thesis throughout the plot of the story.
For instance, you could draw an idea map that shows
the various steps a character takes in changing from
selfish to selfless through the course of a story.
Beginnin
g of story
Middle
of story
Resolutio
n of story
Identifying key points and
details
Include supporting details to back up the key points
that support your thesis.
Three common methods for adding supporting details
include:
• Paraphrasing: restating a passage in your own words
As “The Gift of the Magi” begins,
Della counts her money and
worries about how little she has
to spend on Jim’s gift.
Identifying key points and
details
• Summarizing: stating the main points of a passage in
condensed form
O. Henry describes Della and Jim’s apartment
as inexpensive and run-down and explains
their financial struggles.
• Direct quotations: using the exact words from a story
When Jim returned, he “simply stared at her
fixedly with that peculiar expression on his
face.”
Identifying Key Points and
Details
Elaborate by explaining how the details you include
support your key points.
For instance, you might explain how a line from the
story reveals a particular quality of the main character.
Elaboration could also be
used to explain why an
event you summarize
represents a milestone in a
character’s development.
Identifying Key Points and
Details
The organization of support in your analysis should
follow this pattern:
Key point
O. Henry
trademark
ironic twist
ending
Specific story detail
Della cuts
hair to buy
chain for
Jims watch
Elaboration
Della’s hair is
too short to
use hair combs
Jim bought
Identifying Key Points and
Details
You can organize your literary analysis in a number
of ways. Your topic and the ideas you choose to support
it may suggest a certain type of organization.
You may choose to organize the information in your
analysis in order of importance.
An analysis of a story’s plot typically lends itself to
chronological order.
A Writer’s Checklist
Use the checklist as you look at the following Writer’s
Model and as you evaluate your own literary analysis of
a short story.
 Select a story that interests you, and actively read
the story.
 Analyze the author’s use of literary elements in
the story.
 Find a focus for your analysis.
 Craft a thesis that states the main idea of your
writing.
 Identify key points and details to support your
thesis statement.
An important part of the plot in
many of O. Henry’s short stories is an
ending with an unexpected twist. In
fact, these surprise endings became a
signature feature of his work. One of
his best-known stories, “The Gift of
the Magi,” features an example of
such an ending. In this example, O.
Henry uses the plot’s ironic ending to
emphasize the story’s message about
giving and generosity.
thesis statement
O. Henry sets up the ironic ending
of “The Gift of the Magi,” by
beginning the story’s plot rather
conventionally. He introduces the
characters of Della and Jim and
explains the key conflict of the plot:
Della cannot afford to buy a
Christmas gift that she feels is worthy
of Jim. O. Henry then shows how
Della confronts this problem, as she
sells her beautiful hair in order to
purchase a handsome chain for Jim’s
prized watch.
first key point
support
elaboration
As the plot of “The Gift of the
Magi” moves toward its resolution, O.
Henry adds his trademark twist
ending. After buying the watch chain,
Della anxiously awaits Jim’s arrival at
their apartment. She hopes that he
will not be angry with her for having
cut her hair. However, when he
arrives home, we learn that Jim has
sold his watch to buy an expensive
set of combs for Della’s now-vanished
hair. The expected conflict and
resolution has been replaced with a
different, surprising conflict and
resolution.
second key point
support
elaboration
In this way, O. Henry uses the
ironic ending to draw the reader’s
attention to the message of his story.
By showing that Della and Jim were
willing to sell their most prized
possessions for each other, he
suggests that this kind of giving and
generosity has more true value than
the wealth or material possessions
that the young couple lacked. As he
points out in the story’s final
paragraph, “Of all who give and
receive gifts, such as they are the
wisest.”
third key point
support
elaboration
The ironic ending features
prominently in the plots of many of O.
Henry’s short stories. In “The Gift of
the Magi,” the irony comes as the
author slowly reveals that Della and
Jim have both sold their most beloved
possessions for the other’s sake.
While this ending comes as a surprise
for readers, O. Henry uses this plot
device to draw readers’ attention to
the message of the story--that giving
and generosity are more valuable
than money and possessions.
conclusion
summary of key
points
Your Turn 1: Write a short-story
analysis
Write a literary analysis
in response to one of the
prompts below. Remember to use the Writer’s Checklist
and the Writer’s Model as guidelines when writing your
paper.
Select a short story that you have previously read and
enjoyed. Re-read the story and write an analysis to explain
the literary elements that make the story effective.
Select a short story that interests you. Write a literary
analysis to examine the elements in the story. Discuss why
the story is or is not effective.
The End