What to Study in a Short Story
Terms
Explanation
Short Story Types
Slice of Life - a story in which the main idea(s) is illustrated by ordinary event(s) in
the life of a character.
Twist in the Tale - a strongly plot-driven story in which a key revelation or
surprise is withheld until the end.
Short Story
Subjects
Many!!! For example, romance, horror, science fiction, thriller, detective, war,
adventure, comedy, tragedy, historical, fantasy, moral, human interest, medical,
humorous, juvenile, political comment. Stories often fit into more than one
category, e.g. a humorous science fiction
Author’s
background
Author’s experiences. These can reveal the purpose behind the short story.
Title
The name of the short story. The title of a short story can often be a clue as to
the direction of the story. Or to focus on a significant image or symbol within the
story.
When close reading a short story you should examine the relevance of the title to
the action and exchanges that occur in the story. Consider the use of irony,
symbolism, allusion and humour in the title as you read the story.
Example: Owen Marshall uses the title “Cabernet Sauvingon with my Brother” to
draw attention to the wine as a symbol of friendship, of unity between the
narrator and his brother.
The beginning
Introduces you to the important aspects of the story such as the setting,
background or characters.
The end
As you read short stories you will realise that the ways writers choose to end the
stories will have different effects on you.
A writer may choose to end the story with all strands of the story tied up so the
reader can see all that happens to the characters and can recognise the purpose
of the story reasonably easily.
Others will end the story with a twist ending that makes you smile or recoil in
disgust.
Another way to end a story is to leave the ends loose so the reader has to
provide the ending based on the clues and hints left by the writer throughout the
story.
Viewpoint
Who is telling the story? From whose point of view is the story told?
It could be a:
Eye of god –refers to the character as he, she, her, him, they, their, them.
Stream of consciousness: used to tell a story as if the character is thinking. The
story may go in many directions that are linked by the narrator’s thoughts.
External narrative: an all-seeing narrator who is not one of the characters in the
story – the narrator uses names of the characters and ‘he’ and ‘she’ when talking
about the characters.
First person narrative: where one of the characters tells the story – the narrator
is called ‘I’.
Third person narrative: the narrator focuses on one character more than the
others – uses the character’s name and ‘he’ or ‘she’.
Style
How a story is written. The way the author has used language (vocabulary,
grammar) and figures of speech (e.g. similes, metaphors, personification) and the
way the author has organised the plot.
Structure
How the story is organised. It could be chronological (in the order of the events
as they happen). It could use flashbacks (we are briefly shown some events in the
past which help us to understand what is happening now)
Tone
The mood or atmosphere the author has used for the story. It could be, for
example: humorous (funny), sad, hopeless, negative, positive.
Imagery
The use of figures of speech to create images of characters/ setting/ theme.
Plot
What actually happens in the story.
Characters
The people in the story. There are main characters and minor characters.
Setting
The place, the time and the social background of the text.
Theme
The main idea or message of the text that the author is trying to make you
understand.
Reaction from
reader
How you feel when you read the text – influenced by your own age, sex,
background, experience and reading preferences.
6 Rules for the Short Story (Edgar Allan Poe)
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Be complete in itself- no outside or further reading should be required.
Be able to be read in one sitting.
Have each word chosen for effect.
Have a good opening sentence that is developed throughout the work.
End at its climax.
Have no unnecessary characters.
What is in a Short Story?
There are several aspects that make up a short story. These are:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
A storyline or plot.
A point of view.
The writer’s intention or theme.
The characters.
The settings.
The whole story is given tone by the way the writer chooses to tell the story. This involves both point
of view and style.
Why write a Short Story?
There are several possible purposes a writer creates a short story. Including:
1.
2.
3.
4.
To entertain the reader.
Make the reader question something.
Take a position on an issue by conveying an opinion.
Make the reader feel something.
A short story can have more than one purpose which becomes clear to the reader through the tone
and style of writing used by the author, as well as what occurs.
How do you read a short story?
Ask yourself:
How important is the title?
How does the story begin?
How does the story develop?
How does the story end?
Who tells the story?
What sort of language is used?
What images are used?
What are the characters like?
Answering these questions will help you understand the story and the author’s purpose for writing it.
NOTE: When writing an essay remember to note what the effect on you, the reader, is.