Elements of Short Stories
Climax
Rising Action
Falling Action
Exposition/ Initial Conflict
Resolution/
Dénouement
I. PLOT - series of related events that make up a story or drama
A. Exposition/Basic Situation – the opening of the story
1. Setting – time, place, atmosphere/mood
2. Character(s)
B. Conflict - struggle between opposing forces
1. External conflict – a character struggles against some outside force
a. Person vs. Person – between two or more characters
b. Person vs. Nature – between the character and an element of nature
c. Person vs. Society – between a character and his/her society, customs or laws
d. Person vs. Fate/Supernatural – a struggle that is pre-determined from which the
character cannot escape
2. Internal conflict – a struggle between opposing needs, or desires, or
emotions within a single person
a. Person vs. Self – between a character and his/her emotions and decisions
C. Rising Action - The main character(s) take action to resolve the conflict and meet with
complications along the way
D. Climax - turning point of the story; emotional high point; moment of decision
of the main character(s) when we realize what the outcome of the
conflict is going to be.
E. Falling action - events that lead to the resolution
F. Conclusion/Resolution/Dénouement - outcome of the conflict involved with the
main character(s) / end of the story
II. POINT OF VIEW – the vantage point from which the author tells a story.
1. First person – the narrator, a character in the story and usually the protagonist, tells the
story from his/her perspective using I, me, we, etc.
2. Second person – a story told using "you," which places the reader immediately and
personally into the story
3. Third person omniscient (“all knowing”) – the narrator uses third person pronouns
(he/she/they etc.) and knows everything that is going on in the story.
This type of narrator is not limited by time or space.
4. Third person limited – the narrator tells the story using third person pronouns but limits
herself to what one character can sense; the limitations are the same as
in first person.
III. CHARACTER – an individual in a story or play. In some stories, such as fables, a character is an animal.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
G.
H.
Protagonist – the main character of the story; the one who has to deal with the conflict(s)
Antagonist – the force that works against the protagonist; does not have to be a person
Minor characters
Foil – either one who is in most ways opposite to the main character or nearly the same as the
main character. The purpose of the foil character is to emphasize the traits of the main
character by comparison or contrast.
Dynamic character – changes by the end of the story, learning something
that changes him or her in a permanent way.
Static character – does not change; he or she is the same person at the end of
the story as he was at the beginning.
Round character – complex and have many different traits; readers may
even be able to anticipate the actions of a round character
if the characterization is well done and consistent.
Flat character – have only one or two personality traits and can be summed up in a single phrase;
we know very little about a flat character and are not meant to serve as main
characters. They serve as necessary elements in plot or as elements of the
setting.
IV. CHARACTERIZATION—techniques the writer uses to develop the personality of a character. A writer
can reveal a character in the following ways:
Direct
Indirect
Indirect
Direct
Direct
IV. ANALAYSING CHARACTERS
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Motivation - cause of actions
Behavior - actions of the character
Consequences - results of actions
Responsibility - moral, legal, or mental accountability
Expectations – what the character expects vs. what actually happens
VI. DESCRIPTION
A. Sensory details – language that appeals specifically to the five senses
B. Figurative language
1. Simile - comparison using like or as
2. Metaphor - comparison using is or form of is
a. Implied metaphor
b. Extended metaphor
c. Personification
3. Imagery - specific sense of images, also sensory detail
a. Visual imagery (sight)
b. Auditory imagery (sound)
c. Olfactory imagery (smell)
d. Gustatory imagery (taste)
e. Tactile imagery (touch)
f. Kinesthetic imagery (movement)
4. Symbols – a person, place, thing or idea that stands for something else.
Water can symbolize purity. Light (as in sun light) often is used
to symbolize knowledge or truth.
5. Allusion - a reference to a person, place, event, thing, etc. that is known from
literature, religion, history, myths, pop culture, etc.
6. Other (e.g. repetition, onomatopoeia, etc.)
V. OTHER LITERARY DEVICES / ELEMENTS
A. Flashback – a scene that interrupts the normal chronological sequence of events in
a story to story to depict something that happened at an earlier time.
B. Foreshadowing – the use of clues to hint at what is going to happen later in the plot.
C. Irony – satire, sarcasm or paradox
1. Verbal irony – a writer or speaker says one thing but really means something completely
different.
a. ex: Your boyfriend shows up in ripped up jeans and a stained t-shirt. With a smirk,
you say, "Oh! I see you dressed up for our date.”
2. Situational irony – what we expect to happen is the opposite of what really does take place.
a. ex: You stay up all night studying for a test. When you go to class, you discover the
test is not until the next day.
3. Dramatic irony – the audience or the reader knows something important that a character in a
play or story does not know.
a. ex: you know that the house in the story is haunted, but the family in the story buys
it and moves in without knowing all the horrible things that will happen.
D. Tone – the attitude a writer takes toward the reader, a subject, or a character.
E. Mood – the feeling a piece of literature arouses in the reader ex: happiness, sadness,
peacefulness, worry, etc.
F. Title – the title of a piece of literature generally suggests the subject or the theme of that piece.
VI. THEME – what the author wants us to know about the general truth of the story; the
central idea of a work of literature; themes tend to be universal (an idea
that is true for most people over time and across cultures)
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Additional Terms for Novel Study
The Frame Story Arrangement:
The outside framework serves several purposes: It establishes time frames, defines the
narrator or storyteller, sets a mood for the rest of the novel, and prepares the reader for the inside
narrative. Example: In The Catcher in the Rye, the outside framework for the novel is the “rest
home” from which Holden begins his story in chapter one and ends it in chapter twenty-six.
The inside framework introduces the reader to the true narrative viewpoint of the story.
Example: In The Catcher in the Rye, the inside framework identifies Salinger’s selection of genre
for the narration. Knowledge of several genres will assist in our understanding the plot of this
novel. They include:

Quest Narrative: A story in which the central character is searching for something, such
as a person, location, or abstract value.

Picaresque: An episodic plot, usually first person autobiographical

Psychological: Story focuses on the internal psychological aspects of the central character,
yet still mixes outer narrative
Dialect / Colloquialism / Idiom (Vernacular Language)
The use of dialect / colloquialism allows the reader to "hear" the uniqueness of the character and
to better understand the differences between characters and settings. Vernacular is everyday
language. Idiom refers to the peculiarities of vernacular language. It is the use of words in such a
way that the meaning is lost if the expression is translated literally.
Stream of consciousness
In this writing technique the writer tries to capture the exact flow of the character's thoughts.
Example: Notice that when Holden narrates the story he jumps from one thing to another. People
don't think in "straight lines" and neither does Holden. Our thoughts flow like a stream… a stream
of consciousness.
Flashback / Digression
A flashback is an account of something that has already happened in the story. A flashback
usually involves an interruption in the action of the story. Example: Notice that, in the novel,
Holden is telling us what happened to him and how he got where he is. He interrupts his present to
tell us about action that has already occurred. Digression is a part of something spoken or written
that departs from the central topic or line of thinking: digression is a diversion of thought. Salinger
uses flashback as a digression.
Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing occurs when the author gives us a hint at something that is going to happen.
Hyperbole
A statement that is an obvious exaggeration is called hyperbole. Hyperbole is so much a part of
our conversation that we don't even realize it.
Images / Symbolism / Motif
Images, symbols and motifs are used by writers for many reasons: to focus attention on what the
writer wants a reader to notice; to create interior patterns within the literary work; to lend
continuity; to create emphasis; to create a structural unity; to add texture to the prose.
Images: Words that create pictures in the readers mind or suggest special impressions. Images
can be visual or sensual – smell, taste, touch, or colour.
Symbols: An image, person, place, or thing which also represents something larger or more
abstract, in the way that a flag symbolizes a country.
Symbols to explore in The Catcher in the Rye:
the hunting hat; New York City; Central Park; the skate key; the baseball mitt;
“madman”; “shoot the bull”; the ducks; “Old’…”; “kings in back row”; the gold ring on
the carrousel; the museum
Motif: A recurring pattern of features – objects, images, symbols – in a literary work.
Pastiche: A literary technique employing a generally light-hearted tongue-in-cheek imitation of
another’s style; although jocular, it is usually respectful (as opposed to parody, which is not).
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