Short Story Elements
Short Stories Develop
 Plot
 Characters
 Setting
 Narrator/Point
of View
Plot
 Plot
is the series of related events in
a story, each connected to the text.
 Plot tells us the beginning, middle,
and end of the story.
 The sequence of events can be
altered, such as in foreshadowing or
flashback, to add interest
Plot elements
Exposition – the opening of a story, when
characters and their conflicts are
introduced.
 In “Most Dangerous Game,” the reader
knows that something bad will happen on
the island when Whitney and Rainsford
discuss the name and the area. We also
find out that Rainsford is a hunter who
thinks that the animals they hunt have no
feelings. We also know that they are on a
boat in the dark.
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Plot elements
 Conflict
– inner and outer conflict
 Outer conflict is between people or a
person and a force of nature (man
vs. man or man vs. weather)
 Inner conflict is inside a character’s
head or heart (man vs. fear of
heights, man vs. guilt)
Examples of conflict
 In
“Most Dangerous Game,”
Rainsford had to battle Zaroff, Ivan
and the dogs – this is an outer or
external conflict.
 In the story, Rainsford had to battle
his own ideas about hunting – this is
an example of inner or internal
conflict.
Characters
 There
are five main ways an author
can develop a character
 Physical Appearances
 Actions
 Thoughts
 Language
 Other People’s Reactions
Character Types
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Protagonist – main character who has a conflict
Antagonist – person who opposes main character
Round characters – described with many details
and fully described
Flat characters – not many details are offered
about him or her
Dynamic characters – people who change in the
course of the story
Static characters – people who never change in
the story
Characters
 Protagonist
– Rainsford
 Antagonist – Zaroff
 Dynamic – Lizabeth
 Static – Ms. Lottie
 Round – Roger or Ms. Jones
 Flat – Lizabeth’s brother
Setting
 Authors
use sensory details to
develop setting.
 Sights – busy street, elegant clothes
 Sounds – beeps, screams, barks
 Smells – turkey in the oven, locker
room stench, fire
 Touch – soft couch, cold hallway
 Taste –popcorn and soda at the
movies
Five more elements of setting
 Geographical
– rural town
 Regional - South
 Physical vs. mental – physical home
 Specific vs. universal - universal
 Time period – 1920s or 1930s
From “A Christmas Memory” or
“Marigolds”
Narrator
Third Person Omniscient – one who is not
a character and uses third person
pronouns (he, she, names, etc.) – like in
“The Interlopers.”
 Third Person Limited – one who is not a
character, but only gives the perspective
of one character – like in “The Necklace.”
 First Person – the narrator is a character,
but the perspective is unreliable because
the character only gives readers his or her
own ideas – like in Monster.
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Requirements
You should have 20 entries
 10 of these should tell what the elements
mean – use your own words or those in
the glossary.
 10 of these should refer to a story that we
have read
 You must finish your project by the end of
class on Wednesday, so we can present
information and review on Thursday.
 Your project is worth a test grade.
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