Elements
of a
Short Story
1. Plot
1. Plot
• Exposition- Basic situation –
introduction of setting,
Characters, etc.
1. Plot
• Rising Action - Complication –
(introduction of conflict) the main
character encounters an obstacle,
this conflict creates interest in
the story.
1. Plot
• Climax – the most tense or
exciting moment. The event
that determines the outcome of
the story (greatest emotional
involvement).
1. Plot
• Falling action – action
happening after the climax.
1. Plot
• Resolution – sometimes called
Denouement (French for
“untying The knot”). The
conclusion of the story.
1. Plot
1. Plot
Conflict – (complications)
External Conflict conflict outside the
character
1. Plot
External Conflict
• Man vs. NatureMain character
struggles with
natural forces
such as rain,
cold, snow, heat,
lack of food,
shelter, clothing,
wild animals, etc.
1. Plot
External Conflict
• Man vs.
MachineMain character
struggles with
technology or
something
manmade that
causes conflict.
1. Plot
External Conflict
• Man vs. Man
Main character
struggles with
another human
being. It could
be a small
group against
another small
group.
1. Plot
Conflict – (complications)
Internal Conflict
conflict inside the
character
1. Plot
Internal Conflict
• Man vs. Self
Main character
struggles with
his/her own
conscience or
character flaws.
1. Plot
Internal Conflict
• Man vs.
Emotions
Main character
must overcome
some emotion
that is causing
conflict, can be
fear, depression,
anger, etc.
1. Plot
Internal Conflict
• Man vs. Society
Main character struggles with a
large group of people. The large
group is in agreement with each
other. The main character does not
agree with the large group. The
main character struggles against the
rules or the standards of the human
environment in which he/she lives.
2. Character
2. Character
• Direct Characterization- the author
tells what the character is like up
front.
• Indirect Characterization – the
author shows what the character is
like through speech, action,
appearance, etc.
2. Character
• Protagonist – the main character of
the story who runs into some
conflict.
• Antagonist – character or force that
has conflict with the main character
2. Character
• Dynamic Character – a character
who changes during the story.
• Static Character – a character that
doesn’t change during the story.
2. Character
• Flat Character – a character with
only one or two personality traits.
• Round Character – a more complex
character with many traits and more
life-like.
2. Character
• Stock Character – stereotypical
character (old man, teenage
boy, damsel in distress)
(Archetype).
3. Point of
View
3. Point Of View
The vantage point from
which a writer tells a
story
3. Point of View
• Narrator- speaker or character
who tells a story. The narrator
may be either a character in the
story or an outside observer.
3. Point of View
• First Person Narrator– “I” – the
narrator is a character in the
story. Readers only see what
this character sees, hears, etc.
3. Point of View
• Third Person (limited) – the
narrator is an outside observer
but is limited to the vantage
point of a single character.
3. Point of View
• Third Person (omniscient – “all
knowing”) - the narrator is an
outside observer but can see
every characters thoughts and
feelings.
3. Point of View
• Tone – the attitude the speaker
takes toward a subject,
audience, or character.
3. Point of View
• Denotation- The dictionary
meaning of a word.
• Connotation – the set of
associations that occur when a
word is read or heard.
3. Point of View
• Denotation- The dictionary
meaning of a word.
• Connotation – the set of
associations that occur when a
word is read or heard.
4. Setting
4. Setting
• Setting is the story’s landscape
and its atmosphere.
The time
and place that gives the
background and sets
boundaries for what can and
can’t happen in a story.
The
setting contributes to the
story’s emotional effect; it can
also reveal character.
4. Setting
• Atmosphere – the feeling of
harshness or mildness, of gloom
or cheer, of beauty or ugliness,
and how it affects characters.
4. Setting
• Verisimilitude – “like truth” –
having life-like qualities. The
appearance of being true to life.
5. Irony
5. Irony
• A direct contrast of
expectations- a suggestion of
the opposite of what is meant.
5. Irony
• Verbal Irony – spoken words are
used to suggest the opposite of
what is meant.
5. Irony
• Sarcasm- a type of irony in
which a person appears to be
praising something but is
actually insulting it.
5. Irony
• Situational Irony – When
something is supposed to
happen, but the opposite
actually happens.
5. Irony
• Dramatic Irony – In a play or
movie when we know
something that the characters
on stage or screen don’t.
5. Irony
• Cosmic Irony- or the irony of
fate, misfortune is the result of
fate, chance, or God
5. Irony
• Satire- writing that ridicules
something with the intention of
changing it. A satirist wants to
expose human stupidity,
wickedness, greed, injustice,
cruelty, and deceit in a person,
a group of people, or humanity
at large.
5. Irony
• Anticlimax – an event, period, or
outcome that is strikingly less
important or dramatic than
expected.
6. Theme
6. Theme
• The story’s meaning and rootssome idea about human life and
human nature. A generalization
about human beings or about
life.
6. Theme
• Allusion- a reference to a well
known person, place, event,
literary work, or work of art.
6. Theme
• Analogy- a comparison that
explains one subject by pointing
out its similarities to another
subject.
6. Theme
• Foreshadowing- the use of clues
that suggest events that have
yet to occur.
6. Theme
• Flashback- a section in a
literary work that interrupts the
sequence of events to relate an
event from an earlier time.
7. Symbol
7. Symbol
• An object, a setting, an event,
an animal, or even a person that
functions the way you’d expect
it, but also stands for something
greater than itself, usually for
something abstract.
7. Symbol
• Symbols are often identified by
emphasis or their reappearance. Symbols are often
visual, and have something to
do with the story’s theme.