Chort Storie Elements

SHORT STORY ELEMENTS

SETTING
PLOT

CONFLICT
CHARACTER

POINT OF VIEW
THEME



SETTING -- The time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting. For some stories the setting is very important, while for others it is not. There are several aspects of a story's setting to consider when examining how setting contributes to a story (some, or all, may bepresent in a story):

a) place - geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place?
b) time - When is the story taking place? (historical period, time of day, year, etc)
c) weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?
d) social conditions - What is the daily life of the characters like? Does the story contain local colour (writing that focuses on thespeech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular place)?
e) mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Is it bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?
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PLOT -- The plot is how the author arranges events to develop his basic idea; It is the sequence of events in a story or play. The plot is a planned, logical series of events having abeginning, middle, and end. The short story usually has one plot so it can be read in one sitting. There are five essential parts of plot:

a) Introduction - The beginning of the story where the characters and the setting is revealed.
b) Rising Action - This is where the events in the story become complicated and the conflict in the story is revealed (events between the introduction andclimax).
c) Climax - This is the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story. The reader wonders what will happen next; will the conflict be resolved or not?
d) Falling action - The events and complications begin to resolve themselves. The reader knows what has happened next and if the conflict was resolved or not (events between climax and denouement).
e) Denouement -This is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story.

It is helpful to consider climax as a three-fold phenomenon: 1) the main character receives new information 2) accepts this information (realizes it but does not necessarily agree with it) 3) acts on this information (makes a choice that will determine whether or not he/she gains his objective).

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CONFLICT--Conflict is essential to plot. Without conflict there is no plot. It is the opposition of forces which ties one incident to another and makes the plot move. Conflict is not merely limited to open arguments, rather it is any form of opposition that faces the main character. Within a short story there may be only one central struggle, or there may be one dominant struggle with many minor ones.There are two types of conflict:
1) External - A struggle with a force outside one's self.
2) Internal - A struggle within one's self; a person must make some decision, overcome pain, quiet their temper, resist an urge, etc.
There are four kinds of conflict:
1) Man vs. Man (physical) - The leading character struggles with his physical strength against other men, forces of nature, oranimals.
2) Man vs. Circumstances (classical) - The leading character struggles against fate, or the circumstances of life facing him/her.
3) Man vs. Society (social) - The leading character struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of other people.
4) Man vs. Himself/Herself (psychological) - The leading character struggles with himself/herself; with his/her own soul, ideas of right orwrong, physical limitations, choices, etc.

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CHARACTER -- There are two meanings for the word character:
1) The person in a work of fiction.
2) The characteristics of a person.
Persons in a work of fiction - Antagonist and Protagonist
Short stories use few characters. One character is clearly central to the story with all major events having some importance to this...