ENGLISH LITERATURE I
Short Story
What is a Short Story?
A short story is : a
brief work of fiction
where, usually, the
main character faces a
conflict that is worked
out in the plot of the
story
What is a Short Story?
A fictional narrative brief enough to be transmitted at a
single hearing or reading. The form is ancient and examples
of its popularity and success include Aesop's Fables, The
Arabian Nights, and the medieval fabliaux, the stories in
Boccaccio's Decameron, and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
The literary short story dates from the 19th century and was
fostered by the rise of the novel and the growth of
periodicals for leisure reading. It is found in all modern
literary cultures and may range from some 500 words in a
magazine to around 10,000 words; a longer story of less
than novel length is a novella.
What is a Short Story?
Edgar Allen Poe defined it as 'a short prose narrative requiring from
a half-hour to one or two hours in its perusal' (review of Twice-Told
Tales by Nathaniel Hawthorne, 1842). Despite its brevity, it shares
with the novel such features as plot, characterization, and narrative
point of view. It must, however, be succinct in presenting its basic
intention: the plot cannot be elaborate, it is likely to begin near its
climax, and is unlikely to continue long after the climax has been
reached. The few characters are presented through dialogue and
action rather than description and comment. Within these
constraints, the interest may be primarily in the incidents (as with
Poe's stories), in a surprise ending (as with Ambrose Bierce and O.
Henry), in the presentation of character (as by Anton Chekhov), or
in the symbiosis of character and setting (as in James Joyce's
Dubliners).
What is a Short Story?
A fictional narrative brief enough to be transmitted at a single
hearing or reading. The form is ancient and examples of its
popularity and success include Aesop's Fables, The Arabian
Nights, and the medieval fabliaux, the stories in Boccaccio's
Decameron, and Chaucer's Canterbury Tales. The literary short
story dates from the 19th century and was fostered by the rise of
the novel and the growth of periodicals for leisure reading. It is
found in all modern literary cultures and may range from some
500 words in a magazine to around 10,000 words; a longer story
of less than novel length is a novella. Edgar Allen Poe defined it
as 'a short prose narrative requiring from a half-hour to one or two
hours in its perusal' (review of Twice-Told Tales by Nathaniel
Hawthorne, 1842).
What is a Short Story?
Despite its brevity, it shares with the novel such features as plot,
characterization, and narrative point of view. It must, however, be
succinct in presenting its basic intention: the plot cannot be
elaborate, it is likely to begin near its climax, and is unlikely to
continue long after the climax has been reached. The few
characters are presented through dialogue and action rather than
description and comment. Within these constraints, the interest
may be primarily in the incidents (as with Poe's stories), in a
surprise ending (as with Ambrose Bierce and O. Henry), in the
presentation of character (as by Anton Chekhov), or in the
symbiosis of character and setting (as in James Joyce's
Dubliners).
Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms
The importance of short stories
Martha Foley said during WWII: “since the short story always
has been America's own typical form of literary expression, from
Washington Irving to Edgar Allan Poe onward, and since
America is defending today what is her own, the short story has
a right to be considered as among the cultural institutions the
country now is fighting to save... In its short stories, America
can hear something being said that can be heard even above the
crashing of bombs [...]. That is the fact that America is aware of
human values as never before” (Kenison x).
For Louise Erdrich, “The best short stories contain novels.
Either they are densely plotted, with each line an insight, or they
distill emotions that could easily have spread on for pages,
chapters”.
Elements of a short story
Character
Character – a person in a story, poem or
play.
Types of Characters:
Round- fully developed, has many different
character traits
Flat- stereotyped, one-dimensional, few traits
Static – Does not change
Dynamic – Changes as a result of the story's
events
Characterization
How the author develops the characters,
especially the main character.
This is done through:
what the character does or says
what others say of and to the character
author’s word choice in descriptive passages
Characterization
Direct characterization
The author directly states what the character’s
personality is like. Example: cruel, kind
Indirect characterization
Showing a character’s personality through
his/her actions, thoughts, feelings, words,
appearance or other character’s observations
or reactions
Protagonist
Main character of the story that changes
(death is not a change)
the most important character
changes and grows because of experiences in
the story
Antagonist
A major character who opposes the
protagonist
the antagonist does not change
Types of antagonists:
people
nature
society
Conflict
A struggle between two opposing forces
Types
Internal – takes place in a character’s own mind
Man vs. Him(Her)self
External – a character struggles against an outside
force
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. technology, progress
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Supernatural
What is the Plot?
Plot: Series of related events that make up
a story.
Exposition
Section that introduces characters, the
setting, and conflicts.
Setting
The time and place of the story’s action
Rising Action
Consists of a series of complications.
These occur when the main characters take
action to resolve their problems and are
met with further problems:
Fear
Hostility
Threatening situation
Climax
The turning point in the story: the high
point of interest and suspense
Climax
Rising Action or
Complications Falling Action
Falling Action
All events following the climax or turning
point in the story. These events are a result
of the action taken at the climax.
Resolution
(Denoument)
The end of the central conflict: it shows
how the situation turns out and ties up
loose ends
Point of View
Vantage point from which the writer tells
the story.
First person- One of the characters is actually
telling the story using the pronoun “I”
Third person- Centers on one character’s
thoughts and actions.
Omniscient- All knowing narrator. Can center
on the thoughts any actions of any and all
characters.
Theme
The central message or insight into life
revealed through a literary work.
The “main idea” of the story
Flashback
The present scene in the story is
interrupted to flash backward and tell what
happened in an earlier time.
Foreshadowing
Clues the writer puts in the story to give
the reader a hint of what is to come.
Symbol
An object, person, or event that functions
as itself, but also stands for something
more than itself.
Example: Scales function is to weigh things,
but they are also a symbol
of our justice system.
Figurative Language
Involves some imaginative comparison
between two unlike things.
Simile – comparing two unlike things using
like or as.
“I wandered lonely as a cloud”
Metaphor – comparing two unlike things (not
using like or as)
Life is a roller coaster, it has lots of ups and downs.
Figurative Language
Personification – Giving human qualities
to non-human things.
“The wind howled”
Irony
A contrast between expectation and reality
Irony
Verbal Irony – saying one thing but meaning
something completely different.
Situational Irony – A contradiction between what
we expect to happen and what really does happen
Dramatic Irony – occurs when the reader knows
something important that the characters in the
story do not know.
Allusion
Reference to a statement, person, a place,
or events from:
Literature
History
Religion
Mythology
Politics
Sports
Suspense
Uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels
about what is going to happen next in a
story.
Imagery
Language that appeals to the senses.
Touch Example:
Taste Creating a picture in the
Sight readers mind through
Sound description
Smell
Short story vs. Novel
the novel tells life, the short story tells
a fragment of a life;
the short story deals with a single
thing, the novel with many things;
the short story is a sample, the novel is
the whole hog;
Short story
Short stories have been defined in terms of
unity (Poe, Brander Matthews),
techniques of plot compression (Norman Friedman),
change or revelation of character (Theodore Stroud),
subject (Frank O’Connor),
tone (Nadine Gordimer),
lyricism (Alberto Moravia), and so on.
What a short story is not:
a condensed novel (due to its singleness of
effect, more minute scope, and simplicity
of structure), an episode, a scenario or
synopsis, a biography, a tale
Characteristics:
a single, predominating incident
a single preeminent character
imagination
plot J. Berg Esenwein (1909)