The Short Story & Elements of Fiction

A walk through time periods and literary movements

• Brief work of fiction. • Resembles the novel but generally has a

simpler plot and setting. • Tends to reveal character at a crucial moment

rather than develop it through many incidents• Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe and

Nathaniel Hawthorne instrumental in creating and developing the short story.

The Short Story:

CharacterSetting

PlotConflict

Point of ViewTheme/Symbolism

The Elements of the Short Story

Element 1: 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– Stock – a type of flat, stereotypical figure who has

occurred so often in fiction that his/her nature is immediately known (villain, mad scientist)

Let’s brainstorm some specific examples of each of these kinds of characters.

Character

• Dynamic – character undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of his/her character, personality or outlook. The change should be plausible, meaning the change is believable, given the details in the story.

• Static – There is no change in the character.

Characterization

• How the author develops the characters, especially the main character.

• This is done through:– what the character does – what the character says– what the character thinks or feels– what others say of and to the character– author’s word choice in descriptive passages

(direct description)

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

Element 2: Setting

• The time and place of the story’s action.• To create a mood or atmosphere• To show the reader a different way of life• To make action seem more real• To be the source of conflict or struggle• To symbolize an idea

Element 3: Plot

• Plot: Series of related events that make up a story.

Exposition

• Section that introduces characters, the setting, and conflicts.

• Exposition or background to the story is not always present.

Other Plot Components

• RISING ACTION: The series of conflicts and crises in the story that lead to the climax

• CLIMAX: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action

• FALLING ACTION: all of the action which follows the climax

• RESOLUTION: the conclusion, the tying together of all the “threads”

Element 4: 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

Element 5:Point of View• Vantage point from which the writer tells the

story. Controls the info. The reader receives.– First person- One of the characters is actually

telling the story using the pronoun “I”– Second Person – Places the reader in the story –

“you”)– Third person- Centers on one character’s

thoughts and actions.a. Omniscient- All knowing narrator. Can

center on the thoughts and actions of any and all characters.

b. Limited – knowing the thoughts and actions of one character

c. Objective – just the facts

Element 6: Theme

• The central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work.

• The point the author is trying to make about the human condition.

• The theme can be expressed in one or two sentence statements.

Element 6: 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.

Flashback

• Refers to a moment when 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.

Irony

• A contrast between expectation and reality

Irony

• Verbal Irony – saying one thing but meaning something completely different.– Calling a clumsy basketball player “Michael Jordan”

• 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.

Imagery

• Language that appeals to the senses.– Touch– Taste– Sight– Sound– Smell

Example:

Creating a picture in the readers mind through description

Literary Movements & Time Periods

• Romanticism (inc. folk tales, Gothicism) • Realism (inc. Naturalism)• Modernism• Post Modernism

19th C. Historical Events• 1800 – 1840 America increased its size. By 1837, more

than ½ the present day states are in the Union.• War of 1812 and border conflicts with Spain• Louisiana Purchase• Westward expansion• New York City becomes a cultural center• Cherokees removed from Georgia to Oklahoma – “Trail

of Tears”• Republic of Texas recognized by U.S. in 1837 and in

1845 admitted to the Union. Mexico defeated in war with U.S.

Historical Events (cont.)

• Civil War 1861 – 1865• Emancipation Proclamation 1862• President Lincoln is assassinated• Immigration increases American population• Transcontinental Railroad completed• United States purchases Alaska from Russia• Last major battle between U.S. troops and Native

Americans fought at Wounded Knee in South Dakota

Romanticism(early 19th century)

• Reaction against the dominant attitudes and approaches to the 18th century.

• Stressed the examination of inner feelings and emotions.

• Favored imagination over reason, intuition over facts. • Interest in nature and the supernatural, a strong belief

in democracy, and a deep awareness of the past. • Man’s relation to the natural world reestablished • Basis of philosophy began to shift toward

transcendentalism. • God is placed back in nature.

Romanticism in ArtThe Hudson River School

Asher Durand – Kindred Spirits1849oil on canvasThe Walton Family Foundation

Thomas Cole - View from Mount Holyoke, Northampton, Massachusetts, after a Thunderstorm (The Oxbow)1836 Oil on CanvasThe Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York

Folk Tales:• Handed Down Orally (“oral tradition”) among the

common people.• Teach a lesson or express a general truth about life.

(MORAL)• Events are unrealistic or unlikely to happen in the

real world.• Includes stereotypes or stock characters-embodying

a single human trait, quality, or emotion (allegorically: hatred or greed)

• Example: “The Devil and Tom Walker” talks of New England life in 1720’s, but written much later: 1824.

Gothic:

• Use of primitive, medieval, wild or mysterious elements

• Supernatural events

• Gloomy and mysterious settings

Edgar Allan Poe

• responsible for the emergence of the short story as a popular and respected literary form.

• A story should be constructed to achieve “a certain unique or single effect.” “In the whole composition there should be no word written, of which the tendency, direct or indirect, is not to the one pre-established design.”

Realism(mid to late 19th century)

• Reaction to the death and destruction of the Civil War

• Idealism of the early century replaced• Focus on everyday life• Show characters and events in an objective,

almost factual way• Use of dialect• Objectivity of science considered a worthy goal• Dark skepticism of the future – especially with

urbanization and industrialization• Still present today

20th Century Events

• World War I (ushers in Modernism in Literature & Art).

• Prohibition (1919 – 1933)• Economic boom of 1920’s followed by Great

Depression after stock crash of 1929• World War II (America enters after the bombing

of Pearl Harbor in 1941)• Atomic Bombs dropped 1945 ending the war

with Japan

20th Century Events (cont.)

• Korean War• Cold War• Civil Rights Movement• Alaska and Hawaii are admitted to the Union as States• Environmental protection movement is born with Rachel

Carlson’s Silent Spring• JFK assassinated in Dallas, Texas• First human on the Moon (Neil Armstrong)• Vietnam War• Iranian Hostage crisis• Space Shuttle

Naturalism(mid 19th century – mid 20th century)• Reality is the inescapable working out of

natural forces.• Destiny is determined by heredity and

environment, physical drives and economic circumstances

• People have no control over natural events• People are at the mercy of the brutal forces of

nature

Modernism(early to mid 20th century)

• Devastation of WWI left people with uncertainty, disjointedness and disillusionment

• New ideas sought, lack of trust in old ideas/world views• Capture the essence of modern life in form and content• World is fragmented• Works omit plot elements of traditional literature, such as

expositions, resolutions, interpretations, transitions and summaries used in traditional works.

• Themes are implied forcing readers to draw their own conclusions

• Some expressed themes such as uncertainty, bewilderment, and apparent meaninglessness of modern life.

• America takes its place among world’s literary traditions

Post Modernism

• Writers continue the fragmentary approach of Modernists.• Writers tried blending realism and fantasy in their works

(magical realism)• Absurdity which sees the ridiculousness of fate and our ability

to control our lives• Age of Anxiety • Moved away from traditional forms and techniques,

composing works from dialogue alone or creating works that blend fiction and non-fiction.

• Some used satire and black humor as they looked at contemporary society.

• Literature self referential (meta-fiction: writing about writing)