HOW TO ANALYZE SHORT STORIES

I. Introduction

This paper will teach one how to analyze short stories in all aspects. As a teacher, one must be
well grounded on the different literary theories and conventions, so as to deliver well the lessons for the
students. As for the students, this will be helpful in giving sincere interpretations and analysis of a given
story by your teacher.

II. What is a Short Story?

- It is a literary genre made up of one singular plot.

- It falls under the prose type of literature, under fiction.
- It has one central theme or underlying universal idea.
- It is limited to one or two settings only.

III. How to analyze a short story?

A. Using Literary Theories

- What are Literary Theories?
o These are tools one use to have a thorough understanding of what is being read.
o These acts as “lenses” that give different/various view points as one reads
through the texts.
o These different lenses allow critics to consider works of art based on certain
assumptions.
o Those assumptions come from the theories and decide what particular aspects of
a work are important.
o These were developed as a means to understand the various ways people read
texts.
o There is nothing to say that one is better than another or that you should read
according to any of them, but it is sometimes fun to "decide" to read a text with
one in mind because you often end up with a whole new perspective on your
reading.
- Examples of Literary theories
o Archetypal Theory
o Feminist Theory
o Marxism
o Psychoanalytic Criticism
o Reader-Response Theory
o Structuralism
o Formalism
o Postcolonial Theory
o Historical/Biographical Theory
o Postmodernism
 There are more theories than what is listed here. A reader can choose one or a
mixture of what he/she can use to have a full understanding of what the text is all
about.

One must expect that the interpretations being made may vary from one person to
another depending on the theory being used. This would mean that there no wrong
or exact interpretations of the given text.

PS. The context and processes of literature lie on the depth and breadth of the literary
piece. Literature being a mirror of life demands that we look at all facets, therefore
seeing all right angles. Teachers must understand what is expected as an experience
in a literary class. Stop teaching it, help students experience it.

B. Using the Elements of a Short Story (Usually connected to Structuralism/Formalism

theory)

- What are the Five Elements of a Short Story?

Setting – The time and place of the story
Time and place may not be directly stated in the story or is implied. One
must look at clues or words that would suggest as such.
Characters- The story’s actors
You can either have:
Protagonist – the main characters (e.g. Harry Potter)
Antagonist- plays against the heroic/main characters
(e.g. Voldemort)
Static or Flat – not an eye-catching part of the story but still helps
the main characters in his or her intentions.
Doesn’t reveal much of himself/herself.
(e.g. Mr. Filch – the care taker of Hogwarts)
Dynamic or Changing – plays a role that develops or changes
during the events of the story. They may
change positively or negatively
depending on the need of the story. It
can be anything from the supporter of
the main character to a partner of the
antagonist. (e.g. Neville Longbottom)
Foil – Plays a nasty and contrasting role that brings out the good
qualities and highlights the caring nature of the other
characters like the main character or the other dynamic
characters. An antagonist’s characteristic are opposite to
those of the protagonist, but a foil character works in
contrast while comparing the personality of a hero with
this character. (e.g. Draco Malfoy)
Point of View – In The Complete Handbook Of Novel Writing, Nancy Kress helps
us define POV as: "who's eyes we see the action through, who's
head we're inside of, and who's feelings we experience as that
character feels them."
 This is why this is why it's so important to choose the right POV
character for your story. It will "determine what you tell, how
you tell it and, often, even what the action means."

Types:
First person - used when the main character is telling the story.
This is the kind that uses the "I" narrator. As a reader, you can
only experience the story through this person's eyes. So you
won't know anything about the people or events that this
character hasn't personally experienced.

First Person Peripheral - This is when the narrator is a supporting

character in the story, not the main character. It still uses the "I"
narrator but since the narrator is not the protagonist, there are
events and scenes that will happen to the protagonist that the
narrator will not have access to.

Third person Point of View (POV) - is used when your narrator is

not a character in the story. Third person uses the "he/she/it"
narrator and it is the most commonly used POV in writing.

There are 3 main types of Third Person POV:

Third Person Limited: Limited means that the POV is limited to

only one character. Which means that the narrator only knows what that
character knows. With third person limited you can choose to view the
action from right inside the character's head, or from further away,
where the narrator has more access to information outside the
protagonist's viewpoint.

Third Person Multiple: This type is still in the "he/she/it"

category, but now the narrator can follow multiple characters in the
story. The challenge is making sure that the reader knows when you are
switching from one character to another. Make the switch obvious with
chapter or section breaks.

Third Person Omniscient: This point of view still uses the

"he/she/it" narration but now the narrator knows EVERYTHING. The
narrator isn't limited by what one character knows, sort of like the
narrator is God. The narrator can know things that others don't, can make
comments about what's happening, and can see inside the minds of other
characters.
Plot – The chronological arrangement of the story.

Parts of a Plot:

Exposition – This part is where the setting is described, characters are

introduced and described. (e.g.
Rising Action – Series of actions leading to the climax. Characters will
start encountering conflict.
Climax – Usually described as “the most exciting part of the story”.
However, one must see that this is the part where the main
character encountered the problem.
Falling Action – Actions done by the main character to solve the problem.
Denouement / Resolution – The ending part

Types of Plot:

A story can be told in:

 Chronological Order
 Flashback
 In Medias Res (In the middle of things) – The story
starts in the middle of the action.
 Conflicts – The dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Without
conflict, there is no plot (meaning, no story)

Types of Conflicts:

Internal:
Man vs. Self
Interpersonal:
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Technology
Man vs. Fate
Man vs. God/Supernatural

Theme – The underlying universal idea in a work of art.

 This is not the lesson of the story
 Can be stated in one word or a phrase.
(e.g. The theme of Romeo and Juliet is about LOVE,
ADOLESCENT PASSION)
* One can derive more than one theme from just one
story, just be sure to defend it and connect it
well.

C. Using Author’s background or the Milieu (a person’s social environment) (Usually

connected to Historical/Biographical)

This is just simple:

1. Take note of author’s background and try to find any strain of it present in
the text written.
e.g. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Cask of Amontillado” tale is all about wines
and liquors and where characters are gothic characters. If we further delve
into the life of Edgar Allan Poe, we will find that he is an infamous drunkard
when he was still alive and died because of excessive drunkenness. This
would somehow explain that the text shows how prolific the author is when
it comes to wines and how it is evident in the text itself.
2. Look at the historical environment of the time and put it side by side with the
story to know why certain events in the story happens or how and why
the characters behave like that.
e.g. Jose Rizal’s “Noli Me Tangere” and “El Filibusterismo” were written
during the Spanish Era. Notice how the characters would speak
and behave? Notice how easily we can connect the ideas of
freedom in the text? That is because, during this time, these are
what our forefathers, Rizal, to be exact, clamors for.
D. Using INTERTEXTUALITY (Usually connected to Postmodernism theory)

o means the complex interrelationship between a text and other texts taken as
basic to the creation or interpretation of the text.

e.g Coraline, Alice in Wonderland, The Lion, The Witch, and the Wardrobe, Harry
Potter: What do they have in common? The main characters are being
transported from the real world to the “fantasy” world through a “door” as they
embark on a new adventure.