DISCUSSANT: Lorente, Nerie Glee

BSED II-Values (N)

THE BASIC ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY

1. Setting
The time and place in which the events of the short story take place; it includes not only the
physical environment in which the characters interact, but also the social and cultural conditions of a
particular time and place.

2. Character
A person or animal or really anything personified. There can be one main character or many,
and often there are secondary characters, but not always.
The development of the characters is important to the short story. The characters are the
heart of the story. The two primary characters are called the protagonist and the antagonist.

The protagonist is the main character. It is not safe to call him the hero because the main character
is not always heroic. He/she is the person with which the story is most concerned.

The antagonist does not have to be a human being. If he is a person, he may be the villain. This
character does not have the main character’s best interest at heart. In some stories, nature is the
antagonist. Remember “To Build a Fire.” The main character has to face nature and hope that he
survives.

Types of Character
 Flat Character
-shows only one trait
-a character is considered flat (or static) when he or she does not experience change of any
kind, does not grow from beginning to end.
 Round Character
-shows many different traits, good and bad
 Static Character
-character does not change through the course of the story
 Dynamic Character
-character develops and grows during the course of the story

3. Plot
The events that happen in a story are called the plot. In a plot you typically find an
introduction, rising action, a climax, the falling action, and a resolution. Plot is often represented as an
arc. To learn about plot in detail, read the article: “What is a Plot.”
The plot is the arrangement of the events in the story. The plot should follow some logical
sequence of events. There are five elements to look in the plot.

The Exposition- the initial events, the introduction of characters, and beginning of the story
The Rising Action- the beginning of the conflict. Complications arise.
The Climax- this is the highest point of interest in the story. It is the turning point that aims toward the
conclusion of the story.

The Falling Action- the events that occur which begin to resolve the conflict

Denouement- This is the final outcome of the story.

4. Conflict
Every story must have a conflict, i.e. a challenge or problem around which the story is based.
Without conflict, the story will have no purpose or trajectory.
The main character has to be challenged in some way or the story will go nowhere.

5. Theme
Idea, belief, moral, lesson or insight. It’s the central argument that the author is trying to make
the reader understand. The theme is the “why” of the story.
This is the controlling idea or the insight that the author wants the reader to understand at the
end of the story. The theme is often the author’s thoughts or view of a subject.

6. Point-of-view
In a story, the point of view is the narrator’s position in the description of events.
Point of view comes from the Latin word, punctum visus, which literally means point sight, suggesting
it’s where you point your sight.
“Who” is telling the story? Second person (“you”)
This element of the story is how the story is told. It also determines who will be the narrator of
the story.

Types of POV
First Person-One of the characters tells the story and interacts in the story as well.
Keywords: I, Me, We, My, Our, Ours
Second person-The story is told by a narrator who addresses the characters. It is not often used for
writing short stories.
Keywords: You, Your
Third Person-the author or narrator is telling the story, but not part of it
Keywords: He, She, It, They, Them
 Third person point of view, limited. (one character’s perspective)The story is about “he” or
“she.” This is the most common point of view in commercial fiction. The narrator is outside of
the story and relating the experiences of a character.

Limited means that the POV is limited to only one character. It 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 point of view, omniscient. (all knowing narrator).The story is still about “he” or
“she,” but the narrator has full access to the thoughts and experiences of all characters in the
story.

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.

7. Tone
The overall emotional “tone” of the story which refers to the attitude of the writer toward his
subject; it may be communicated through the words used by him and may evoke an emotional
response in the reader; words used may convey sarcasm, love, hatred, fear, delight, and so on.

8. Style
This is how things are said---word choices, sentence structure, dialogue, metaphor, simile,
hyperbole. Style contributes significantly to tone.