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Follow the poignant journey of a family heading West in search of a new life. Through vivid settings, engaging characters, and gripping conflicts, experience themes of resilience and determination. Explore how the elements of the story intertwine to create a captivating narrative that lingers with the reader.
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Definition • single event or experience • Fictional (not true) • 500 to 15,000 words in length Beginning, middle, and end • Creates an impression on the reader
Elements • Setting • Characters • Plot • Conflict • Theme • Point of View
Details that describe: Furniture Scenery Customs Transportation Clothing Dialects Weather Time of day Time of year Setting Time and place are where the action occurs
To create a mood or atmosphere To show a reader a different way of life To make action seem more real To be the source of conflict or struggle To symbolize an idea We left the home place behind, mile by slow mile, heading for the mountains, across the prairie where the wind blew forever. At first there were four of us with one horse wagon and its skimpy load. Pa and I walked, because I was a big boy of eleven. My two little sisters romped and trotted until they got tired and had to be boosted up to the wagon bed. That was no covered Conestoga, like Pa’s folks came West in, but just an old farm wagon, drawn by one weary horse, creaking and rumbling westward to the mountains, toward the little woods town where Pa thought he had an old uncle who owned a little two-bit sawmill. Setting Taken from “The Day the Sun Came Out” by D. Johnson
Point of View • Point of view refers to the relationship of the narrator, or storyteller, to the story. • In first-person point of view, the narrator is a character in the story, referred to as “I.” • In third-person limited point of view, the narrator reveals the thoughts of only one character, referring to that character as “he” or “she.” • In third-person omniscient point of view, the narrator knows everything about the story’s events and reveals the thoughts of all the characters.
Characters People or animals Major characters Minor characters Round characters Flat characters
Characterization A writer reveals what a character is like and how the character changes throughout the story. Two primary methods of characterization: Direct- writer tells what the character is like Indirect- writer shows what a character is like by describing what the character looks like, by telling what the character says and does, and by what other characters say about and do in response to the character.
Analyzing Characters Physical appearance of character Personality Background/personal history Motivation Relationships Conflict Does character change?
Plot Plot is what happens and how it happens in a narrative. A narrative is any work that tells a story, such as a short story, a novel, a drama, or a narrative poem.
Parts of a Plot Inciting incident – event that gives rise to conflict (opening situation) Development- events that occur as result of central conflict (rising action) Climax- highest point of interest or suspense of story Resolution- when conflict ends Denouement- when characters go back to their life before the conflict
Diagram of Plot Climax Resolution Development/Rising Action Introduction Denouement Inciting incident/Opening situation
Special Techniques of Plot Suspense- excitement or tension Foreshadowing- hint or clue about what will happen in story Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of events to tell about something that happened in the past Surprise Ending- conclusion that reader does not expect
Conflict Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces Every plot must contain some kind of conflict Stories can have more than one conflict Conflicts can be external or internal External conflict- outside force may be person, group, animal, nature, or a nonhuman obstacle Internal conflict- takes place in a character’s mind
Conflict • Conflict is generally categorized in the following ways: • Man versus Man: this is an external struggle between two characters • Man versus Society: this is an external struggle between a character and a social force or condition produced by society, such as poverty, political revolution, or a set of values • Man versus Nature: this is an external struggle between a character and some natural obstacle or natural condition • Man versus Self: this is an internal struggle within a character, where aspects of his or her personality may struggle for dominance. These aspects may be emotional, intellectual, or moral.
Theme A central message, concern, or insight into life expressed through a literary work Can be expressed by one or two sentence statement about human beings or about life May be stated directly or implied Interpretation uncovers the theme
Great writers are able to use the elements of the short story with such precision that the reader is caught up in the action of the story. This is a mark of a good story and our goal as a writer.
Famous Short storyn writers • Aesop (6th Century B.C.)Grimm Brothers (1785/1786) • Edgar Allan Poe (1809-1849) Herman Melville (1819-1891) Kate Chopin (1850-1904)
