introduction to short stories

what is a short story?
- focuses on one event and has a limited number of characters
- depend on the following literary elements theme, setting, character,plot

setting

- the time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting

a) place- where is the action of the story taking place?
b) time- when is the story taking place?
c) weather conditions- is it rainy, sunny, stormy,etc?
d) social conditions- what is the daily life of the characters like?
e) mood or atmosphere- what feeling is created at the beginning of the story? is it bright and happy or dark and scary?

characters

-there are two types of main characters that one present in a short story:

theme

-a theme is the central message or purpose of the short story
-examples:
a) believe in yourself
b) people are afraid of change

plot

-plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story

1. introduction
2. rising action
3. climax
4. falling action
5. conclusion

introduction

- the start of the story
- the situation before the action stats

rising action

- where the events in the story become complicated and the conflict in the story is revealed

climax

- the most intense moment
- the highest point of interest
-the reader wonders what will happen next- will the conflict be resolved or not?

falling action

- all of the action which follows the climax
- the events and complications begin to resolve themselves

conclusion

- the conclusion
- the final outcome

conflict

- conflict is the dramatic struggle between two forces in a story

- types of conflict: a) external conflict:
- character vs character
- character vs nature(ex: surviving on a desert island)
- character vs society(ex: character trying to escape slavery) b) internal conflict:
- character vs self(ex: