Elements of Short Story

Let's list the 12 characteristics of a short story!

1)TITLE: An idea of what the story is about.

2)PLOT: The draft of the events in a story

             A: Exposition: Introduction of characters

             B: Rising Action: A conflict begins between one character and another.

C: Climax: The emotions show themselves.

             D: Falling Action: Tension decreases until it reaches a solution.

3) SETTING: Include both time and space.

4) CHARACTERS: The main character is the *protagonist*. *Antagonis* is the character who conflicts with the protagonist. Characters are classified as static and dynamic. Also, flat or round, and if a character includes all of the features, it is called a stereotype.

5) THEME: It is the author’s general message.

6) Point of View: Determined by the narrator. There are 5.

                             A: Omniscient: Knows everything about the story

                             B: Limited or third person: Knows about only one character

                             C: First person: Narrator uses *I*

                             D: Dramatic: the writer avoids using a narrator. The writer uses only actions or words.

                             E: Stream-of-consciousness: The story has been played in the character’s mind.

7) STYLE: The language is used to tell the story.

                A: Simile: Using *as* or *like* in a sentence to compare 2 things.

                B: Metaphor: Not using as or like.

                C: Personification: Animals or inanimate objects are given human qualities.

                D: Synecdoche: Allows a part to stand as a whole.

                E: Irony: Refers to the difference between reality and expectations. There are 3 ironies.

                                 1) Verbal: The Actual meaning of the statement is the opposite.

                                 2) Situational: What happens is the opposite of what is expected.

                                 3) Dramatic: The character is unaware of something that the narrator knows.

8: ALLUSION: It is a reference to a well-known character.

9: IMAGERY: It is all about senses. There are 6 senses.

                     A: Visiual= sight          B: Auditory= hearing   C: Gustatory= taste    

                     D: Alfactory= smell     E: Tactile= touch           F: Kinesthetic= movement

10: DENOTATIVE AND CONNATATIVE: D means dictionary meaning and C means the meanings are what the words recall in our mind.

11) TONE: Author’s attitude or feelings toward the subject.

12) MOOD: Emotional part of the story.