ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY

SETTING

refers to place, time, weather condition, social condition, and even mood or atmosphere. To

recognize the setting of the story, you may ask these questions:

• Where is the action taking place?

• Where is the story taking place? Is it during the day, night, what year, whatperiod?

• What is the weather condition? Is it sunny, rainy, and stormy?

• What is the daily life of the character? What are his customs and status in life?

• What is the feeling created at the beginning of the story? Is it bright, cheerful, dark or frightening?

My sister and I had a fun–filled vacation last summer. We stayed at our grandparents’ house, which was near the beach.

We swam in the sea every morning, climbed the trees in the afternoon and fed the animals before dark. When the moon was bright, we played patintero.

PLOTIt is the sequence of events in a

story or play. The plot is a planned, logical

series of events having a beginning, middle and end. The short story usually has one plot,

and it could be read in one sitting .

FIVE ESSENTIAL PARTS OF A PLOT:

a. Exposition/IntroductionIn the introduction, the setting and the characters are revealed.

b. Rising ActionThis is where the events in the story become complicated and the conflict in the story is revealed .This is where events between introduction and climax take place.

c. ClimaxIt is the turning point of the story and the highest point of interest. It is where the reader asks what will happen next. Will the conflict be resolved or not?

d. Falling ActionThe problems and complications begin to be resolved.

e. DenouementThis is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story.

CONFLICTIt is the opposition of forces which ties one incident to another and makes the

plot move.

THERE ARE TWO TYPES OF CONFLICT:EXTERNAL – refers to outside forces that may cause conflict, like another human being, circumstances, environment, etc.

INTERNAL - refers a struggle within oneself. The character maybe debating inside himself about what to do.

CHARACTERThe person in a work of fiction

and the characteristics of a person. He may be the

protagonist, the good-natured character, or the antagonist, the opponent of the main character.

THE AUTHOR MAY REVEAL A CHARACTER IN SEVERAL WAYS:

- his physical appearance

- What he/she says, thinks feels and dreams

- What he/she does or does not do

- What others say about him/her.

POINT OF VIEWThe angle from which the story is told