Short Stories: Characteristics
•Short - Can usually be read in one sitting.
•Concise: Information offered in the story is relevant to the tale being told. This is unlike a novel, where the story can diverge from the main plot
•Usually tries to leave behind a single impression or effect. Usually, though not always built around one character, place, idea, or act.
•Because they are concise, writers depend on the reader bringing personal experiences and prior knowledge to the story.
Four Major components of the Short Story
•PLOT
•SETTING
•CHARACTERS
•THEME
#1 PLOT
•The action that takes place in the story. It is a series of connected happenings and their result. In order to have a result, we must have an initial event, or
…show more content…
Because of their short length, short stories may or may not follow this pattern. Some do not follow patterns at all. For example, modern short stories only occasionally have an exposition. More typical, though, is an abrupt beginning, with the story starting in the middle of the action. As with longer stories, plots of short stories also have a climax, crisis, or turning-point. However, the endings of many short stories are abrupt and open and may or may not have a moral or practical lesson.
Of course, as with any art form, the exact characteristics of a short story will vary by author.
Length determining what exactly separates a short story from longer fictional formats is problematic. A classic definition of a short story is that one should be able to be read it in one sitting, a point most notably made in Edgar Allan Poe 's essay "The Philosophy of Composition" (1846). Other definitions place the maximum word length at 7,500 words. In contemporary usage, the term short story most often refers to a work of fiction no longer than 20,000 words and no shorter than 1,000.
Short Story Structure
• Create a narrative lead: show the main character in action, dialogue, or reaction.
One common fact in the short stories that all authors let the audience know is their
The most important element of a short story is Characterization as it drives the story as a whole. Characters involved in a story are responsible for creating different types of conflicts, struggles and tensions which in turn affects resolutions. Characterization is the core element that emphasizes the rest of the four elements as everything else eventually streams from character: plot, setting, theme and the point of view. There are no Conflicts without characters. A story only has meaning as the interaction among develops.
Short stories range from fantasy to realistic plots. They give a full range of emotions and feelings that tell a story. Some short stories have a sorrowful mood, but are filled with hope and persistent characters. The short story, “The Scarlet Ibis”, has a sorrowful storyline, but throughout gives you hope. In the short story , “The Scarlet Ibis”, the brother is illustrated as selfish, devoted, and hopeful of his brother Doodle, through the use of figurative language, and diction.
The short story, as with other literary forms, is not defined by its actual parameters. Subject and theme may be as varied as those within full-length novels, just as the author's individual style plays an inevitable role in shaping the work. That said, there is a common element uniting short stories; they usually create impact due to the brevity itself, which authors typically rely on to make a more direct impression. Condensed, the form offers more overt power, and this is evident in how William Faulkner and Edgar Allan Poe employ it to achieve distinctly Gothic effects. “A Rose for Emily” and “The Cask of Amontillado” are very different stories set in very different worlds, and the tone of the narration in each is equally
Modern teens tend to use shortened texts, to communicate and get to the point as fast as possible. Looking at all the short stories given, teens would approach and choose the shorter text to read. The reason is, that the teens are used to seeing short paragraphs, and try to put all the ideas into a small simple text. If the text is too long, the teenage brain will start to wonder around, because it does not grab their attention. The longer the text, the more boring it gets. When seeing a 55 word story, teens will take the 50 seconds to read it. If modern teenagers are told to pick a short story, the shorter one would most likely be their first option.
Short stories can be bland and boring. As you read some of them, you can feel emotion or just read a boring story about how something changed their life, but these three stories are interesting because they develop horror. These short stories use different elements to create horror. “The Tell-Tale Heart,” “A Rose for Emily,”, and “The Lottery” develop horror/gothic elements.
There are many components involved when analyzing a short story such as, main characters, point of view, plot, theme, and setting. Sometimes the answer is in black and white and other times it takes critical thinking to come up with a response. Some short stories have an important real life lesson while others are simply easy to relate to. Symbolism also plays a role in short stories by giving an event, object, or words being said a deeper meaning than the surface that brings importance to the story. “The Fat Girl” by Andre Dubus, “The Red Convertible” by Louise Erdrich, and “An Ounce of Cure” by Alice Munro are stories that contain most of the components of analyzing short stories.
The short story consists of both short sentences and long sentences. The sentences are short when something dramatic happens and the short sentences make it more dramatic and interesting to read
A short story is a work of literature that is shorter than a novel. Although some may believe the length may not be enough to develop a noble story, in these few pages an author can pack a tight punch that will leave one in awe, disgust, or utter sadness. Whether there is a moral of the story or it is simply for the reader’s enjoyment, each author has their own style of conveying a message through their work in very diverse ways. Through Flannery O’Connor and Chuck Palahniuk’s works we can see this very evidently.
Merrian-Webster Dictionary defines a short story as “a story with a fully developed theme but significantly shorter and less elaborate than a novel.” Yet, doing so is more complicated. A writer creating a novella does not have the capacity as a novelist creating a tedious book. In order capture a reader’s attention and to relay the theme of the story, a writer uses writing techniques. In short stories such as “Button Button”, “The Cask of Amontillado” and “The Adventure of the Speckled Band”, authors Mathisen, Poe, and Doyle use literary devices to strengthen the story or theme.
Stories are told through various forms of literature, and the overall point of telling a story is to convey a message, a meaning that the author wants the reader to interpret and understand. The author does
Short stories are just what they sound like, short stories that build up to the point with no unneeded information. In various cases, short stories continue a book series or is a continuation of a book when the characters’ are years older. In other cases, short stories are stand alone stories that get right to the point and do not leave people hanging. Edgar Allan Poe is an author of over thirty short stories and around sixty-nine poems. These short stories are what has helped to create a legacy for short stories for over forty years and still are. Most of Poe’s stories have an eerie feeling due to him suffering from depression from all of his family members passing away. The story “ The Cask of Amontillado” is referred to as one of the best
Throughout literature, authors write stories for many reasons. Authors write stories to inform readers, to entertain readers, and/or to persuade readers. Each story is unique in its own way, because of how the author has written in. With short stories, authors can tell a story that is elaborate but shorter than a novel. In the short story Mastiff, by author Joyce Carol Oates, conveys her message of fate vs. free will through characterization, imagery, and irony.
The short story is a concise form of narrative prose that is usually simpler and more direct compared to longer works of fiction such as novels. Therefore, because of their short length, short stories rely on many forms of literary devices to convey the idea of a uniform theme seen throughout the script. This theme is illustrated by using characteristics that are developed throughout the story such as, plot, setting and characters. The three main components are developed throughout the story in order to guide the reader to the underlying theme, which is necessary as a short story lacking a theme also lacks meaning or purpose.
Now this is the one hand, but on the other several typical aspects of a short story aren't part of the text.