1. Elements of Short Story

2. Elements of Short Story
• Character
• Setting
• Theme
• Conflict
• Plot
• Point of View

3. Character
• A character is a person, or sometimes an animal, who takes part in
the action of a short story or other literary work.
• Characters and how we get to know them:
• Through the author’s physical description of them
• Through their actions
• Through their words (dialogue)
• Through their inner thoughts
• Through what other characters say and think about them

5. Setting
• Setting is the time and place that a story occurs.
• Authors often use descriptions of landscape, scenery, buildings,
seasons or weather to provide a strong sense of setting

7. Theme
• Theme is the meaning behind events and characters’ actions in a
story.
• The theme is the central idea, message, or purpose in a short story.
• A theme can be expressed as a general statement about people or
life.
• It is NOT plot summary.
• It can be either directly or indirectly stated by the author. Most likely
indirectly.

9. Conflict
• Conflict is any of the problems that a character encounters in a story.
• The conflict is a struggle between two people or things in a short story.
• The main character is on one side of the main conflict.
• Conflicts can be:
• 1. External – conflict with others and with nature
• 2. Internal – conflict within themselves
• The main character may struggle:
• against another important character
• against the forces of nature
• against society
• against something inside himself or herself (feelings, emotions, illness).

10. Conflict
A. Internal conflict
• Man VS Himself
B. External Confict
• Man VS Man
• Man VS Society
• Man VS Nature

12. Plot
• Plot is a pattern of events that develop from the interactions between
characters.
• A plot is a series of events and character actions that relate to the central
conflict.
• There are 5 elements of plot:
• Exposition
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action
• Conclusion

13. Plot Diagram
5 Elements of Plot

14. Parts of a Plot
• Exposition-The start or introduction of the story. The background
information that the reader must have in order to understand the
story. This is where characters and setting are introduced.
• Rising Action- All of the events that take place leading up to the
climax. This is where the reader is introduced to the conflict.
• Climax- The most exciting part of the story. The turning point in the
story. Here the story is turned in a different direction, toward the
conclusion.

15. Parts of a Plot
• Falling Action- The immediate reaction to the climax. All the actions
that occur after the climax and before the conclusion of the story.
• Resolution- The conclusion of the plot. Loose ends are tied up. There
might not be a clear resolution. This is called a cliffhanger ending.

17. Point of View
• Point of view in literature refers to the narrator of a story. Who is
describing the action in a given story?
• A story might be narrated by a character within a story describing
their own experiences or by an external narrator who describes the
thoughts and feelings of one or more characters.

18. Types of Point of View
• First Person POV - this means they are told from the perspective of one
character who will describe actions using ''I'' and ''me.'' For instance, they
might say, ''I was thirteen years old when the war began.‘’
• Second-person point of view is used less commonly in literature; it uses the
pronoun ''you'' and addresses the reader directly. A second-person point of
view story might say, ''You were thirteen years old when the war began.‘’
• Third-person point of view has a narrator describing the actions of
characters within the story: ''He was thirteen years old when the war
began.‘’
• Third person Omniscient- all actions and feelings are revealed by the narrator
• Third person Limited- only actions are revealed by the narrator

20. Identify what element of a short story is
pertained.
1. It is the series of events in the story.
2. These are the people that acts out in the story.
3. This pertains to the time and place the story occurs.
4. This is the general idea of the story.
5. It is the problem encountered by the characters.
6. It pertains to the one who narrates the story.