Reading Short Story
A.
The Definition of
Short Story
Short story is a
fictional work which depicts one character's inner conflict or conflict with
others. It usually has one thematic focus. The short story, as the name
suggests is basically "short" which runs in length from a sentence to
four pages, or to novellas that can be 100 pages long. And therefore, it shows
the characteristics of both the short story and the novel. Short stories
usually produce in the reader an emotional and intellectual response. (by Rakesh Ramubhai Patel, http://ezinearticles.com/?What-is-Short-Story?-Learn-About-the-Short-Story-Genre&id=3087882)
It is also the form of short piece of fiction
aiming at unity of characterization, theme and effect.
A story written with a few characters
the aim is to create unity, create a mood rather than a plot making
it end quickly and not be a long book or article, some short stories have 15 or
less pages. (http://www.blurtit.com/q559670.html)
Next,
it is a brief fictional prose
narrative that is shorter than a novel and that usually deals with only a few
characters. The short story is usually concerned with a single effect conveyed
in only one or a few significant episodes or scenes. The form encourages
economy of setting, concise narrative, and the omission of a complex plot;
character is disclosed in action and dramatic encounter but is seldom fully
developed. Despite its relatively limited scope, though, a short story is often
judged by its ability to provide a “complete” or satisfying treatment of its
characters and subject. Before the 19th
century 100 of 7951 words. (by Arlen J. Hansen,
Finally, short
story
can be the small commercial fiction, true or imaginary, smaller than a novel is
known as short story. Short stories are well grouped into easy beginning,
concrete theme, some dialogs and ends with resolution. They are oral and
short-lived which have gossip, joke, fable, myth, parable, hearsay and legend.
B.
KINDS OF SHORT STORY
1.
Ancient
Tales
It is the power of
the utilization of the ancient form of the tale in the modern short story.
Italian writer Giovanni Verga's The She-Wolf (1880), and Chinese writer
Yeh Shao-Chun's Mrs. Li's Hair are remarkable examples.
2.
Fantasy
Fantasy stories are
nothing but the fair combination of the old tales tradition and the
supernatural details. The fine examples of such stories are British writer John
Collier's horror fantasy Bottle Party (1939), Irish author Elizabeth
Bowen's The Demon Lover (1941), and British author Saki's Tobermory
(1911).
3.
Humor
These types of
stories are meant for producing surprise and delight. You will see that the
most famous humorous tales and fables were written by the Americans. Mark
Twain's The Celebrated Jumping Frog of Calaveras County (1865), and Joel
Chandler Harris's The Wonderful Tar-Baby Story (1894) are remarkable.
There is serious humor in the works of Americans like Eudora Welty's Petrified
Man (1939) and Dorothy Parker's The Custard Heart (1939).
4.
Satire
The main purpose of
satire is to attack the evils of society. There are writers who wrote stories
of sober satire. Austrian author Arthur Schnitzler's Fate of the Baron
(1923), and American Mary McCarthy's The Man in the Brooks Brothers Shirt
(1941) are known for their somber satire.
5.
Education
Story
Such stories revolve
around the education of the main character. The good example is American
educator Lionel Trilling's Of This Time, of That Place (1944).
6.
History
History types deal
with a life story or historical event. Welty's A Still Moment (a 1943
story about naturalist John James Audubon) is fine example of story dealing
with history event.
7.
Local
Color
These types of
stories deal with the customs and traditions of rural and small-town life. You
can enjoy the local color in the stories of George Washington Cable, Maria
Edgeworth, Sarah Orne Jewett, and Mary Wilkins Freeman.
C.
ELEMENTS OF SHORT
STORY
1.
Setting
The time and location
in which a story takes place is called the setting. For some stories the
setting is very important, while for others it is not. There are several
aspects of a story's setting to consider when examining how setting contributes
to a story (some, or all, may be present in a story):
a) place - geographical
location.
b) time - When is the story taking place?
c) weather conditions - Is it rainy,
sunny, stormy, etc?
d) social conditions - Writing that
focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc.
e) mood or atmosphere - What feeling is
created at the beginning of the story? Is it bright and cheerful or dark
and frightening?
2.
The plot
It is how the author
arranges events to develop his basic idea. There are five essential parts of
plot:
a) Introduction
- The beginning of the story where the characters and
the setting is revealed.
b) Rising Action
- This is where the events in the story become
complicated and the conflict in the story
is revealed (events between
the introduction and climax).
c) Climax
- This is the highest point of interest and the turning point of
the story. The reader wonders what
will happen next; will the conflict
be resolved or not?
d) Falling
action - The events and complications begin to resolve
themselves. The reader knows what has
happened next and if the
conflict was resolved or not (events
between climax and
denouement).
e) Denouement
- This is the final outcome or untangling of events in
3.
Conflict
Conflict is essential
to plot. Without conflict there is no plot. It is the opposition of
forces which ties one incident to another and makes the plot move.
Conflict is not merely limited to open arguments, rather it is any form of
opposition that faces the main character. Within a short story there may be
only one central struggle, or there may be one dominant struggle with many
minor ones. There are two types of conflict: external (a struggle with a force
outside one’s self) and internal (A struggle within one's self; a person must
make some decision, overcome pain, quiet their temper, resist an urge, etc).
There are also four kinds of conflict: man vs. man, man vs. circumstances, man
vs. society, and man vs. herself/himself.
4.
Character
There are two
meanings for the word character:
1) The person
in a work of fiction (antagonist and protagonist)
5.
Point
of view
Point of view, or
p.o.v., is defined as the angle from which the story is told.
a.
Innocent
Eye
- The story is told through the eyes of a child (his/her judgment being
different from that of an adult).
b.
Stream
of Consciousness
- The story is told so that the reader feels as if they are inside the head of
one character and knows all their thoughts and reactions.
c.
First
Person
- The story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters who
interacts closely with the protagonist or other characters (using pronouns I,
me, we, etc). The reader sees the story through this person's eyes as
he/she experiences it and only knows what he/she knows or feels.
d.
Omniscient- The author can
narrate the story using the omniscient point of view. He can move from
character to character, event to event, having free access to the thoughts,
feelings and motivations of his characters and he introduces information where
and when he chooses.
6.
Theme
The theme in a piece
of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight. It is the
author's underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to convey. The
theme may be the author's thoughts about a topic or view of human nature.
The title of the short story usually points to what the writer is saying and he
may use various figures of speech to emphasize his theme, such as: symbol,
allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony.
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