Short Stories

Margo Orlando Littell (1999) opines that "short stores are the ideal reading companion because they are usually brief enough to read in one sitting, with all of the drama and impact that make reading fun". they are called short stories because they tend to be less complex than novels. Usually a short story centers on only one incident, has a single plot, a single setting, a few characters, and covers a short period of time.

In reading short stories, it is necessary that you identify the following elements.

Setting:
-the time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting
-place - geographical location
-time - time when the story is taking place
-weather conditions - is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc
-social conditions - the daily life of the characters contain local color
-mood or atmosphere - feeling created at the beginning of the story

Plot:
-the plot is how the author arranges events to develop his basic idea
-it is the sequence of events in a story or play
-five essential parts of plot:
1. introduction - the beginning of the story where the characters and the setting is revealed
2. rising action - this is where the events in the story become complicated and the conflict in the story is revealed.
3. climax - this is the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story
4. falling action - the events and complications begin to be resolved
5. denouement - this is the final outcome or unraveling of events in the story

Conflict:
-it is the struggle that characters have to contend with
-it is the opposition of forces which ties one incident to another and makes the plot move
-it is any form of opposition that faces the main character
-types of conflict include: man vs man (physical); man vs circumstances (classical); man vs society (social); man vs himself/herself (psychological)

Characters:
-the persons in the story and their characteristics e.g. his/her physical appearance; what he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams; what he/she does or does not do; what others say about him/her and how others react to him/her.

Point of view:
-point of view is defined as the angle from which the story is told.

Theme:
-the theme is 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. examples: anything too much is bad; love conquers all, money is the root of all evil.