Introduction to Short Stories

so hey, we'll start off the blog with literature, so WELCOME TO THE WORLD OF LITERATURE. of course, most of you must think that literature is dull and boring, but once you get into it, learning literature can be really fun and easy. if you open your heart and mind, you'll find that literature:

• teaches you who you are and how you can relate to those around you.
• encourages you to reflect on the meaning of life
• shows you how to accept and appreciate different values and cultures
• improves your grammar and widens your vocabulary

in each literature we have ; PLOT, SETTING, CHARACTERS, POINT OF VIEW, THEMES, LITERARY DEVICES.

plot

a plot is a series of events arranged in an interesting manner in time. it has a basic pattern which can be plotted graphically.

EXPOSITION.

• beginning which answers questions on who, when, what and where.

RISING ACTION.

• conflicts or problems encountered by the main character

CLIMAX

• the highest point of crisis in the story

FALLING ACTION

• actions taken to resolve conflicts

RESOLUTION

• ending where problems are resolved

setting

place : real or imaginative

time : past, present, future or historical

social background : social rank



characters

the characters refer to the people in the text. they are revealed to us through

• physical descriptions
• words and thoughts
• actions
• opinions of the narrator
• opinions of the characters
• opinions of the authors

point of view


the first person point of view

• I am the narrator and i am a character in the story too.
• my view points are limited to my thoughts and experiences.
• when i speak i always begin with "I"

the third person point of view

• i am someone outside the story.
• if i tell you everything that is happening in the story, i am called an omniscient narrator.
• if i can tell you only certain thoughts and feelings of the characters, then i have a limited point of view.
• when i speak, i use "He".

theme

the theme carries the central idea, the belief, the message or the moral value of the story.

as an example ; from the short story The Necklace, we can conclude that the theme of the story is "pride before fall".



literary devices

the author uses various imagery to create mental pictures that appeal to our five senses. (well, in order to keep things more interesting and also to keep us from falling asleep when reading them haha)

as examples ;

simile

• in "the drover's wife", the family dog is "as quick as a terrier."

personification

• in "Looking For A Rain God", "the rain clouds fled away."

foreshadow

• in "The Lotus Eater", Wilson says, "He's going to die when he's sixty."

Characteristics

• no sub-plots
• only one main point
• single focus
• few characters
• short
• actions move at a fast pace
• twist or surprise ending

so that's basically what you guys need to know in understanding literature components. it's not really hard to answer the questions once you actually understand them. trust us. good luck (: