ELEMENTS OF THE SHORT STORYLiterature and Composition I

CHARACTER

CHARACTER

Character development in life is a continual evolutionary and vital process in which we are all participants--some more actively, directly, and dynamically than others.

CHARACTER

Because we bring to the reading of short stories our own sense of character development, we have a ready pool of experience with which to explore the character development in the short story.

CHARACTER

Wilson Thornley writes in his book, Short Story Writing, “the reader intensely participates through identification and such identification and participation are imperative.”

CHARACTER

We come to know the characters in the short story through the indirect method of:

1. Physical description2. The character’s thoughts, feelings, and words3. The comments and reactions of others4. The actions of the character and the direct

method of the author’s stated opinion about the character

CHARACTER

A person in a short story is called a character.

The person around whom the conflict revolves is called the main character, also known as the protagonist.

The most prominent of the characters who oppose the protagonist is the antagonist.

Word Origens Pro--for, in

front of Anti--against Agonistes--

actor Agonia--

contest

CHARACTER A protagonist can be virtuous or a villain.

An antagonist can be virtuous or a villain, depending upon the protagonist, and is typically the opposite.

CHARACTER

A foil is a character whose qualities or actions serve to emphasize those of the protagonist by providing a strong contrast with them.

CHARACTER TYPES

A static character is one who does not change much in the course of the story.

CHARACTER TYPES

A dynamic character changes in some important way as a result of the story’s events.

CHARACTER TYPES

Flat characters have few personality traits. They can be summed up by a single phrase: the loyal sidekick, the buffoon, the nosy neighbor.

CHARACTER TYPES

Round characters have more dimensions to their personalities--they are more complex, just as real people are.

CHARACTER

A motive is the reason behind an individual’s actions.

It’s not what happens, it’s WHY it’s all happened.

THEME

ANALYZING “MARIGOLDS”

CHARACTER Who is our PROTAGONIST? Is she a ROUND or a FLAT character? How does she illustrate the complexities

found in real people? She is confused, she acts before thinking

How old is Lizabeth? Why is her age significant in the story?

14-going-on-15 How old is Lizabeth as she narrates her

story? How does this affect the point-of-view, tone and

mood of the story?

CHARACTER CONTINUED…

Who is the ANTAGONIST? Setting, Lizbeth herself

Who is Miss Lottie? She is a big frame woman; she has

smooth, reddish-brown skin. She has Indian-like features. She is very unemotional in her facial expression. She didn’t like intruders and she never left her yard nor did she have any visitors.

Is this direct or indirect characterization?

CHARACTER CONTINUED…

Describe Miss Lottie’s son, John Burke. “ageless…in a mindless stupor…but he

would become enraged.” Is he ROUND or FLAT? How is he important to the story?

He adds to the setting of decay and limits Miss Lottie’s freedom to break away and find a better life.

SETTING

SETTING

Setting--or the time and place of the action in a short story--has a definite impact on the character development and plot.

The setting is often found in the exposition of the plot and readily establish time and place.

SETTING IN FINDING FORRESTER

SETTING IN FINDING FORRESTER

SETTING/GEOGRAPHY

What is the setting of the story? a poor section of rural Maryland

What is the social setting/time period of the story? the United States in the midst of the Depression

More? Dust everywhere, dirt roads, shanty/ramshackle homes

colored dull gray Describe the weather/season.

Late summer Consider the hour

it’s just after 4 A.M. What are some characteristics of time just before dawn?

Four o’clock in the morning is a time when few people are awake and it is still mostly dark. It is a time when a person who is awake can easily feel “alone in the world.” The early hour tends to isolate Lizabeth and make the reader wonder what she plans to do.

How does all of this affect our character(s)? “smoldering emotions of that summer swelled.”

SETTING/GEOGRAPHY CONTINUED…

Describe Miss Lottie’s house? the most wretched, and her “queer headed”

son on the porch adds to the impression of lowliness

What does this tell us about her character?

house is a reflection of her social standing, which is probably lower than Lizabeth’s

How does all of this affect plot? The setting acts as an intrinsic part of the

characters motivations for behaving in the manner in which they do.

PLOT

PLOT

The term plot refers to the chain of events which make up the short story. Each link in this chain helps to build suspense and to solve a problem.

PLOT

The main character is presented with a conflict--a situation or a problem which he or she will be called upon to resolve.

PLOT

Sometimes the problem lies within the main character and is said to be internal.

Other times, outside forces act upon the main character, which is said to be an external conflict.

PLOT

There is a constant, ongoing struggle in which the main character attempts to resolve his or her problem; hence, he or she seeks a solution.

CONFLICT IN FINDING FORRESTER

What is the Jamal’s conflict? Forrester’s?

CONFLICTS CHARACTERS ENCOUNTER

Person vs. person Boxers, a debate

Person vs. self Liar, Liar with Jim Carey

Person vs. nature Castaway, Survivor Man

Person vs. society Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

Person vs. machine or technology Matrix

Person vs. the supernatural Haunted Mansion

CENTRAL CONFLICT Identify the conflict Lizabeth struggles with

following the attack on Miss Lottie. She is torn between feeling sorry for attacking Miss

Lottie and feeling that she somehow had a right to attack her.

Do you agree with this? What feelings are at the root of her

conflict? Deep down, Lizabeth knows she behaved childishly and

she is angry at herself for doing so. Summarize the conversation that Lizabeth

overhears. She overhears her father crying and her perception of

her father changes drastically. How does the sound of her father’s crying

affect her? It makes her feel confused, helpless, and angry.

Internal Conflict/Person vs. Self

CENTRAL CONFLICT What of setting and conflict?

External Conflict/Person vs. Environment

PLOT

Throughout this struggle a growing excitement or suspense is felt as the climax approaches.

Plot Development

ExpositionRising Action

Climax

Falling ActionResolution/

Denouement

Climax:• At what point do we see a true change and self-recognition of that

change in Forrester?

• What about Jamal?

• So whose movie is this?

Plot Development

ExpositionRising Action

Climax

Falling ActionResolution/

DenouementClimax:• At what point does the Exposition end and the Rising Action

begin?

• The climax occurs when Lizabeth returns to Miss Lottie’s garden and destroys it. Here is where Lizabeth loses control and strike out as a result of the conflicts she has been struggling with.

• Do you agree?

• How does Lizabeth change in the moment she comes face to face with Miss Lottie? What does she recognize in Miss Lottie’s face?

– Lizabeth realizes that as hard as her life is, Miss Lottie’s life is much more difficult and without hope – she is able to feel compassion for Miss Lottie.

PLOT

The author often uses certain techniques to creatively unfold the plot:

Flashback: a move back in time to an earlier incident.

Foreshadowing: a hint of events which will occur later in the story.

Does Collier use flashback and/or foreshadowing in Marigolds?

POINT OF VIEW

POINT OF VIEW

The vantage point from which the writer tells a story.

In broad terms, there are four main points of view.

POINT OF VIEW

First-person point of view. One of the characters in the story tells

the story. The narrator uses first person pronouns

such as I and we. Readers can know only what the

narrator knows. Examples: Speak, Catcher in the Rye,

The Adventures of Huck Finn, The House on Mango Street

POINT OF VIEW

Third-person limited point of view. An unknown narrator (usually thought of as the author)

tells the story. The narrator zooms in to focus on the thoughts and

feelings of only one character. In the case of third-person limited point of view, the

narrator can tell us many things about the character, things that the character himself (or herself) might be unaware of.

Examples: Harry Potter--with very few exceptions (such as the opening chapters of Philosopher's Stone and Deathly Hallows and the first two chapters of Half-Blood Prince)

POINT OF VIEW

The omniscient point of view. An “all-knowing” narrator tells the story. This narrator often tells us everything about

many characters: Their motives, weaknesses, hopes,

childhoods, and sometimes, their futures. Examples: Lord of the Rings

POINT OF VIEW

The objective point of view. An impersonal and objective narrator. No opinionated comment on any characters

or events. Like the point of view of a movie camera. Readers can know only what the camera

might see. The narrator does not reveal the unspoken

thoughts of the character. Examples: Detective books, some of the

short stories we will read

THEME

We’ll go over it in another presentation.

STYLE

The distinctive way in which a writer uses language.

Styles can be plain, ornate, metaphorical, spare, descriptive, and so on.

Style is determined by such factors as sentence length and complexity, syntax, use of figurative language and imagery, and diction.

WHO IS THE AUTHOR?

Eugenia Collier (b. 1928) is an award-winning writer and critic best known for her 1969 short story "Marigolds," which won the Gwendolyn Brooks Prize for Fiction award.