Short Story Study Guide

8/12/2019 Short Story Study Guide

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What is a Short Story?

Often spans a relatively brief time period.

Has a lead that catches the reader’s attention,

identifies the main character, introducesconflict, defines the setting, and establishespoint of view.

Reveals character using physical descriptions,

dialogue, actions and reactions of othercharacters.

Has a plot that revolves around conflict, either

external or internal.

Usually written from first-person or third-person

point of view.

Has a theme that is closely tied to a change

occurring in the story.



Analyzing a story's plot: Freytag's Pyramid

Sometimes life is not simple.

tories are not always easy tounderstand, either. Gustav Freytag was a !"th #entury $erman novelistwho saw common patterns in the plotsof stories and novels and developed adiagram to analy%e them. Hediagrammed a story&s plot using apyramid li'e the one shown here(

Freytag's Pyramid

!. )xposition( setting the scene. *hewriter introduces the characters andsetting, providing description andbac'ground.

+. nciting ncident( something happento begin the action. single eventusually signals the beginning of the

main conflict. *he inciting incident issometimes called &the complication&.

. Rising ction( the story builds andgets more exciting.

/. #limax( the moment of greatesttension in a story. *his is often themost exciting event. t is the event thathe rising action builds up to and thatthe falling action follows.

0. 1alling ction( events happen as aresult of the climax and we 'now thatthe story will soon end.

2. Resolution( the character solves thmain problem3conflict or someonesolves it for him or her.

Brea !o"n the Pyramid

4ot every story you read can bediagrammed perfectly according to1reytag&s 5yramid, but many can.6efore we loo' at an example with*itanic, lets try to simplify 1reytag&s5yramid by brea'ing it down into 7ustthree parts( beginning, middle andend.

8hich parts of 1reytag&s 5yramidwould form the #eginning of a story9

8hich parts would ma'e up themiddle9

8hich parts would ma'e up the end9



$itani% Plot Pyramid

*o help you understand the definitions

above, try to apply each step in1reytag&s 5yramid to the sevenscenes you wrote down earlier. Howwell do they fit9 naly%e with apartner.

4ext, copy 1reytag&s 5yramid on apiece of paper and label each point onthe pyramid with these terms(

1. &position

2. (n%iting (n%ident

). *ising A%tion

+. ,lima

-. Falling A%tion

. *esolution

• :ac', Rose and the other

passengers wait in the fro%en tlantic Ocean to be rescued.

• :ac' stops Rose from committin

suicide.

• *he *itanic splits in two and sin'

• *he *itanic prepares to leave

)ngland for merica with :ac'and Rose onboard.

• Rose is rescued and gives her

name as Rose ;awson. s aresult, #al never finds her again

• Rose&s mother, her fianc<, #al,

and #al&s bodyguard try to 'eep:ac' away from Rose as the twobegin to fall in love. *he ship hitsan iceberg.

,he% your ans"ers with the 'ey andiscuss 1reytag&s terms and definitionagain as they relate to the plot of*itanic.

Here is one teacher&s analysis of themost important moments in $itani%.8rite each event above or below thepoint that it matches on 1reytag&s5yramid. *he order should be thesame as it occurred in the film.

http://users.aber.ac.uk/jpm/ellsa/ellsa_openboat3exno.html#Anchor-41426

http://users.aber.ac.uk/jpm/ellsa/ellsa_openboat3exno.html#Anchor-41426



$itani% Plot Pyramid: Ans"er /ey

0. &position

*he *itanic prepares to leave )ngland for merica with:ac' and Rose on-board.

1. (n%iting (n%ident

:ac' stops Rose from committing suicide.

). *ising A%tion

Rose&s mother, her fiance, #al, and #al&s bodyguard try to'eep :ac' away from Rose as the two begin to fall in love.*he ship hits an iceberg.

+. ,lima

*he *itanic splits in two and sin's.

-. Falling A%tion

:ac', Rose and the other passengers wait in the fro%en tlantic Ocean to be rescued.

. *esolution

Rose is rescued and gives her name as Rose ;awson. sa result, #al never finds her again.



,hara%ter Study

#haracters in short stories reveal their personality infour ways(

Physi%al !es%riptions: uthor’s details about

his or her age, gender, and physicaldimensions.

!ialogue: 8hat the character says and the

words s3he uses.

A%tions: *he decisions s3he ma'es and the

things they do.

*ea%tions of 2ther ,hara%ters: *he ways

other characters behave around a character

tell us about him or her.



Setting

Where does the story ta'e place9

When does the story ta'e place9

What time of day9

What time of year9

What time in history=past, present or

future9



,onfli%t

Person vs. Person( struggle between two

people.

Person vs. So%iety( story that deals with a

social outcast who has been discriminatedagainst.

Person vs. 3ature( story of survival in

extreme conditions or a battle with an animal.

Person vs. Supernatural( conflict between

humans and demons, ghosts, or unnaturalforces.

Person vs. Self: n internal conflict, usually a

moral dilemma that a character struggles witha decision.



Point of 4ie"

First Person( *he main character tells the story,which provides insights into the character’sthoughts and actions. Usually includes the word>? in the text.

$hird Person 2mnis%ient: narrator who'nows everything and tells everything about

every character.

$hird Person 5imited: minor character tellsthe story.

$hird Person 2#6e%tive: n the style of a newsreport, offering only dialogue and action withoutproviding insights into characters or their

motivations.

Documents

Short Story Study Guide