Introduction to Short Fiction

1. Introduction to Short Fiction

2. Background • Fiction writing in its current form barely 200 years old • Novel and short story considered modern forms, and are relatively new inventions • Come from distinct oral traditions • Myths • Fairy tales • Folk tales • Fables/parables

3. The Short Story • No one really knows exact origin of the short story • Believed to have come from the Italian novella during the Renaissance • Novella – Short stories that are long enough to be published in stand-alone book form (~15,000 words) • Saw great rise in the early 1800s in the US • Literary market of newspapers and magazines aimed at middle class • Increasing literacy rate among the non-wealthy • Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne, others • Short story flourished in early 20th century, then declined in the latter half of the century

4. Analyzing and Discussion Short Fiction • Literary reading falls somewhere between escapist and didactic reading • Escapist reading – reading for fun or enjoyment • Didactic reading – reading for a meaning or lesson (moral) • Literature must be analyzed and discussed in order to yield its meaning(s) • Specific vocabulary / lexicon for doing so • Several components of a short story work together to create a unified meaning or theme • Plot • Characterization • Point of View • Setting • Style

5. Theme • Theme – the overall meaning a reader gets from a work of literature • Oftentimes not readily apparent • Can be frustrating • Different from escapist or didactic reading • Can be interpreted in multiple ways • No interpretation is 100% correct, or the only possible answer • Some interpretations are more valid than others • An interpretation only as valid as the supporting evidence

6. Plot • Plot - a series of related events in a work, arranged in dramatic structure • Each event connects to the next like a chain • Events are constructed deliberately to “hook” the reader’s curiosity and pull them forward in the story • Not necessarily chronological, but can be • No truly original plots; only varied combinations of plot elements

7. Dramatic Structure • Exposition • The setup of the story • Who, what when, where • Should “hook” the reader like any good introduction • Examples: “Once upon a time,” in media res (“in the middle of things”) • Complication / Rising Action • Some sort of conflictarises to move the plot • External Conflict– struggle with an outside force • Internal Conflict – struggle inside the character’s head (emotional) • Building tensions that will be resolved

8. Climax / Falling Action • Climax – The moment of greatest tension in the story • Conflict is resolved in a pivotal scene • Indicates that the story’s tensions will be released • Surprise Ending (O. Henry Ending) – A twist that takes the reader by surprise • Resolution / Denouement • Denouement – French term meaning “to untie a knot”; the resolution of a story’s conflict • Closed Denouement– Ties up all story’s loose ends • Open Denouement – Leaves lingering questions for the reader • “Wraps up” the story, though not always completely

9. Characterization • Protagonist – the main character of the work • Greek term meaning “first debater” • Not always heroic; often an anti-hero – a central character who is not a clear, didactic hero • Antagonist – Opposing character, often in conflict with protagonist

10. Two main types of characterization • Round Character – a character that is well-developed and feels lifelike • Often the protagonist • Complex and often contradictory character traits • Flat Character – a character that is not developed with much detail • Usually reduced to a single character trait • Stock characters – trivial, stereotypical supporting characters • Two types of character development • Static – the character does not grow or change through the course of the story • Dynamic – the character grows or changes throughout the work

11. Point of View • Point of View – the voice of narrative authority in the story • Three basic kinds: first, second, third person • Most short fiction will be first or third • First-Person – the narrator is a participant in the action of the story • Point of view is limited • Unreliable narrator – a narrator whose limited perspective causes the reader to doubt his or her account (Poe)

12. Third-Person – the narrator is removed from the action of the story • Point of view can be limited or unlimited • Third-person limited – the narrator is detached but doesn’t know everything • Third-person unlimited (omniscient) – the narrator is godlike, and knows everything about everyone in the story • Authorial intrusion – the narrator comments upon the actions and thoughts of the characters • Point of view should be consistent throughout the story, with few exceptions

13. Setting • Setting – the time and place of the story • Historical time period • Physical location • Atmosphere – the emotional feeling of a setting • Both specific and general • Specific setting – the precise time and place where the story takes place • General setting – broad sense of the time period and social backdrop of the story • Important in placing characters’ and authors’ attitudes and actions in context

14. Style and Tone • Style – the characteristics of language use in a work or body of works • Diction • Sentence structure • Punctuation • Figurative language • Tone - The attitude a writer takes toward his or her subject, characters, and readers • Can influence the reader’s emotional response to the work • Created through word choice and details • Can vary in accordance with work’s intended theme