How to Analyze a Short Story

From: http://www.statsskolen.dk

Plot/ Structure 1. Does the story have an introduction or does it start in the middle (without introduction)? 2. What are the actions or events of the narrative? 3. Are the episodes in chronological order? If not, why not? 4. Are any later incidents foreshadowed early in the story? 5. Are flashbacks used to fill in past events? If so, why? 6. What elements create suspense in the plot? 7. Where is the climax pop up (most intense action or point of highest emotional interest)? 8. Do events seem realistic or unrealistic (romantic or fantastic)? 9. Are conflicts resolved at the end of the story? 10. Is there a surprise ending? Character(s) 1. Facts: Name, age, gender, appearance, family situation 2. Social background: Education, job, language 3. Does the character develop (change or learn something) in the story? How? Why? 4. Aspects of character: Intellectual abilities, attitudes towards life, attitudes towards other people, moral ideas, temperament 5. How is the character presented? Directly through the narrator? Indirectly through behaviour, thoughts or speech? 6. What is the author's attitude to the character? Are we meant to sympathize with the character or criticize him/ her?

Setting 1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

Where: Geographical location, social environment, nature When: Historical period, the season of the year, the time of the day, time span, flashbacks Does the setting create a specific atmosphere? Does the setting reveal anything about the feelings of the characters or the narrator(s)? Does the place of action remain the same, or is there more than one physical setting? Is the setting described in detail or hinted at?

Narrator/ Point of View 1. Is it a first person narrator or a third person narrator? 2. Is the narrator reliable or unreliable? 3. Is the narrator omniscient? 4. Is the narrators point of view limited or unlimited? 5. Does the narrator comment on the action/ the characters, or is he neutral? Images and Symbols 1. Are there words in the text that seem to mean more than we usually expect them to mean, i.e. are there any symbols? 2. What does the symbol represent? 3. What is the writer trying to make us see or understand? 4. Does the writer use metaphors or similies. If yes, to what effect? Style and Language 1. How would you describe the choice of words and their arrangement (the style) in this work? Does the author call attention to the way he or she uses words, or is the style inconspicuous? 2. What are the various connotations (shades of meaning, or emotional suggestions) of key words in this work? 3. If dialect or colloquial speech is used, what is its effect? Is the level of language appropriate for the speaker or characters in the work? 4. Are there statements or actions in this work that are presented ironically (that is, there is a discrepancy between appearance and reality, or between what is said and what is intended)? 5. Is the style consistent throughout the work or does it shift to a different style (more formal or less formal, for example)? 6. Is the style suitable for the subject and theme of the work? Does it contribute to the meaning of the whole or hinder the reader's understanding? 1

Theme 1. 2. 3. 4. What is the central idea of the text? What attitude to life is expressed in the story? Are there symbols, images, and descriptive details in the text that suggest the theme(s)? Does the title of the story indicate anything about the theme(s)?

Title 1. What is the link between the title, the characters, and the cause of events? 2. Does the title create expectations about the text? 3. Does the title suggest an interpretation?

Literary Terms Characterization: The way in which the personality and physical appearance of the characters are presented in a piece of fiction. Characters: the people that inhabit the fictional world. Climax: the crucial, most exciting part of a story or play, characterized by an increase in tension. The climax may be a crisis or a turning point for the main character. Connotations: Implications and associations that a word carries or suggests in addition to its literal meaning, as opposed to denotation. Denotation: The dictionary definition or literal meaning of a word. Figurative language: Language, which uses figures of speech such as metaphors, similes, symbols, images. Flashback: A literary device used to supply information about events which occurred earlier than the main story. Genre: A particular type or style of literature. The most common fictional genres are the novel, the short story, poetry, and drama. Some common non-fictional genres are the essay, the article, and biography. Keyword A word which is either essential or very important conveying meaning to a text. Message: An important moral, social, or political idea which a text is trying to communicate. Metaphor: An imaginative comparison where one thing is described in terms of another without the use of words such as like or as, e.g. Life is a dream... My love is a red rose. Narrator: The voice which tells the story and may be either directly or indirectly involved in it. The first person narrator tells the story using the 1st person and may be a character inside the story. This narrator may be relia-ble or unreliable. In a third person narrative, characters are described in the 3rd person. In a third person narrative the narrator may be: a) omniscient and know all about the characters, their thoughts, and the events taking place b) non-omniscient and only have limited knowledge of people and events Plot: The arrangement of the events in the narrative, the structure of the actions. Point of view: The position or angle from which a story is told, the perspective from which events are seen. It may be that of the narrator or any of the characters. The point of view may shift in a work of fiction - see narrator. Setting: The time and place where the events of the story take place, the social background of the characters. Simile: A direct comparison between two different things, often introduced by like or as, e.g. Life is like a dream... My love is like a red rose. Style: How a particular writer writes, the typical features of that writer: his choice of words, figures of speech, and sentence structure. Symbol: An object, person, animal, or event repre-senting not itself, but other objects or qualities, e.g. dove as a symbol of peace. Spring and winter often symbolize youth and old age. Themes: The theme of the story is its main concern or central idea. It may be directly or ind-irectly stated, and it is usually an abstract concept, such as love, the generation gap, or prejudice. All the elements of a literary work - plot, setting, characterization, style, etc - contribute to the development of its theme. Tone: The attitude a writer takes towards his or her subject, characters, or audience. Tone is often created through the choice of words. See the vocabulary list p.253.