i need help with my lit homework?

Question

my teacher asks everyday to list & explain the elements of a short story but she won't tell us where to find the elements of the story and we haven't even discussed them...does anyone know where i can go to find them...

examples of elements of a short story i think might be:
setting: the elements of that
theme: the elements of that
and so on................?

Answer 1

Your teacher really should explain the elements to the class if she wants you to learn.

Yes, there are six elements to a short story.

1. SETTING - The time and location in which a story takes place.
a) place - geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place?
b) time - When is the story taking place?
c) weather conditions
d) social conditions - What is the daily life of the character's like?
e) mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story?

PLOT -- The plot is how the author arranges events to develop his basic idea;
a) Introduction - The beginning of the story where the characters and the setting is revealed.
b) Rising Action - This is where the events in the story become complicated and the conflict in the story is revealed
c) Climax - This is the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story.
d) Falling action - The events and complications begin to resolve themselves.
e) Denouement - This is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story.

CONFLICT-- Conflict is essential to plot.
There are two types of conflict:
1) External - A struggle with a force outside one's self.
2) Internal - A struggle within one's self
There are four kinds of conflict:
1) Man vs. Man (physical)
2) Man vs. Circumstances (classical)
3) Man vs. Society (social)
4) Man vs. Himself/Herself (psychological)

CHARACTER -- There are two meanings for the word character:
1) The person in a work of fiction.
2) The characteristics of a person.
Persons in a work of fiction - Antagonist and Protagonist
Short stories use few characters. One character is clearly central to the story with all major events having some importance to this character - he/she is the PROTAGONIST. The opposer of the main character is called the ANTAGONIST.

The Characteristics of a Person -
In order for a story to seem real to the reader its characters must seem real. Characterization is the information the author gives the reader about the characters themselves. The author may reveal a character in several ways:
a) his/her physical appearance
b) what he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams
c) what he/she does or does not do
d) what others say about him/her and how others react to him/her.
Characters are convincing if they are: consistent, motivated, and life-like (resemble real people)
Characters are...
1. Individual - round, many sided and complex personalities.
2. Developing - dynamic, many sided personalities that change, for better or worse, by the end of the story.
3. Static - Stereotype, have one or two characteristics that never change and are emphasized e.g. brilliant detective, drunk, scrooge, cruel stepmother, etc.

POINT OF VIEW
Point of view, or p.o.v., is defined as the angle from which the story is told.
1. Innocent Eye - The story is told through the eyes of a child (his/her judgment being different from that of an adult)
2. Stream of Consciousness - The story is told so that the reader feels as if they are inside the head of one character and knows all their thoughts and reactions.
3. First Person - The story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters who interacts closely with the protagonist or other characters (using pronouns I, me, we, etc).
4. Omniscient- The author can narrate the story using the omniscient point of view. He can move from character to character, event to event, having free access to the thoughts, feelings and motivations of his characters and he introduces information where and when he chooses. There are two main types of omniscient point of view:
a) Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in third person (using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc). We know only what the character knows and what the author allows him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of characters if the author chooses to reveal them to us.
b) Omniscient Objective – The author tells the story in the third person. It appears as though a camera is following the characters, going anywhere, and recording only what is seen and heard. There is no comment on the characters or their thoughts. No interpretations are offered. The reader is placed in the position of spectator without the author there to explain. The reader has to interpret events on his own.

THEME -- The theme in a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight.
Some simple examples of common themes from literature, TV, and film are:
- things are not always as they appear to be
- Love is blind
- Believe in yourself
- People are afraid of change
- Don't judge a book by its cover

There they are hope this helps you a little bit. :-)

Answer 2

character
setting
plot
theme