CHECKLIST FOR READING/ANALYSING A SHORT STORY

CHECKLIST FOR READING/ANALYSING A SHORT STORY*

Plot

• How are the events presented in the story?
• How is the plot developed? Does the author use a linear (chronological) pattern?
  
• Is flashback one of the techniques used?
• Do any of the early events or incidents prepare the reader for later ones?
• Do any events or incidents lead you to anticipate the outcome?
• What is the nature of the conflict?
• At what point does the story climax?
• Does the climax bring about a change in character or situation?

Character

• What are the types of character/s present in the story? (flat, round, stereotype, stock)
•  Are the characters believable?
• How are the characters presented by the author?
• What is the main character like?
• Does the author present fully developed characters?
• What are the conflicts that the main character faces?
• Does this character change as a result of the events that he or she experiences in the story?
• What is the nature of the change?
• If there is no change, why not?

Setting

·         How important is the setting of the story?

·         Does the setting help to develop the plot? How does it do so?

·         What does the setting contribute to our understanding of the meaning of the story?

·         Does the setting have any influence on the characters?

Point of View

• Does the point of view that is used help the author to expose the theme? If so, how?
• To what extent is the narrator a reliable witness to events?
• Would the choice of a different point of view change the story significantly?

Theme

• What is the theme of the story?
• Does the title provide a clue to what it is?
• Is there only one theme or are there several themes?
• Does the author suggest the theme through imagery?

Style

·         Does the author use figurative language in telling this story, or is the language literal?

·         If figurative language is used, what is the effect?

·         Does the author use dialogue to advance the action of the story? If dialect is used what is the effect?

·         What examples of figurative language are most striking in the story?

·         Why are they striking?

·         How does figurative language contribute to the meaning and theme of the story?

Narrative Technique

Narrative Technique

The methods involved in telling a story; the procedures used by a writer of stories or accounts. Narrative technique is a general term (like "devices," or "resources of language") that asks you to discuss the procedures used in the telling of a story. Examples of the techniques you might use are point of view, narrative structure,  manipulation of time, dialogue, or interior monologue.

Point of view

Objective Point of View
With the objective point of view, the writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's action and dialogue. The narrator never discloses anything about what the characters think or feel, remaining a detached observer.

Third Person Point of View
Here the narrator does not participate in the action of the story as one of the characters, but lets us know exactly how the characters feel. We learn about the characters through this outside voice.

First Person Point of View
In the first person point of view, the narrator does participate in the action of the story. When reading stories in the first person, we need to realize that what the narrator is recounting might not be the objective truth. We should question the trustworthiness of the accounting.

Omniscient and Limited Omniscient Points of View
A narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing, or omniscient.

A narrator whose knowledge is limited to one character, either major or minor, has a limited omniscient point of view.

Dialogue

Dialogue is another technique that authors use to tell their stories. Dialogue is direct speech between two characters. Authors often signify dialogue with quotation marks and a dialogue tag like "he said" or "she whispered." Through dialogue, authors are able to create scenes in which characters speak to one another and voice their thoughts and feelings.

Manipulation of time

Authors also use shifts in time within novels as a narrative technique. A flashback is when the storyline jumps backward to show something that has happened before the main events of the novel and that has relevance to the present story. Foreshadowing is when the narration hints at things that will happen but have not happened yet. Authors might also use a frame story, a secondary story that is not the main story of the novel but through which the main story is told. A frame story may, as in Joseph Conrad's "Heart of Darkness," be a character in the future remembering what has happened in the past. A frame story may also be, as in Emily Bronte's "Wuthering Heights," a character learning of the main story as the reader does.

Symbolism

Another important narrative technique is symbolism. A symbol is a thing that signifies something else. Symbols in novels are often ambiguous. For instance, in "The Great Gatsby," much of the action takes place beneath the eyes of an advertisement. You could argue that these eyes symbolize many things: They might be the eyes of God or the eyes of the reader or the eyes of Nick, the story's narrator. Some readers have even interpreted the eyes as a symbol of consumer culture.

Narrative Style

Narrative style refers to the way in which the author uses language vocabulary and imagery; it refers to the way in which the story is organized and the way in which the events are paced. (See point of view above) and refer to page 192 in A World of Prose.

Literary Devices

·         Allusion- An expression designed to call something to mind without mentioning it explicitly; an indirect or passing reference.

·         Irony—generally used to describe an occurrence or statement that embodies something

coincidental or lucky with an added remarkable twist of fate

o   Verbal—the use of words to express something other than and especially the

opposite of the literal meaning

o   Situational—incongruity between he actual result of a sequence of events and the

normal or expected result

o   Dramatic—when the audience or readers understand something in a play or story

that the actors or characters do not understand

·         Coincidence—the occurrence of events that happen at the same time by accident but

seem to have some connection

·         Symbolism—the art of expressing invisible or untouchable entities with visible or

sensual representations

·         Flashback—interruption of the plot by interjection of events of an earlier occurrence

·         Foreshadowing—representation or identification of what is to come later in the plot

·         Hyperbole—extravagant exaggeration

·         Oxymoron—a combination of words that contradict one another; for example, cruel

kindness

sample essay on short stories

The short story ‘The Man of the House’ is a story in which a young child deals with a frightening experience.

a)      Outline the situation that produces fear in the child.                                              (5 marks)

b)      Explain how the child deals with the fear experienced.                                         (10 marks)

c)      Discuss how the narrative technique affects the reader’s response to the ordeal of the child protagonist.                                                                                                                    (10 marks)

The short stories “The Man of the House” and “The Day the World almost came to an end”, written by Frank O’Connor and Pearl Crayton respectively, are both similar. Both stories involve a young child dealing with a frightening experience. For the child in each story, their experience produces fear, and the child has to try to handle or quell their fears. The fears and situations of each child are better understood through the narrative techniques of each unique author, making the reader’s response to the ordeal of the child protagonists better.

            The mother of Flurry, the main character and protagonist in “The Man…” has become very sick. Flurry fears that this sickness will develop into pneumonia, and his mother will die. For anyone, the fear of a mother dying is a terrible experience, so for a ten year old innocent boy, it should be absolutely horrifying. In “The Day…”, the child protagonist’s experience is perhaps equally as terrifying. The speaker is an adult reflecting on her childhood as a young sinner. Her frightening experience occurs when she is twelve years old, living on a plantation that is all about religion. Simply put, the world is supposedly coming to an end, and being an unrepentant sinner, it means she will end up in hell, which is definitely not a place she would want to be “where a red horned Devil tormented folks with a pitch fork.” So now these child protagonists have to deal with their situations somehow.

            In “The Man…”, Flurry decides that he will try everything he can to nurse his mother back to health. He stays home, makes the breakfast, goes to the public house to get her whiskey, gets the doctor and even goes to get the medicine that he prescribes. Only, he fails in his final attempt to help her as he drinks the medicine, under peer pressure from a girl, which is supposed to make her (the mother) better. Flurry goes home with no medicine for his mother and ends up sick, making a fool of himself in front of his mother’s friend, Minnie Ryan. In “The Day…”, the protagonist tries to calm her fears by reasoning with herself that the world cannot end, and she consults with her wise father to be assured that the world will still be around. This consultation ends up making her more fearful, and that night she runs screaming through the community that the world is going to end when she hears a loud racket in the sky. It turned out that the racket is actually an old aeroplane. There is a major similarity between both stories here, because in handling their fears they have managed to embarrass themselves in front of others.

             Both stories are written in first person narrative point of view, and this narrative technique helps the reader to respond better to the protagonists’ situations. In “The Man …”, the first person narrative allows the reader to understand and empathise with Flurry when he fails his mother. The reader can see how he was pressured. In “The Day…”, through the use of flashback (recalling a childhood incident), the reader can see that the narrator who is an adult now understands that as a child she was foolish and in her present age she has matured.

            So in both short stories, the protagonists had to endure frightening experiences. It is interesting then that for both short stories, the child protagonists’ situation have not turned out too badly in the end, because their original fears have not come to pass. Flurry’s mother has not died (in fact she begins to feel better by the time Flurry returns home ), and the world did not end for the young ‘sinner’.

                                                                                             -Written by Daniel Battick of 4 pool 2-

GENERAL TIPS ABOUT ESSAY WRITING

Organisation of the Essay

Organize your essay into paragraphs. Each paragraph must:

• Have a topic/lead sentence to show what it is about;
• Include suitable quotations to clarify your points;
• Have link words (also known as connectives or transitional words/phrases) to linkyour paragraphs.

The introductory paragraph must:

• Relate to the question;
• Include the main words/terms that appear in the various sections of the question;
• Give the examiner an idea of how you are going to tackle the answer.

The body of the essay must:

• Consist of well-organised paragraphs;
• Deal with each element in a paragraph of its own;
• Present your line of reasoning.

The concluding paragraph must:

• Provide a summary of the main points that you have made in the body of your essay;
• Refer to the question that is being answered.

WINE OF ASTONISHMENT- Effects of the War

Narrative Style:

• Heavy use of idioms and colloquial expressions –eg. ‘breeze could cut him’ pg. 27 ‘lips curl up like the edge of a cashew fruit.’pg.28
• Use of symbols

ü  People, places and objects

ü  The church, Bolo(tradition), Prince and Ivan (power & authority) and Bee (the transition – between what was and what will be), Clem (embraces change) etc.

ü  The church -  contrast with the Richardson’s estate

• Use if images and literary devices.
• Use of repetition – ‘still black people was having dreams..’pg.36

Impact of War

• Traditional way of life – uprooted, threatened.
• Culture - being questioned – what is acceptable is no longer certain. Eg. stickfighting doesn’t hold the same sentimence. Degradation of society’s values and standards – prostitution.
• Economy – has changed – agriculture no longer revered or seen as a manly job. – consumerism – everything can be bought or has a price.
• Community members struggle with change
• Masculinity  - redefined.

 Characterization and Theme

• Bolo – representative of the traditional life – a dying lifestyle
• Traditional man -
• Refuses to accept – inevitable change – only sees the negative effect

Ivan and Prince

• Symbolic of oppression
• Disappointments – were seen as symbols of hope for the people
• Selfishness and greed
• Embody a different type of leadership

Bee

• His manhood and leadership questioned by both his family and church members
• Caught between rock and hard place – needs to show courage to son and family and church – both groups demand this in different ways.

Effectiveness of Flashback

• To provide background information to the behaviours of characters
• Understand the reason for the hope being placed in Ivan
• Allows for the readers to make their own assessment of characters and events
• Story moved from immediate past – to distant past.
• Distinction already being made regarding who is in good standing and whose character is questionable.
• Details of certain behaviour already being highlighted – eg. The Richardson, Ivan, Bee and Bolo

Suggested questions for characters in role play activity:

Ivan –

1. The people regard you as their last hope for true representation regarding freedom of worship – How do you feel about this?
2. Some people feel that nothing has changed with you as you were always aloof and distant from community members - what do you have to say in response to this?
3. Many persons have been saying that since you have been exposed to a little power and authority you no longer remember where you are from – is this true?

Bee

1. Why have you been so reluctant to openly express how you feel about what has been happening?
2. What difficulties do you face as a leader, husband and father?

Bolo

1. Why are you so upset with the fact that the Americans are here?
2. Many persons believe that you are afraid of embracing change and you want to continue with old practices that are no longer relevant – what do you have to say about this?
3. How true is it that your negative feeling towards Ivan is because of Eulalee?

Wine of Astonishment- Narrative Point of View

Narrative Point of View:
• 1st person narrative – Eva – woman, mother, church mother
• Tells what she knows and what has been passed on to her – also what is public knowledge
• To Maintain the Oral tradition  - oral historian – unifies the voices in her community
• Role of the Chantwell – singer at a stick fight – Eva is responsible for collecting the stories organize them and disseminate them.
N.P.V and N.Technique
• Affects how the story is told
• Non –linear manner – present – near past – distant past – present
• Narrates the events in regular story telling fashion  - filling in background information as the issues arise – digression frequent and relevant
• Forces the reader/listen to pay attention as the narrator moves all over the events
N.P.V and N. Style
• Personal link allows for intimacy of events being told
• Strong use of images – those relevant and familiar with the lifestyle of narrator eg. pg.12 ‘sea gulls dipping like kites’, pg 9 ‘God gone from it’
N.P.V and Characterization

• What is given about the characters  -  how Eva and her community sees them
• Distinction already being made regarding who is in good standing and whose character is questionable.
• Details of certain behaviour already being highlighted – e.g. The Richardson, Ivan, Bee and Bolo


N.P.V. and Plot
• Suspense already heightens – digression fosters this – keeps the reader in anticipation
• Suspense at end of chapter
• Conflicts already visible from Bee and Ivan
• Tension obviously brewing
N.P.V and Theme
• Racism and prejudice already evident – Buntin not getting a loan
• Manhood and Integrity (being questioned) – Bee and Ivan Morton

THEMES

Childhood

Dreaming Black Boy

Forgive My Guilt

Once Upon a Time

Prejudice/ Racial Discrimination

Dreaming Black Boy

Epitaph

A Stone’s Throw

Race Relations

Theme for English B

Epitaph

Dreaming Black Boy

Test March Sabina Park

The Natural World

A Contemplation Upon Flowers

God’s Grandeur

Forgive My Guilt

Orchids

South

Sonnet Composed upon Westminister Bridge

Appearance Versus Reality

Once Upon a Time

Dulce et Decorum Est

West Indies, USA

A Stone’s Throw

Le Loupgarou

Dreams and Aspirations

A Contemplation Upon Flowers

Dreaming Black Boy

South

The Woman Speaks to the Man who has Employed her Son

Heroism

To an Athlete Dying Young

Dulce et Decorum Est

Human Cruelty

This is the Dark Time, my Love

Dulce et Decorum Est

Epitaph

A Stone’s Throw

Power and Powerlessness

Dreaming Black Boy

This is the Dark Time, my Love

Theme for English B

A Stone’s Throw

Epitaph

Superstition

Le loupgarou

Ol’ Higue

Identity

Once Upon a Time

Dreaming Black Boy

Theme for English B

Ol’ Higue

Edifices and Environs

South

West Indies, USA

Sonnet Composed upon Westminister Bridge

Greed

Le Loupgarou

God’s Grandeur

Patriotism/ Nationalism

This is the Dark Time, my Love

Dulce et Decorum Est

Test Match Sabina Park

It is the Constant Image of your Face

Faith in God/ Religion

God’s Grandeur

A Stone’s Throw

Education and/ or Learning

Once Upon a Time

Dreaming Black Boy

Theme for English B

Warfare/ International Conflict

Dulce et Decorum Est

This is the dark time, my love

Love and Family Relationships

Once Upon a Time

The Woman Speaks to the Man who has Employed her Son

It is the Constant Image of your Face

Injustice

A Stone’s Throw

Dreaming Black Boy

Epitaph

Colonialism

West Indies, USA

This is the Dark Time, my Love

Contemplation and Memories

A Contemplation Upon Flowers

Once Upon a Time

Epitaph

Theme for English B

Orchids

South

Loss of Innocence

Epitaph

Dreaming Black Boy

Once Upon a Time

Forgive My Guilt

Alienation

Test Match Sabina Park

Dreaming Black Boy

Theme for English B

Death

Dulce et Decorum Est

To an Athlete Dying Young

Epitaph

A Contemplation Upon Flowers

The Woman Speaks to the Man who has Employed her Son