Literary Genres - Ms.
Lahlali
Analysing the Short Story 1: Plot and Setting
What is a short story?
A short story is a literary piece of narrative prose that is usually centered around one
single event. Contrary to the novel, which is much longer and usually features many
characters and many parallel stories, the short story is generally focused on one single story
involving a limited number of characters.
Summary vs. Analysis:
Because the story is at the heart of narrative prose in general, students tend to assume that
knowing the story is the same as analysing fiction. This however is inaccurate because the
purpose of the study of literature is not to retell the story, but to find out meaning. Analysing
a short story is essential to fully understand what it means, and in order to do so, one has to
consider the literary devices used by the author. This lesson will focus on plot and setting.
Plot vs. Story:
It may be difficult to distinguish these concepts. Let's therefore consider the difference as
expressed by a major English writer, EM Forster: «The king died and then the queen died is
a story. The king died and the queen died of grief is a plot.» In other words, while the story
is merely a succession of events, the plot takes into consideration the causality that binds the
events of the story.
Once this difference is understood, we can see why identifying plot is an important
element of literary analysis. Indeed, the causality binding the main events of the story is part
of its meaning. Furthermore, the plot usually follows a standard pattern in the short story
because it always involves a problem or conflict facing the main character. Therefore, it
tends to follow this diagram:
Why is setting important ?
It is sometimes believed that the story alone is important, and that time and place are
secondary. This however is a mistake. Setting refers mainly to the time and place of the
story, and it is very important as it can be an essential component of its meaning. Consider
for example a classic such as Les Misérables by French author Victor Hugo. When the
reader duly considers place (France) and time (the 19 th Century), then he is more likely to
understand that Victor Hugo is interested in the social reality of his country after the French
Revolution of 1789 and during the Industrial Revolution, and that the extreme poverty he
describes is the result of the economic and political system of his epoch. The context of the
story is usually part of the meaning of a short story/novel.
Plot and Setting: Practice
Now that you have read Washington Irving's «Rip Van Winkle», answer the following
questions:
– Who is the main character, and what happens to him?
– In your view, what are the most important events of the story? Why?
– Where and when does the story take place? Is it important? Why (not)?
– In your view, what is the climax moment of the plot? Why?
– Can you identify the other stages in the plot?
