Essay Example on How the Plot of a Short Story Influences its Popularity

Readers started getting attracted to short stories in the 1800s when renowned authors such as Charles Dickens began to narrate them. The only thing that distinguishes a short story from a novel is its length. Most short stories always have an average of 20,000 words (Martín, 13). It is what makes most readers comfortable as the word count makes it easy for reading in one sitting. The paper focuses on the different elements of short stories,

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The first element is the plot. It is what happens in the short story, the results of the happenings, how the characters are affected, and how the events are organized. It is the storyline of the short story (Martín, 14). In the short story pride and prejudice, the main character Elizabeth and her siblings are poor and unmarried. Two bachelors, Mr. Darcy, and his friend come to their neighborhood, and they fall in love with Jane, Elizabeth's sister. Mr. Darcy ends up marrying Elizabeth.

The other element is conflict. It is a type of struggle that the characters in the short story experience. Conflicts can either be internal or external. Inner conflicts occur when, for instance, a character wrestles with his or her feelings. On the other hand, external conflicts arise between two or more characters (Martín, 20). They are mostly disputes and differences between the characters which the characters fail to agree to.

The external conflicts can happen as a result of force such as God, nature, or the government. Based on the short story, pride and prejudice, characters such as Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy had conflicts. Before Elizabeth identified that she had feelings for Mr. Darcy, she battled with her feelings. She did not see it fit for her to fall in love with her sister's former lover, Mr. Darcy (Martín, 17). On the other hand, Mr. Darcy and his friend conflicted while they loved Jane. It is because they were best friends who had feelings for the same lady.

Setting refers to a description of the environment a given play is taking place. In comparison to other types of stories such as novels, a short story contains a fewer number of settings. The time is also limited for a given set of actions to take place (Martín, 23). When considering the setting of a play, it is essential to consider several questions such as: how is the setting developed in a play by considering aspects such as social conditions, time of day, weather and geographical location. It is also essential to think about the role played by the setting in developing other elements such as theme or the plot of the story.

A setting may be a backdrop for a given set of actions to take. The setting may include other aspects such as period, which must be studied to answer specific questions such as when a given story was written. The setting also describes events, whether they are happening in the past, present, or future. The setting may also reflect the time effect on social circumstances, atmosphere, or the language of the short story.

Conclusion

Characterization is concerned with the description of characters in a short story. Characters are usually few in short stories (Martín, 26). Short stories are likely to focus on one key character known as the protagonist. When reading a short story, the main areas of consideration should be: which character plays the role of a protagonist. Short stories can describe the character through a dialect or dialogue. An author can choose to describe characters in interaction, feelings, thoughts, or physical appearance. Characters can also be dynamic or static; hence can change or may not change as the story progresses.

Work Cited

Martín, José Alonso Hernández. "Writing short stories to describe literary language use and perceptions as writer." ENLETAWA JOURNAL 10.2 (2017): 13-28. https://revistas.uptc.edu.co/index.php/enletawa_journal/article/view/8691