questions to analyzeshort stories
DESCRIPTION
This is a handout given to students in English 106 at LCCC.TRANSCRIPT
Questions for Exploring Short Stories
Beth Ritter-Guth, Instructor
ENG106: LCCC
Spring 2008
Mode
• Is the story:– Comic– Pathetic– Tragic– Satiric– Elegiac– Didactic
Narrator
• Who is the narrator?
• Is the narrator also a character?
• What role does the narrator play in the development of the plot?
• Do we trust the narrator?
Background
• How does the story start?
• What happened before the story started?
• Where does the reader “land” in the story?
• How do we learn this background?
• Is the delivery of this background important to the plot of the story?
Characters
• Who are the main characters?
• How are they introduced in the story?
• When are they introduced?
• What do we know about these characters?
• What do we need to know about them?
• Do they fit any archetypal patterns?
Character and Setting
• What time period is the story set?• Do the characters behave according to the
standards of time and location?• What do we need to understand about the time
period, customs, language, mores, habits, and traditions of the culture or time period?
Characterization?
• How are the major characters drawn? What are their major strengths? Weaknesses? Are they active? Passive?
• How to the characters function in relationship to one another?
• How do the minor characters work with the major characters?
• Do we trust the characters? Why or why not?
Action, Speech, Ideas• How to characters present their ideas?• How is speech crafted to provide characterization?• Which is more important to the character - actions
or speech?• Does the reader “get inside the head of” any
character?• Do the characters change (for better or worse)
during the story?
Setting
• How does the author address setting?• Is the setting described in full or is it implied?• What role does the setting play in the plot/action
of the story.• How does the setting establish mood?• Does the setting impact character development?
Plot
• Is the plot of the story the most meaningful part of the story? If not, what is?
• Is there anything missing in the plot? Is this element missing on purpose?
• Are there any inconsistencies in the plot? Are these intentional?
• How does memory play a role in the development of the plot? Do we trust these memories?
Organization of Plot• Is the story organized thematically or
chronologically?• Would the outcome be different if the events
happened differently?• What are the motivations of the major and minor
characters?
Theme
• Is this story didactic?• What is the point of the story - to inform,
persuade, or entertain?• How does the plot establish the theme?• How do the characters function in relationship to
the theme?• What value statements are implied by the theme?
Symbols• Are symbols used in the story?• Do the characters recognize the symbols, or are
the symbols used for the benefit of the reader only?
• Do these symbols add meaning? Why, or why not?
• Are there major and minor symbols?• Are the symbols archetypal?
Reality and Believability• Is this story believable or fantastical?• Does the story need to be believable to achieve the
overall effect or impact of the story?• How does the plot function in believability?• Are the characters believable?• Is the setting realistic? Does it need to be
realistic?
Critical Theory
• How would a Feminist react to this story?• How would a New Critic react to this story?• How would a Deconstructionist react to this
story?• How would a Psychoanalytic critic react to
this story?• How would an Ecocritic react to the story?