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?