SHORT STORY

Organised and Processed by: L G More

Introduction:

The desire to listen to stories is deeply rooted in human

civilization world over. Man, being the social animal, is always
interested in other man’s life. This feature of man’s mind might
have created the art of story-telling. Short stories date back to oral
story-telling traditions which originally produced epics such as
Homer’s Iliad and Odyssey. Oral narratives were often told in the
form of rhyming or rhythmic verse, often including recurring sections.
Such device helped to recall the stories easily. Short sections of verse
might focus on individual narratives that could be told at one sitting.

The origin of short story can be traced back to the oral story-
telling tradition. Perhaps the oldest form of the short story is the
anecdote which was popular in the Roman Empire. At the time, the
anecdotes functioned as a kind of parables in the Roman Empire.
Anecdote is a brief realistic narrative that embodies a point. The
anecdotes remained popular in Europe well into the 18th century,
when the fictional anecdotal letters of Sir Roger de Coverley were
published.

Another form close to the short story is the fable. Fables, concise
tales with an explicit moral were, said by the Greek historian,
Herodotus to have been invented in the 6th century BCE by a
Greek slave named Aesop, though other times and nationalities have
also been given for him. These ancient fables are today known as
Aesop’s fables.
In essence, the short story is a literary genre which presents a single
significant event or a scene involving a limited number of characters.
Short stories have no set length. In terms of word count there is no
official boundary between an anecdote, a short story, and a novel.
Rather, the form’s limits are given by the rhetorical and practical
context in which a given story is produced and considered, so that
what constitutes a short story may differ between genres, countries,
eras, and commentators.

The short story has been considered both an apprenticeship from

preceding more lengthy works, and a crafted form in its own right,
collected together in books of similar length, price, and distribution as
novels.

Definition:

It is reasonable to say that a firm definition of a short story is

impossible. No simple theory can encompass the diverse nature of a
genre in which the only constant feature seems to be the achievement
of a narrative purpose in a comparatively brief space. Each definition
emphasizes some aspects and cannot cover all. However, to get some
idea about the form, we can highlight some definitions:

1. “A fictional prose tale of no specified length, but too short to be

published as a volume on its own, as novellas sometimes and novels
unusually are. A short story will normally concentrate on a single
event with only one or two characters, more economically than a
novel’s sustained exploration of social background”.

Chris Baldick: The Concise Oxford Dictionary of Literary Terms

2. “A short story is a brief work of prose fiction, and most of the terms
for analyzing the component elements, the types, and the narrative
techniques of the novel are applicable to the short story as well.”

M. H. Abrams, Geoffrey Galt Harpham: A Handbook of Literary

Terms.

3. A prose narrative “requiring from half an hour to one or two hours

in its perusal.” Edgar Allan Poe: Review of Nathaniel Hawthorne’s
Twice Told Tales.

According to Encyclopaedia Britannica, 'A short story is a brief

fictional prose narrative that is shorter than a novel and usually
deals with a few characters. The short story is usually concerned
with a single unified effect. It is conveyed in only a few significant
episodes. The short story requires economy of setting, a concise
narrative and a simple plot. The character is subtly disclosed
through action or dramatic encounter. It is almost never fully
developed. Despite its relatively limited scope, a short story
provides for a complete reading.

A classic definition of a short story is that one should be able to read

it in one sitting, a point most notably made in Edgar Allan Poe's
essay, “The Philosophy of Composition” (1846).

In contemporary usage, the term short story most often refers to a

work of prose fiction that is not longer than 20,000 words and not
shorter than 1,000

Origins:

The evolution of the short story first began before humans could write.
To aid in constructing and memorizing tales, the early storyteller often
relied on stock phrases, fixed rhythms, and rhyme. Consequently,
many of the oldest narratives in the world, such as the ancient
Babylonian tale the Epic of Gilgamesh, are in verse. Indeed, most
major stories from the ancient Middle East were in verse: “The War of
the Gods,” “The Story of Adapa” (both Babylonian), “The Heavenly
Bow,” and “The King Who Forgot” (both Canaanite). Those tales
were inscribed in cuneiform on clay during the 2nd millennium BCE.

Beginnings / Origin of the Short Story:

Short stories were popular entertainment even before the written

word. Each culture had their favourite ancient and modern writers
who crafted 2rable or a fast paced romance or thriller.

Over the centuries short fiction was not considered as an art form
until the 19th century. Writers like Edgar Allen Poe, Hawthorne,
Guy de Maupassant, Anton Chekhov and Mark Twain perfected it
and developed into a legitimate art form.

Short Stories having their origins in religion, tradition, myth,

magic, romance, adventure and heroism date back to our ancestors
and tribesmen who were around events and narrated them to others.

The early man was telling short stories even before the written word
was invented. These stories were often recited in verse or rhyme,
handed down from one generation to the other. The adventure of
Gilgamesh came to us from the Babylonians and a plethora of tales
were women around Egyptian kings, queens, gods and animal deities.

Indian and Middle Eastern stories revolved around ancient wisdom.

Aesop immortalized the animal parable. These collections came
around 6th century B.C. The tales have a moral lesson which is
relevant even today.
By the Middle Ages, folk tales, romantic, heroic or tragic ballads,
Greek and Scandinavian myths, fairy-tales and farcical verse
aimed at describing various lifestyles, customs, mannerisms and
political affiliations became increasingly popular.

Geoffrey Chaucer's 'Canterbury Tales' and 'A Thousand and One

Arabian Nights' were extremely popular.

With the periodicals in the late 17th Century in Germany and

Britain, editors were always looking for short material to fill their
pages and satisfy burgeoning public demand. Short Stories naturally
fitted into this riche. Charles Dickens gained a huge following with
his serialised stories; Pickwick Papers is the best example in this
category.

In the 19th Century, there was a lot of experimentation with the

short story and led to the evolution of the modern short story.

The American Writer, Edgar Allan Poe became one of the most
influential short story writers and the master of the horror genre. His
tales namely 'The Murders in the Rue Morgue', 'The Masque of The
Red Death', The Cask of Amontillado' and 'The Tell Tale Heart'
remain unsurpassed in evoking mood, setting and characterization.

On the other hand Nathaniel Hawthorne and Mark Twain leaned

more towards realism William Sydney Porter whose pen-name was O'
Henry relied heavily on coincidence and' twist in the tale
technique.

European writers made their mark in literary circle with short fiction.
French writer, Guy de Maupassant created a realistic account of the
French middle class and human behaviour.
Rudyard Kipling wrote immensely popular stories about British
military life as well as the children's classic 'The Jungle Book'. Anton
Chekov depicted the life during upheaval and change in Russia
through his tales. Joseph Conrad's tales were character driven
revolving around realistic observances of naval life.

From the 1920s to 1950s, short stories took on many different

themes, setting and character types. Edge Rice Burroughs discovered
'Tarzan of the Apes', H. G. Wells enthralled readers with his science
fiction and Dashiell Hammet presented the hard-boiled, no holds
barred crime fiction teeming with sex and violence.

Writers who achieved distinction with their short stories include

James Joyce, Gabriel Garcia Marquez, George Orwell, Katherine
Manfield, Saki, James Thurber, Herman Melville, Arthur Conan
Doyle and Dorothy Parker, and so on.

Characteristics:

Short Stories tend to be less complex than novels. Usually they focus
on one incident have a single plot, a single setting a limited
number of characters and covers a short period of time.

Because of their short length, modern short stories may have an

abrupt beginning or an end. They may or may not have a moral
lesson. The exact characteristics of a short story will vary with the
author.

The five elements of a short story include Plot, character, setting,

Atmosphere and style.

Plot: The Plot of a short story implies the arrangement of

incidents or events in a story. It can be split into opening situation,
Inciting force, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Final
Outcome.

In the opening situation the reader is made aware of where and

when the story occurs and the characters are introduced. The inciting
force is the conflict established between the characters. In the Rising
Action, the conflict between characters develops and becomes more
pronounced. The Climax is a moment of greatest suspense. The
falling action leads to a resolution or final outcome. In the final
outcome, the author ties up all loose ends in the hope of satisfying the
reader.

Character: The plot requires character/s - The main character must

overcome the problem. Most stories have minor characters that may
help or hinder the main character's attempt to solve his problem.
Accordingly characters may be flat or one dimensional, round or
dynamic who learn and grow during the story, stereotyped
characters that are well known and recognizable. Then there is a
protagonist-the main hero and the antagonist who opposes the
protagonist.

The Conflict: Conflict can be internal or external. External conflict

can be between man versus nature, man versus society, man vs.
super natural or man vs. time.

The Setting: is the physical background of the story-where and

when of the events in the story.

Atmosphere: It is closely related to the setting. It sets the mood or

tone of the story and is effected in characters, clothing, furniture,
natural surroundings, light, darkness, shadows and weather.

Style: The ways the author expresses himself and conveys his ideas
represents his style. His diction/word choice can be formal,
informal, colloquial or slang. More important is the author's point of
view which implies the vantage point from which the author presents
the action of the story. In other words it refers to the different types of
narration:

Third person narration- when the person telling the story is not a
part of the action.

First person: A major, minor or silent character who tells the story.

Omniscient narration: The author who knows everything about

the characters and events and who can enter the mind of any
character at will. The writer may use certain literary tools like Irony,
Symbolism and Imagery.

Irony: refers to some sort of discrepancy between what is expected

and what actually happens.

Symbolism:

It refers to a literary symbol which means something itself in the

story but also suggests a wealth of meaning beyond what it actually
is- an object, a situation or an action. eg. The Gift of the Magi.

Imagery:

It can be sensuous imagery or figurative imagery. Sensuous

imagery refers to images that appeal to the five senses whereas
figurative imagery refers to the various figures of speech like
metaphor and personification and so on.

Conclusion:

There are many types of prose fiction. The genre evolved from story-
telling traditions of various societies in the world, epic narratives,
and romance to the present form. In modern prose fiction, the
novel, the novella and the short story are the most popular genres.
The novel stands out among the rest but for any prose fiction to
be classified as a novel, it must present an element of
verisimilitude. This explains why thriller and some other
melodramatic prose fictions are not classified as novel.

The short story and the novella share the same characteristics
with the novel but they are shorter in length. The length also
differentiates the novella from the short story as the latter is shorter
than the former.

The End