Tuesday, October 24, 2023
Analysis of short stories
Characters
Characters (both major
and minor) are what bring life to a story. Writers use them to transcend
important messages throughout the plotline.
Every character has a
purpose, a particular personality, and a developmental arc. To analyze these
characters for your short story, you must have the answer to the following
questions:
- Who is the plotline’s protagonist?
- Do you have your antagonist? If yes, who is it? What
antagonistic qualities do they have?
- Are the characters dynamic (changing) or static
(unchanging)?
- How does the author describe the character's
appearance, personality, mindset, and actions?
- What are your thoughts, feelings, or opinions about the
characters?
- What is the relationship between all the characters?
People get invested in
fictional characters, relate to them, and see them as real individuals with
real personalities, going through real hardships in life.
That's the key motive
of the author, and that's what needs to be analyzed.
Setting or Theme
The setting of a short
story depicts the theme of the plot through key metaphors. It revolves around
three important points:
- Time
- Location
- Circumstances
This also aids the
flow of the plotline, distinguishes the characters, influences viewpoints, and
creates an aura for your story.
Even if a story is
placed in a historic time and place, from when and where it was originally
written, it can influence the entire context of the narrative.
Many stories would
seem different and altered if their original setting was changed completely and
is thus very crucial in interpreting the concept of the story.
Thus, try to assess
how the setting affects the story and how it motivates its characters. Analyze
why the author has chosen this particular setting, how the readers respond to
it, as well as if there’s any symbolic meaning behind it.
Plot
The plotline makes a
story by giving it a pattern and a structure to the events that are about to
happen. Identifying and analyzing these plotlines will help in giving insights
into the explanation of the story.
In short stories, the
plot is majorly centered around one important character and their actions, or
around one key experience that impacts the story greatly.
Usually, a short story
plot has one major storyline, unlike novels, which have multiple trajectories
of storylines. Thus, short stories are easier to analyze.
Symbolism
Authors use symbolism
to convey messages poetically or indirectly, through their stories, making them
more interesting and complex pieces.
Symbolism is depicted
using a physical object or even a person to be an abstract idea. For example, a
dove represents love and peace and a storm represents hostility and turmoil.
Symbolism can also be
used as a metaphor in the narrative, such as life is a roller coaster which portrays
life to have its ups and downs.
Similarly, in short
story novels, authors symbolize certain conflicts and important issues by using
a metaphor or a simile in their story. For example, in Shakespeare’s Julius
Caesar, the officials dismantled the coronations of Caesar's statues,
foreshadowing their plan to topple him.
Moral
Lastly, the reason you
are reading the short story is to identify what you have learned from it and
what the moral of the narrative is.
Even though short
story novels are crisp, interesting, and entertaining, there is always a life
lesson behind each of them. This moral is implied to help the readers
understand the author’s perspective, what they want to convey, and what lesson
you should learn from the text.