Short Story

A short story is a short piece of prose fiction laying out an independent, self-contained narrative. Like a novel, it tells the reader a complete story. However, it does so without using as many characters, scenes, settings, or storylines.

The length of a short story is not a fixed one. In general, if a fiction falls between 1,000 to 10,000 words, it is considered to be a short story. On the other hand, there can be even more flexibility when it comes to word count; sometimes, works shorter than a thousand words or longer than 10,000 words will also get classified as short stories. Usually though, fiction written in less than 1,000 words is called flash fiction, while if it exceeds 10,000 words, it is regarded to be a novella. 

While there is some debate about how many words should be in a short story, a frequent parameter used to define it is the amount of time taken to read one. First put forward by Edgar Allan Poe (a prolific writer of short stories himself), it is now commonly accepted that a short story should be short enough that it can be read in one sitting. 

Short stories are often classed as a literary genre of their own. However, they are frequently also written to fit within a genre itself, such as science fiction, romance, and crime. 

Compared to other modes of literature, like the novel or the poem, short stories have only recently received any attention. This is in spite of being one of the oldest forms of storytelling: folktales, legends, and myths have passed down from generation to generation since the beginning of human history. Whether these take an oral or a written form, they largely resemble the modern short story.  

Short Story Essay Examples

► James Joyce’s ‘The Dead’

James Joyce’s short story “The Dead” deals with the meaning of life. This title is significant and enhances several aspects of the story. First of all, it reveals that the characters are unable to be emotional. They are physically living but emotionally dead. Second of all, it contributes to the main subject of the story, Gabriel’s epiphany.

► The Lottery, by Shirley Jackson

It is funny how life works out sometimes. You never know what you are going to get. ‘The Lottery’ is a story about a small village that holds a lottery drawing in the middle of the town square. The “winner” of the lottery is then stoned by the town’s people. This piece of literature provides a clear example that things in life are not always what they seem.

► Ray Bradbury’s A Sound Of Thunder

Written in 1952 by Ray Bradbury, “A Sound of Thunder” tells the story of how in 2055 a new technology was invented that could change the world. Safari Inc offers a trip to the past to hunt the big game dinosaurs. Eckles a big game hunter, signs on to go on an expedition. We have a feeling he is nervous.

► The Necklace by Guy de Maupassant

Honesty can prevent years of misery, guilt and regret which Guy de Maupassant depicts throughout “The Necklace.”  Guy de Maupassant, a French writer, born in 1850, was considered one of France’s greatest short-story writers.

► The Veldt by Ray Bradbury

Throughout the short story “The Veldt,” Bradbury uses foreshadowing to communicate the consequences of the overuse of technology on individuals. Lydia Hadley is the first of the two parents to point out the screams that are heard on the distance where the lions are. George soon dismisses them when he says he did not hear them.

The Elements of a Short Story

Similar to other stories, short stories also need to have the following elements:

1. Setting: The time and place in which the story takes place must be clearly defined and communicated to the readers. In short stories, the action is not likely to move across several different spaces; it is largely contained within a restricted space. 

2. Character(s): Characters are the doers in stories; they drive the story forward with their action (or lack of it). Short stories do not allow the luxury of developing several characters with complex backgrounds and personalities. Instead, they rely on very few—sometimes just one—character to carry the action and make their point. Protagonists become important here, as they allow the story to focus on a main character.

3. Plot: The plot is the series of events conveyed by the story. Older short stories tended to follow the traditional plot structure—an exposition leading into rising action that climbed to a climax followed by falling action ending in a resolution. Contemporary short stories tend to be much more experimental; they may rearrange these parts or even drop one or more of them completely to create entirely new structures and build suspense. However, as with the other elements, the plot in short stories needs to be tight and focused without wandering into multiple storylines. 

4. Conflict: Another driver of the action, besides the character(s), is the conflict. This is the friction around which the plot revolves—the character is facing an obstacle, either outside them or within them, that they have to overcome. The conflict in a story brings out the theme of that story.

5. Theme: The theme of a story is the point it is trying to make. Traditionally, short stories have delivered morals to their readers, which is why the form is also often associated with writing for children. More recently, however, clear-cut morals have been replaced with more complex realities. This is done through ambiguous and open endings.

► Consequences of War in the Short Story, The Fly by Katherine Mansfield

The short story “The Fly” was written in 1922, and was first published in “The Nation & Antheaeum” on 18 March 1922. The plot sets off with an elderly weak, retired man, named Mr. Woodifield making his weekly visit to the place where he had worked before he suffered a stroke.

► The Jacket by Gary Soto

In “The Jacket” Gary Soto uses symbolism to reflect on the characterization and development of the narrator. Soto seems to focus mainly on a jacket, which has several meanings throughout the story. The jacket is used as a symbol to portray poverty, the narrator’s insecurity, and the narrator’s form of self-destruction.

Examples of Short Stories

The following are widely regarded to be among the best short stories written: 

• The Lottery by Shirley Jackson: A small town participates in an odd ritual.

• The Tell Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe: An unnamed narrator is haunted by the sound of a beating heart. 

• The Yellow Wallpaper by Charlotte Perkins Gilman: A woman becomes obsessed with the yellow wallpaper of a room in a house she is temporarily living in. 

• The Veldt by Ray Bradbury: A couple move into a technologically advanced home and then grow concerned about its effect on their children.

• Hills Like White Elephants by Ernest Hemmingway: A man and a woman have a conversation while waiting for a train. 

• The Sniper by Liam O’Flaherty: Two snipers are engaged in a tense shootout with one another during the Battle of Dublin.

• The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin: A woman reacts to the news of her husband’s death. 

• The Gift of the Magi by O. Henry: A couple buys each other presents for Christmas. 

► Clothes by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni

The short story “Clothes” by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni is about a young Indian woman, Sumita, and her cultural transition to America that is symbolized by her clothes and the color of her clothes. The traditional Indian attire for a woman is a sari and each one has its own purpose.

► Sniper Short Story

Civil War is described as two groups or nations fighting in the same country. With that being said, the two stories “ The Sniper and “Cranes” are based off Civil War. Contrarily “The Sniper” is one of the stories. In this story, theirs a Republican Sniper, fighting in Civil War knowing it’s a life or death matter trying to survive.

Types of Short Story

• Anecdote: A brief humorous story that underlines the point that the speaker/writer is trying to make. The anecdote may involve real or fictional characters and events.

• Vignette: A description of a place, person, or event without much of a plot. This may be a part of a longer piece, or it may be a standalone. The point of a vignette is to capture a moment and not to relate a plot.

• Fable: A tale involving anthropomorphic creatures—often animals—to convey a clear cut and explicit moral to the reader.

• Flash Fiction: A very short story lasting less than 1,000 words. Flash fiction conveys an entire plot to the reader without explicitly laying out all of it.

• Modern: A type of short story that experiments with form and style to capture the reader’s attention. Modernist stories frequently have a disjointed chronology to create suspense. 

• Minimalist: A short story told with brevity, where the language used is straightforward. Minimalist stories, however, often lack a resolution. 

• Drabble: A story of exactly 100 words, written to test and challenge the writer’s skill. 

► John Steinbeck’s Short Story, The Chrysanthemums

She was wearing “a man’s black hat…clod-hopper shoes, heavy leather gloves” and “a big corduroy apron” doing her best to cover up her femininity. In John Steinbeck’s short story, “The Chrysanthemums”, we are introduced to Elisa Allen.

► Symbolism In The Doll House By Katherine Mansfield

In “The Doll’s House” by Katherine Mansfield, the lamp is an important image that repeats throughout the story. “The Doll’s House” explores the separation of social classes between the rich and poor families seen throughout. This is symbolized by the contrast of the lamp’s importance to that of the rest of the doll’s house.

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