TASK ONE
Listen to the podcast entitled "Introduction to the short story" from the School of Languages web site: http://www.sabanciuniv.edu/do/eng/?PodCast/PodCasts.php or download it from the iTunes store. You may listen as many times as necessary in order to understand it well, taking notes on key terms. Then define one or more of the following terms in your own words. Please feel free to expand upon and improve your classmates' definitions.
--short story
--protagonist
--antagonist
--anti-hero
--theme
--setting
--characters (flat; round)
--genre
--point of view
--first person narration
--third person narration (omniscient; limited)
--narrator's reliability
--short story
--protagonist
--antagonist
--anti-hero
--theme
--setting
--characters (flat; round)
--genre
--point of view
--first person narration
--third person narration (omniscient; limited)
--narrator's reliability
TASK TWO
Discuss your experiences of reading short stories, whether in English or Turkish. Which short stories have you read? For what purposes? Did you enjoy them? Why or why not? What do you find challenging about reading short stories? What are your feelings at this moment about reading short stories for this course? (You may discuss all or some of these questions or just add whatever comments you like. Please respond to and expand on your classmates' points in order to make this an interactive discussion. Your teacher may also participate from time to time).
Discuss your experiences of reading short stories, whether in English or Turkish. Which short stories have you read? For what purposes? Did you enjoy them? Why or why not? What do you find challenging about reading short stories? What are your feelings at this moment about reading short stories for this course? (You may discuss all or some of these questions or just add whatever comments you like. Please respond to and expand on your classmates' points in order to make this an interactive discussion. Your teacher may also participate from time to time).
TASK THREE
Think about the elements of the short story (setting, narration, etc.) as you read William Faulkner's "A Rose for Emily" and be prepared to discuss them in class.
56 comments:
A short story is a novel with less pages. The good side of short story is that it has more action than usual novels within a smaller area. It usually goes around one place and one person, so u can know the place and the protagonist, the main hero of the action better....
Even though short stories have less pages and usually less characters than most novels; they are not necessarily easier to understand. In that respect I partially disagree with Atilla. I think analyzing the characters and the setting of a good short story can be very difficult. As it is also mentioned in the podcast, characters of a short story can be not only simple but also very complicated. More than that real setting can be disguised with symbols, analogies and allegories; just as it is in the short story "True Love" by Isaac Asimov. So I think good short stories are tend to be as complicated as novels and in that sense they require reading "between the lines". At least thats my taste of a good short story...
The main point that I want to emphasize is the necessity of analysing the narrator in the short stories and trying to understand their point of view entirely. This is only possible by reading very carefully and deeply as Sami said
Short stories is a litrerary genre and contains most of the same rules and properties about the elements with novels.( setting,charecters..)Generally, in short stories,there is one simple character and one simple situation which make the story more intense beside the novels.The aim of a short story is to make feel the reader like the main character with deep analysises.And also, its aim is to make the scenes striking with giving a lot of action in a small area.I prefer to read novels but ı used to read some short stories for my english lessons before and it's ok for me.
Setting is the time the place and the political or cultural context in which story situated. It is physical and enviromental historical context discribe in a story. It can be natural , realistic , symbolic or subjective . Also it helps to establish mode of a work fiction .
Flat character is a stereotype and this character dont reflect human nature and because of this, it is not realistic
In my opinion, short stories are effective in order to catch the attention of students on one point.
Thus students could understand the content and message of an article or a novel easily and truly. Moreover, less quantity of charecters enable readers to feel the theme of story and think spontaneously together with heroes of main story.
I thin that short stories are more difficult to understand than other types of novels. as the writer has his limits for the length, every word becomes more and more important. a short story has its advantage to hold the attention with its density but as a consequence when the story goes deeper with those few fords, it becomes more and more complicated to keep your attention "on" the story to not to get lost in the details.
I agree with deniz öztürk, in short stories, a lot of idea can be told by only a few worlds as the narrator has to use limited space.Especially in symbolic stories, it becomes harder to analyse the meanings of symbols.
short stories are the shortest form of normal stories. They do not explain the story detailly. main points are important and it is a kind of summary of a story.i think short stories are better choice to read for students instead of novels because it is easy to read and understand.also ıt takes less time to read. there will be no time to be bored while reading it,because it finishes rapidly.
in the third person narration the narrator is not a character in the story. it could have access to all of the characters' thinking , what is called omniscient or it could tell you only the main character's ideas which is called limited in short stories you don't just read it and think about what it is telling you should also think about why and how the narrator telling it. i am not much of a short story person. i would rather prefer reading a novel but there are some short stories that i really enjoyed.
Antagonist is generally an opposite character( according to protagonist ) and they have conflicts with protagonist ( main-character). In addition, anti-hero may be weak or coward. Furthermore, in setting, symbols can be used to represent something different or emphasize an unusual situation. ( as we see in animal farm )
I'm very impressed by the quality of the writing I have seen here so far.
Short stories have less characters and small place. Usually there is one character with an aim or problem and one action.
Protagonist is the most important person in the story.
Antagonists are characters who have conflict with protagonist.
Antihero is protoganist in modern story but not brave like a hero.
Theme is subject that a story has been inspired like a color or slavery.
Setting is time, place and environment that story happens.
A story with flat a character we only see one part of a character but in a story with round a character we see more behaviours of a character
Short stories give messages and actions in a small space and this makes them more intensive. Although, they are easier to read and do not take too much time like novels. Also, when we are reading short stories we follow same processes like novels'. We need to analyze and get the messages by noticing the aspect of them and how it is told to us.
Settings are crucial in short stories since they tell us about time, place and environment which story takes part. So, we can imagine the story and feel that we are part of it.
I agree with lots of my classmates, that it is more difficult to read a short story than to read a novel. Because of the limited space, the writer gives his message in few words. That is why the readers should concentrate on the short story, they read.
The protagonist is defined as the hero in the short story. The antagonist is the character, who acts against the protagonist. Lastly the antihero is the opposite expression of the protagonist. An antihero is weak whereas the protagonist is brave and strong.
Firstly iyi bayramlar to all, on the last day of bayram,
I think the difficulty to read a novel or short story differs in type, the difference between tedious and hard.
Novels require more amount of time to read. The reader must deal with more context information to deal with. This is especially true for trilogies or other epic "saga" works such as Lord of the Rings where the story and information continues in other works of the author.
In contrast, short stories have lesser amount of detail to deal with, so each detail becomes more important. The connection between events may be more subtle. For my personal taste I like novels, epic works, trilogies over short stories. However I agree with my friends over the fact that the short stories are much more suitable for the class, as they require lesser amount of time and it is easier for the class to focus on same points.
I agree with the podcast that round characters and anti heroes are becoming more popular each day. One of the reasons why the Star Wars Sage became so popular was the Darth Vader as the marvelous villain (or Anakin Skywalker as the anti-hero of all 6 movies). He became one of the most popular villains of all history of creative arts.
Anti hero is a character who doesn't share the ideal characteristics of a stereotype protagonist, doesn't try to make world a better place. Most of the time, like their protagonist counterparts their actions also result in a change to better world and they are redeemed at the end of story through an epic action. For example, Darth Vader is redeemed by sacrificing himself to kill Emperor and save his son at the end of Return of the Jedi.
On account of the first task, I'm going to define anti-hero. Mostly they are regular people from urban life, and going to be the center of the storyline. As my classmates and podcast mentioned, these characters becoming more famous each they. In my opinion, it is because individuals want to read or watch characters that have the same circumstances with them. I don't want to be Darth Wader, because he is on the winning side. On the opposite, a sympathizer of anti-hero will embrace the story and daydream about having a lightsaber. More fun actually.
I've read lots of short stories owing to my interest on weekly literature magazines. I admire Edgar Allen Poe as short story writer and poet. Firstly, I had to mention that writing a novel is much harder than writing a short story in the aspect of writer. Because you are writing 300 pages, and if it is not good, reader blame you as a result of the time and money that they spent. And sadly they are right. Novel writers have this responsibility, possibly bounding them. Another aspect is the comprehension of reader. Again I disagree with some people here, understanding a short story more easier than novel. Writer's mostly prefer explaining simple and naked ideas through short story. Because when it get complex, you have to put theme, setting and other background tools to clarify your point of view. "Why Anna Fersigova Murdered" is possibly a novel, but "At the moment of killing" had to be a short story.
A short story is a popular form of fiction that focuses on one person, one situation, what goes on around him.
Protagonist is our main character, he/she is the center of the story. Protagonists are often brave and strong, having an aim, and story evolves around him/her.
Antagonist is the conflicting character, whose actions contradict with the protagonist.
Anti-hero is a minor character, who is usually weak and cowardly, not a heroic one.
Theme is simply what the story is all about, in other words, the content of the story.
Setting is a combination of time, place, political context and the environment.
Point of view differs from story to story. It can be first person's point of view, or the third person's. First person narrating is direct and full of details, while third person's is indirect and even sometimes can contain much more info. Limited third person's point of view is restricted to one person only, and is full of one person's thoughts only.
The last short story I read was "The luckies time of all" from Lucille Clifton. I enjoyed it because being an intense short story, it contained so many thoughts, simplified to a few sentences.
I do enjoy reading short stories, so I'm looking forward to reading more in our classes.
I'm not sure we can theme is "the content of the story." There is another word we need to define here: plot. The *plot* is the storyline, the content. Theme is much less definable than plot, and it is open to interpretation, whereas the plot is a list of events that everyone can agree on.
sorry, typing mistake: I'm not sure we can *say* theme is the content of the story...
I've seen so far in comments, that short stories are seem to be short and this fact seems sympathetic, but some short stories last more than 10 pages. but the meaning behind the word "short" is the simplicity in the fiction of the story. Besides, it is full of word tricks, the writers hide one or several meanings behind the story.
This situation helps us to start a brainstorm in our heads, and we can improve our ability to think and widen the horizon of our imagination..
Short stories are the creations, most of which are less pages than novels. Not only pages are less, also the character it includes and the time intervals are less too. In my preb year i prefer to read them and i enjoyed them.!
there are really good definitions and also ı want to add something. Initially, short stories could have more detail although they are generally shorter than novels. Sometimes reading short stories could be enjoyable because u can realize its theme and message easily and quickly so u can remember this story and u can tell it to others. For example ''a rose for emily'' is a short story which has very detail about that time and her house but u can read quickly and u can take the main messages from this story.
another significant point about short stories is that they dont take more time .
Despite of these good reasons, ı prefer reading novels because u have time to making critical thinking while reading and u can meet different people from the novels ..
A short story is a kind of story which contain lots of action in less page. Protagonist is the main character of the story who is made to know in detail by the writer.
A short story is the way of approaching the readers in their minds.Instead of novel with lots of pages, a little short story could give a reader more valuable things because it gives more room to reader in order to think about the story. Well then what are its elements? Most essential elements of a short story are character and setting.
A short story is the collection of words and, eventually phrases, that expresses a variety of expendable themes with significant literary elements supporting the main idea. Instead of minor characters the author uses a protagonist which is complex and deep analysis is a necessity to understand both the character and what the author tries to emphasize. Also the complexity of the major character reduces the need of using multiple minor characters who involve less necessity compared to the very few major ones. The psychological conflicts between major characters, as well as within the character itself, usually represents a critical (must not be ignored) element in the story that somehow the author will most likely will link such conflicts to the main idea/s. However, the location also has a higher rank than imaging the environment for the audience, because it has both impacts and impresses on the character who is formed and guided by these effects. As a conclusion, a short story (compared to novels) is an intensive diction workshop.
pratogonist is the good main character
setting is time place that the story happens
theme is the main idea of the short story
I didn't read too many short stories,i prefer novels.I only read a couple of english ones in my english class last year and a coupe of turkish ones just because i'm curious about them.And as i've seen short stories are very good for the people who doesn't have reading habits because they're short and easy to take your attraction also it's easier to catch the main idea in a short story,comparing to novels.
The term "Point of view" refers to:
-the position of the author in the story, where s/he stands to make comments which can be objective or subjective accordingly, as s/he tells the story or
-the standing of any character looking at an incident, a relation or the progress of a long-term period of time such as their whole life, childhood etc.
Short stories are like short novels most of the time which has characters, setting, theme etc.
An incident or a situation is told in a short story.
we can define short story as a novel but with few pages.
because it is short, we can find sentences that tells us happenings more directly.
Short story has too many similarities between novel but it tells story in less number of pages. Short story should be more concise than novels, tend to give direct points by using few pages.
There is a huge difference between a novel and a short story I think. First of all in short story there are less characters than novels. Another difference is in a short story people cannot learn the details of issue. On the other hand in novels writer generally tells the whole story of a hero and give some detail information but these information may be unnecessary.
I think that short stories are effective in taking students attention to one point. also its easy to read short stories carefully than longer ones.But novels tells more detail about a particular subject than short stories.
A short story intends to be less sophisticated than novels. Generally a story concentrates on only one event , has a simple plot ,setting,narration and number of characters and develops in a short time. Protagonist is usually the most significant character of story and means the chief actor as well in dictionary. A protagonist is a specific character that undergoes a gradual change in terms of both his own characteristics and outside effects. Moreover, there is an anti-hero which is shares the central role with protagonist and whose intentions are opposite of classical heroism.
I have read many short stories both in Turkish and English , Both of them approximately carry same characteristics and intentions. They lead readers to look at incidences from a broader perspective and understand the hidden message themselves. For example; there was a story called as 'Hutchinson Family' in which the life aspects and consequences of purposes of people had been taken into consideration so it had driven me to establish a connection between these terms. I generally enjoyed as reading these because the fluency of stories replace the readers with characters.
Short stories can be about a situation of a character or a significant event that has an effect on the main characters. The main idea in short stories can be difficult to understand because of their brevity. Usually the writers of short stories try to concentrate on one certain event or a character and construct the structure of the story around that certain event or character. The significant difference in between short stories and novels is that in a sense novels contain more detailed analysis than short stories do. In short stories setting is the location where the events take place. It can be either a city, house of a character or an imaginative location. In some short stories the setting may be unknown or not mentioned in detail.
DENIZ D KIPGE
Short stories has less pages and usually has less characters also the story is more simple if you ask me...i rather to read short stories because novels scares me a lot after seeing does pages woow but short stories are simple nice takes less time and while i am reading i really enjoy it..and people thinks short stories are really easy to understand if u ask me they can be harder to understand than the novels..
Actually, I read novels much more than short stories and reading them take so much time because they include too many details. In contrast to novels short stories have more dense meaning, their characters are more interesting. Protagonist is the main character of shortstories. Generally all events turn around main character. Also theme is a main idea of short stories, generally it is not clear and nor easily found by reader. Many metaphors are used by writer and this makes stories more interesting. Readers of them are like treasure seeker, and I think catch up the key points is significant.
as my friend gamze said that she preferred novels instead of short stories i prefer novels which are adventorous. but for English lesson reading novels are difficult to complete and difficult the recognise important points. reading short stories in English lesson may allow students to improve their wrtiting capabilites by writing essay from what they learned from short text. they usually give us small and important points of life, relationships etc.
short story is a sort of concise novel.There are few characters, few place and less details of actions. It is also less boring than novels because every part of the story has full of exciting actions.
Flat character is a kind of ordinary character.It doesn't have complexity, so it is not realistic.
A short story is a popular form of fiction that has a lot of action in a smaller space.It focuses on a single character facing a single situation,this character is called the protagonist. A protagonist is the main character in the short story and the story mainly evolves around the protagonist.Then there is the antagonist who represents the opposition against the protagonist.
The last short story I've read was Snow,Glass,Apples by Neil Gaiman.It told the famous story Snow White from the perspective of the queen,stepmother of Snow White.For a retelling of a story I've read as a small child,I was amazed how chilling it was when told by the stepmother. So I think this shows how point of view matters in a short story.
Short story usually condenses on one character in a small space and use of short stories in Freshman English improves critical thinking.This tactics makes the story more effective and concentrated. Protagonist is the main character who has problem to solve or aim to realize. While character tries to achieve it, he/she undergoes emotional or spiritual changes.
Reading short stories good for this course but if it is not for the course, I don't read them as an enjoyment. Short stories can only emphasizes on small things and one aspect of life and characters but novels are more efficient in this way.
I read many short stories in highschool english course, but unfortunately I can not remember any of them. That is why I always prefer to read novels instead of short stories. I can define short stories as less detailed, less analyzed novels with less characters. Because of that, short stories are not effective as novels in human life. You just read it, enjoy it and forget it, no matter how good or succesful it is.
short stories has less pages but the word short doesnt made them less complicated. with using tricky words and symbols, the writers want to make us think about the meanings with brainstorm.
Short stories include one event, one small place and usually one main character. They have less pages than novels. Short stories provide readers build a relation between themselves and main characters. In short stories protagonist is main character. Short stories do not explain all details because short stories pay attention to mainpoints of story.
When we say short story, firstly 'fast moving events' occur my mind. Author has not got a chance to explain everything itemized. There could not be lots of incident. Short stories include less message for people. For instance when I finished a novel, I feel more than one feeling to more than one attractive events. But I do not agree with Derya. Short stories can be more memorable when they tell about realities and factual lives.
I think, in short stories there is one simple character and simple action. Generally, characters have a problem to solve in short stories. The main goal of short story is to make people feel like the main character and also make them feel like they have to solve the character's problem. In eng 101 lesson, we read some short stories but some of them are not "short" so sometimes it is difficult to read them.
Sometimes, I cannot understand the short story very easily because it writes more intensive than novels. Short story does not contains more details. It focuses on the certain event or certain character. On the other hand, it takes less times for reading. So, I prefer to read short stories rather than novels :)
I read or listen a lot of short story. I and my friends told each other short stories just for fun or to give an explicit message. These stories focus on main theme. Of course short stories don't have to give explicit messages. Some stories give message implicitly.I don't believe that short stories always include less character than novels, and continue in one place. The difference is ,I think, that events are faster than novels so reader pay attention all words and generally conclusion become impressive.
I don’t like to read short stories, because I like to read novels. In short stories, the events are told without pictured, but novels lead to imagine the event aside, therefore I prefer to read novels. In addition, short stories are less detailed and thus they are less effective than the novels. However the short stories can be interesting.
A short story is defined as a work of real events or near the real event that written in prose, especially in a narrative form. Being short, has a simple affabulation, also influencing the reader in a single and intensive way by a regulated scene or event and having few characters are the key points which distinguish it from novel and other kinds of writing. Usually, short stories centered on the main character and transmit the main thought in a little area by intensive web of action.
Short stories enlightens various ideas with few words comparing to novels and at the same time they entertain the reader. They are easier to read since they are short but we can't say that they are easy to understand too. There is usually one or two events, and few characters but most of the time we can extract deeper meanings out of the symbols.
I prefer to read short strories rather than novels because short stories easy to read and most of short stories is realy easy to understand by readers.
On the other hand, sometimes short stories contain to much characters so we can not understand and analyse characters easily, but short stories mostly give lessons to readers.
In my opinion, short stories are boring written things, because they just focuses on one person's life or on an event that happens in one place. Also, in short stories the author may write a circumstance rather long in more details, so this can make readers get bored. However, short stories are easier and shorter than the other books to read, such as novels. Eventually, i strongly recommend myself to read short stories.
I think listening is more efficent than reading because sometimes people can bore the subject is not interest person
The concepts of protagonist and antagonist is present in every short story i have seen. The protagonist is the main character of the story, a person of interest. The reader follows his footsteps as the story continues. The other important element is the antagonist, the direct opposite of the protagonist. (S)he is the anti-hero and in most cases, the "bad guy"
I've read some english short stories in high school. I especially liked the short stories of Edgar Allen Poe.
In a short story using more symbols are more appropriate than novels. Because narrator have to give the main theme in a shorter content. So we can see the subject in more emphasized way.
Protagonist is the main character
Antagonists with protagonist.
Between antihero and protagonist we see a conflict.
Theme is subject of the story.
Setting is time and place.
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