TOOLS FOR EVALUATING A STORY

TOOLS FOR EVALUATING A STORY

Introduction
Start your analysis with an introductory sentence:
USEFUL PHRASES:
I’m going to analyze a story “___”, which is written by _____.
The story under discussion is entitled “___” and is written by _____.
The story I’m going to introduce you is called “___” and is written by _____.
I’ll make an effort to analyze / I want to analyze / I’ll speak about the text I’ve just read.
It’s favorable to begin the analysis with giving information about the author. Just give some sentences about the writer and his famous works (realistic, to be popular with, of great narrative power, to bring fame to sb., to have an intimate knowledge of, to enjoy success/popularity, to be a prolific author… ).
Define the genre (The story under discussion is a…detective story, true-to-life story, whodunit, spy story, crime story, romantic story, love story, western, adventure story, travelogue, myth, parable, legend, tear-jerker, science-fiction story, ghost story, horror story, thriller, spine-chiller, tall story, fairy story/tale, folk-tale, humorous story, joke, anecdote…)
Is the TITLE of the story proper/well chosen? Does the title direct us to the subject? Does it reveal the main idea of the story?
USEFUL PHRASES:
- The title of the story is well-chosen/quite proper as it directs us to the theme and gives a good idea of what the story will be about.
- The title is well-chosen as it directs us to the subject and reveals the main idea of the story.
- The title of the story is not proper as it does not direct us to the theme/reveal what he story will be about.
- The title of the story is not proper as it gives us a poor idea of the subject of the story/what the story will be about.
The way a story is presented is a key element in fictional structure. This involves both the angle of vision, the point from which the people, events, and other details are viewed, and also the words of the story. The view aspect is called the focus or point of view, and the verbal aspect the voice. It is important to distinguish between the author, the person who wrote the story, and the narrator, the person or voice telling the story. The author may select a first-person narrative, when one of the characters tells of things that only he or she saw and felt. In a third-person narrative the omniscient author moves in and out of people’s thoughts and comments freely on what the char­acters think, say and do.

Plot
Composition. Any work of fiction consists of relatively independent ele­ments — narration, description, dialogue, interior monologue, digressions, etc. Narration is dynamic, it gives a continuous ac­count of events, while description is static, it is a verbal portrai­ture of an object, person or scene. It may be detailed and direct or impressionistic, giving few but striking details. Through the dialogue the characters are better portrayed, it also brings the action nearer to the reader, makes it seem more swift and more intense. Interior monologue renders the thoughts and feelings of a character. Digression consists of an insertion of material that has no immediate relation to the theme or action. It may be lyrical, philosophical or critical. Every plot is an arrangement of meaningful events. No matter how insignificant or deceptively casual, the events of the story are meant to sug­gest the character's morals and motives. Sometimes a plot fol­lows the chronological order of events. At other times there are jumps back and forth in time (flashbacks and foreshadowing).
The plot is the sequence of events in the story, each event causing or leading to the next. The plot of a good story usually proceeds according to the following pattern:
1. Exposition
2. Narrative hook
3. Rising action
4. Climax
5. Falling action
6. Resolution
Exposition is introduction of the reader to the people, places and situations he needs to know in order to enjoy the story.
Narrative hook is the point at which the author catches our attention, the point when we become aware of the character’s problems get in suspense about what will happen next; the beginning of the rising action of the plot.
The rising action adds complication to the problems and increases our interest to the story.
Climax is the point of our highest interest and greatest emotional involvement in the story, the point when we know for certain how the problems are going to be resolved.
The falling action relates the events that are the result of the climax.
The resolution ends the falling action of a story by telling or implying the final outcome.
USEFUL QUESTIONS:
What does the story start with? Where and when does the event take place? Is it easy or difficult to define the setting/main characters of he story? How does the author introduce the reader to the setting/main characters /situation? What is the narrative hook of the story? Where does the narrative hook begin/end? What do we become aware of from the narrative hook of the story? What events take place in the rising action? Does the rising action add any complication to the problem? If yes, of what kind? What point is the climax of the story? How do you know this is the climax? What follows the climax? What does the story end with? Is the composition of the story well-constructed/well-organized?

Characters
Most writers of the short story attempt to create characters who strike us, not as stereotypes, but as unique individuals. Characters are called round if they are complex and develop or change in the course of the story. Flat characters are usually one-sided, constructed round a single trait; if two characters have distinctly opposing features, one serves as a foil to the other, and the contrast between them becomes more apparent.
Round and flat characters have different functions in the conflict of the story.
Conflict is a struggle between two opposing forces; it is the core a good plot usually centers on. The conflict is usually represented by a problem (problems) the major character faces in the story.
The conflict may be external, i.e. between human beings or between man and the environment (individual against nature, individual against the established order/values in the society). The internal conflict takes place in the mind, here the character is torn between opposing features of his per­sonality.
USEFUL PHRASES:
The plot is based on the external/internal conflict between … and … .
The plot is based on the external/internal conflict where the main character struggles against/for smb/smth (to do smth).
The two opposing forces involved in the conflict are … and … .
The two opposing forces struggling in the conflict are … and … .
The conflict takes place within the character and involves the struggle between … .
The problem the main character faces in the story represents/points to the external/internal conflict. The problem the main character faces in the story points to two different conflicts.
In this story the external conflict dominates the internal one.
The two parties in the conflict are called the protago­nist and his or her antagonist. The description of the different aspects (physical, moral, social) of a character is known as characterization when the author describes the character him­self, or makes another do it, it is the direct method of characterization. When the author shows the character in action, and lets the reader judge for himself the author uses the indirect method of char­acterization.
USEFUL PHRASES:
The author gives/offers a direct opinion of the character.
The author gives/offers a direct characterization of the main hero.
He simply reveals the character’s personality through the direct description of his key traits.
The author simply states facts about the character’s key traits thus offering the reader direct description of the character’s personality.
The author simply states facts about the character’s key traits thus revealing the character’s personality in a direct way. He describes the character as a brave person who … .
As a result he makes the reader admire the bravery of the main character.
As a result, he create sympathy for the main character.
The author gives/offers an indirect characterization of the main hero. He allows the main character reveal himself through his own words/thoughts/actions. In this way the reader has to judge the character’s personality based on his own words/thoughts/actions.
He describes/reveals his key traits through the opinion of other characters of that character.
This way we understand that he … .

The theme and main idea
The theme of a story is like unifying general idea about Life that the entire story reveals. The author rarely gives a direct statement of the theme in a story. It is up to the reader to col­lect and combine all his observations and finally to try to for­mulate the idea illustrated by the story. It is the basic problem (or a conflict) which the writer wants to present in his work , it is the general topic of which the story is an illustration.
USEFUL PHRASES:
The subject of the story is… .
The story is devoted to the problem (of)… .
The story is devoted to the conflict between… .
The story describes the conflict between … and … which the subject of the story.
The MAIN IDEA of the story is the main conclusion the reader arrives at after reading, it the author’s opinion about the subject or the author’s message to the reader. A main idea can be stated or implied.
A stated idea is the idea directly announced in the text, usually at the end of the story, and expressed either by the author or by a character of the story.
An implied idea is the theme which is not stated in the story directly, but is gradually revealed to us in the course of events. An idea can be implied in the following ways:
What is the main idea of the story? What conclusion did you arrive at after reading the story? Is the theme of the story stated or implied? If it’s stated, who it is expressed by? If it’s implied, how is it revealed to the reader?

USEFUL PHRASES:
A story’s title may suggest the author’s opinion of what happens in the story.
A major character may learn a lesson about life from events of the plot and from the resolution of the conflict.
Personality traits of a character may suggest the author’s ideas about the world.
Details of setting may suggest the author’s ideas about the world.
The author’s choice of point of view may tell us how the author wants us to react to events of the story.
The main idea of the story is… .
After reading the story, I arrived at the conclusion that … which is the main idea of the story.
After reading the story, I arrived at the following conclusion: … .
After reading the story, the reader comes to the following conclusion: … . The message the author wants to communicate to the reader is… .
The message the author wants to communicate to the reader is the following: … .
The story has a stated idea which is announced/expressed by the author in the very end. It runs: … .
The main idea is stated at the end of the story. It runs: … .
The main idea of the story is the following: … . It is stated and put at the end of the story.
The author’s opinion of the problem/conflict is the following: … . I think this is the main idea of the story.
The main idea of the story is implied in the title and is the following: … .
The main idea of the story is implied in the lesson learned by the main character.
The main idea of the story is implied and is gradually revealed to us through the actions/thoughts/words of the main character.
By writing the story the author wanted to communicate to the reader that … .
By writing this story the author wanted to tell the reader the following … .
Your own attitude to the story: I find/consider the story interesting/ absorbing/ realistic/ dull/ instructive/ boring … (prove your point of view why you like or dislike the story)