Questions to Ask Yourself When You Read a Short Story PDF

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Questions to Ask Yourself When You Read a Short Story • What are the characters doing? What do their arcs look like? How are the characters changing or developing or treated throughout the plot? • What is the connection between the plot and the themes of the story? • What are the dynamics between the characters? Are some of them opposites to each other? Does a character represent a theme or an idea? Does the story seem to favor one character over the others? • How might the writer’s life or historical period have affected the short story? • What character/narrator perspectives does the reader have access to? Are some characters inscrutable? Are some characters more knowable than others? • Do I like this story? • Is the story effective? Does it have an impact? • How do I feel about the length? Should the story have been longer or shorter? • What is the tone of the story? • What’s the plot structure? If you were to try to summarize the plot what would I say? • Can I relate to this story? Why or why not? (Remember, the question of being able to relate to a story can be a political one and have everything to do with identity, class, race, gender, etc!) Strategies for Reading a Short Story • Underline repetition or anything that stands out • Identify patterns • Mark what the author draws attention to • Answer some of the questions in the margins; take notes on character, plot structure, etc....