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Summary Grade 12 English FAL summaries
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- 12th Grade
Excellent grade 12 FAL ENG notes for studying the whole years module.
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Short StoriesCharacteristics of the Short Story:
The short story is prose fiction that is more compact and concentrated than the novel and the short
novel (novella or novelette). It is therefore usually more intense. The plot, the creation of characters,
the climax and the resolution are all dealt with economically using as few words as possible.
1. The short story has a limited length (that is, it is short).
2. It is a concentrated form of writing. Only details essential to the story (to the plot
and to the creation of characters) are revealed.
3. The short story has a limited setting (or locale / location). It usually takes place in a
single place. It is also usually more limited than the novel in terms of time.
4. It usually points out or emphasizes a truth about life. It usually enriches the reader’s experience of
life.
5. The number of characters in a short story is limited. Often, there is only one main character with
minor characters who stand in some relation to the main character.
The short story has its origins in tales, myths and legends and in the oral
tradition. It developed as a genre in the 19th Century in the United States and Europe with the rapid
spread of magazines and newspapers which, for the first time, provided entertainment for the
masses. In order to satisfy these largely unsophisticated readers, the short story needed to have a
recognizable developmental structure: that is, its beginning, middle and ending had to be obvious to
a general readership. Its narrative (story) base had to be strong and its subject matter familiar.
An important aspect of the short story is the point of view from which the author shows the
characters and events. The short story always has a story teller or narrator. At all times, the narrator
is in control of the unfolding of the story: the reader may be aware of the
narrator’spresencebutsometimesthenarratoriswithdrawn(butheisalwayspr esent). The narrator’s
presence may be classified into four main categories:
1. The God-like narrator. He is omniscient (all-seeing). He knows everything about the story which he
is telling. He sees into the minds of the characters. He often explains things so that the reader has
greater knowledge and insight into the meaning of the story.
2. The direct observer. He describes events rather like a journalist does. He records He is not in
control of the events. He cannot look into the minds of the characters and cannot look either into
their past or their future.
3. The First-person narrator. This is the most common form of narration. The narrator is a character
in the story and may even be the main character, or he may be a friend or observer of the main
character. He is usually very involved in the story. He brings the reader closer to the events and
characters of the story. The reader regards the first-person narrator as a real person who can only
tell what he knows or observes. His story is therefore subjective as he can only see things from his
own standpoint. He is not an objective (neutral) observer.
4. The Third-person narrator. This narrator describes events from the outside, giving the reader a
view into the main character’s ideas and feelings. The reader can see the events and the reactions of
all the characters to the events. This narrator can take the reader into the mind of the characters and
describes their reactions, fears and hopes in relation to the event which is about to take place or is
taking place (or which has already taken place). This form of narration (story-telling) is similar to that
of the God-like overview, but the powers of the narrator are more limited than that of the all-seeing
God-like narrator. This narrator’s ability to understand and explain all is limited by being human.
Features (Aspects) of the Short Story
The pages which follow provide an opportunity for learners to summarize the structure of the short
stories in a way that allows the stories to be compared and contrasted. (In this booklet, the sort of
response required has been provided. Teachers could use the suggested responses as a teaching
,focus by which, in discussions, comparisons could be made with learners’ offerings. Please note that
what is offered here are suggested responses and should not be regarded as model answers.)
Each of the two sets of pages for notes lists the features of short stories and contains columns for
summarizing aspects of four of the stories on each set of pages. Teachers have the option of:
building up the notes together with learners as the story is being dealt with; or ensuring that the
learners, individually or in groups, fill in notes as a ‘summary’ of the story while it is being dealt with
in class or after it has been dealt with; or giving the notes to be written up as revision exercises after
the story has been completed. The format of the notes’ pages allows for comparisons to be made
between the stories, and, if the pages of one set are arranged side by side with the pages of the
second set, the comparisons may be made across all eight stories.
Structure of a short story
1. Exposition: The Beginning
Each and every story has a beginning. The start, or exposition, is where the characters and setting
are established. During this part, the conflict or main problem is also introduced.
2. Rising Action: Introduction of the Problem or Conflict
In this part of the story, the main character is in crisis. This is the place for tension and excitement.
The complication can arise through a character's conflict with society, nature, fate, or a number of
themes. In this part of the story the main character is aware that a conflict has arisen and takes some
kind of step to battle this crisis.
3. Climax: The High Point
The climax is the high point of the story. It is the main event or danger that the character faces. This
is the darkest moment, the worst challenge the character must oppose. At this point it looks as if the
character will fail, and will never get what he/she wants. The turning point may be either physical or
emotional. In a romance, the girl may turn the hopeful lover down, in an action story, the character
may be surrounded by enemies with no chance of escape.
4. Falling Action: Winding Down
The falling action follows the climax. It is when the story begins to slowly wind down. The falling
action shows the result of the actions or decisions the main character (protagonist) has made. This
eventually leads to the final part of the novel, the crisis resolution.
5. Resolution: The End
The resolution, also often called denouement, which is French for "to untie" or "unraveling", is the are
resolved, all loose ends are tied up, and the story concludes with either a happy or sad ending.
conclusion of the story. Here, the conflicts
The Dolls House
Title
The title of the story suggests the following:
(a) Most of the events in the story are centred on the doll’s house. Setting
(a) The doll’s house is set in rural New Zealand in the early 1900s. It opens in the beautiful home of
the two wealthy New Zealand girls. Other action happens at the rural New Zealand school the girls
attend with children from all classes of society.
Plot
1. The Burnell’s children receive a gift of a doll’s house from Mrs Hay after she had stayed with their
, family for a while.
2. The doll’s house is big and it looks beautiful. It is fully furnished.
3. Amongst the items in the doll’s house, Kezia’s attention is drawn
towards a little lamp.
4. The doll’s house, however, smells horrible because it has been
newly painted so it is kept outside for a while.
5. The children can’t wait to tell the other children at school about it.
6. It is Isabel, the eldest of the Burnell’s children, who has the right to
tell the children about the gift because she is the eldest.
7. All the girls at school, with the exception of the Kelveys, are invited
to see the doll’s house.
8. The youngest of the Burnell’s children, Kezia, asks her mother for
permission to invite the Kelveys to see the doll’s house but her
mother says they cannot be invited.
9. The children are not allowed to socialise with them because the
Kelveys are of a lower class and they also look different.
10. As the Kelveys are walking past the Burnell’s house, Kezia,
who is sitting on the gate sees them and opens the gate so that
they are also able to see the doll’s house.
11. Before they are chased out of the yard by Aunt Beryl, the
children had already seen the doll’s house.
12. Coincidentally, like Kezia, Else, the youngest of the Kelvey’s
children, notices the little lamp.
Similarities between Kezia Burnell and Else Kelvey
Kezia is the youngest of the Burnell’s children.
Else is the youngest of the Kelvey’s children.
She is limited in what she can say because of her age.
She is limited in what she can say because of her social circumstances.
She is attracted to the little lamp which is a symbol of hope.
She is attracted to the little lamp which is a symbol of hope
Differences between the two Burnell sisters
Similarities between Mrs Burnel and Aunt Beryl
They are both:
cruel
mean
They see themselves as superior to others, especially the Kelveys.
Kezia
Isabel
Innocent, warm-hearted, sensitive
Cruel, mean and insensitive
Themes
The themes explored in the story, amongst others, are:
class distinction
prejudice
hope
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