A story is an account of something that happened.In this something,we see several elements operating together to make the whole process work.Let's now look at"The Dinner Party"to see what those elements are and how they work.First,there are characters（people in a story）who are in trouble and who are doing something about the trouble.The American naturalist and Mrs.Wynnes are the main characters in"The Dinner Party",who are faced with a dangerous cobra,and who are trying to save the dinner party guests from the cobra.Second,what the characters are doing must occur at certain time and in some place,which we call setting.The dinner party is held in India at the turn of the twentieth century.Third,a story must be told in a particular way,which very often determines how effective a story can be."The Dinner Party"is told in the third person limited omniscient point of view（the American naturalist's point of view）.If,however,the story was told in the omniscient point of view,readers would have the same story,but the suspense would be destroyed and the readability reduced.Finally,a story inevitably conveys a message,directly,or most likely,indirectly.Placed side by side,in"The Dinner Party",man,woman and snake evoke memory of the Garden of Eden,and Eve is somehow redeemed by Mrs.Wynnes.There are,of course,many other elements involved in telling a story,but the above four components are the most important and appear in every story without exception.Understanding of these fundamental elements will ensure a better appreciation of stories.
1.Characters
A story without characters is unthinkable.Every story is necessarily one in which some characters are doing something,to one another,or to themselves,or responding to some kind of situation they are involved in.Shakespeare's Hamlet,for example,takes revenge on his uncle,who murders his father;Oedipus in the Greek tragedy Oedipus the King attempts to find out the murderer of his father and,once the truth is known,blinds himself.In"The Dinner Party",the American naturalist responds to a crisis.These stories are all about characters,the only reason for the existence of stories.
However,a story with characters is not necessarily a successful or interesting one.A story about a person who gets up at six,eats breakfast at seven,goes to work at eight,has lunch at twelve,goes home at five,and finally goes to bed at eleven to call a day makes a dull story which nobody cares to read,let alone pays to peruse.In real life,we want everything to go smoothly.We want to be born in an affluent family of loving parents,go to a prestigious university,find a high-paying job,marry a faithful,good-looking,rich person,have caring children,and die a natural death.But a tranquil and contented life or stable situation is nothing but poison to a story.
To make a story interesting or entertaining,one more element is necessary and essential,that is,conflict,conflict between or among characters,or between or among different forces that determine the fate of the characters in the story.Hamlet is in conflict with his uncle,and Oedipus is in conflict with the mystery of the murderer of his father.In love stories where three people are involved,the two rivals are in conflict with each other competing for the affection of the third party.The American naturalist in"The Dinner Party"is in conflict with the cobra（symbol of nature）and time（a force of nature beyond human control）.In short,an interesting story calls for trouble.
Experienced readers are,therefore,looking for a troubled character,or one who is in conflict with the forces that try to defeat or destroy him or her.Good stories are about characters who are extremely troubled.Hamlet,indecisive about killing his uncle,utters the line of"to be or not to be".Oedipus,despairing at the sight of the children he begets with his own mother,blinds himself.The American naturalist in"The Dinner Party"acts against the poisonous snake that would strike if not properly handled.Trouble,or conflict,in stories generates interest or curiosity on the part of the reader,the precondition for the survival of a story.
The characters'actions to accomplish their purposes involve two kinds of conflict:external conflict and internal conflict.The conflict is external when the character is pitted against forces outside him/herself,against another individual,against society,against nature,against machines,against god,etc.The internal conflict takes place within the mind of the character and is usually confined to the main character,the protagonist.Odysseus in Homer's Odyssey,for instance,wrestles inwardly with various kinds of temptations on his way home from the city of Troy.
The forces in a conflict are usually embodied by characters and this is where the two elements of stories come together and become one.Characters are the people in narratives,and characterization is the author's presentation and development of characters.Writers of fiction present characters in two basic ways:telling and showing.In telling,the author simply tells the reader what the character is like.The American writer Washington Irving,for example,tells the reader directly what Ichabod Crane,the main character in"The Legend of Sleep Hollows,"is like in the following two paragraphs: