A short story is a work of fiction that is typically shorter in length than a novel and focuses on a single incident or group of characters. While the length may be shorter, a short story can still pack a punch and deliver a powerful message or theme. Here are a few examples of paragraphs from short stories that illustrate different elements of the form:
Example 1: This paragraph from "The Tell-Tale Heart" by Edgar Allan Poe sets the scene and introduces the main character:
"TRUE! - nervous - very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why will you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses - not destroyed - not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How, then, am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily - how calmly I can tell you the whole story."
Example 2: This paragraph from "Harrison Bergeron" by Kurt Vonnegut Jr. describes the dystopian society in which the story takes place:
"The year was 2081, and everybody was finally equal. They weren't only equal before God and the law. They were equal every which way. Nobody was smarter than anybody else. Nobody was better looking than anybody else. Nobody was stronger or quicker than anybody else. All this equality was due to the 211th, 212th, and 213th Amendments to the Constitution, and to the unceasing vigilance of agents of the United States Handicapper General."
Example 3: This paragraph from "A Rose for Emily" by William Faulkner uses vivid imagery to describe the setting and atmosphere:
"The inside of the house was a wonderful place. It was dark and quiet, and it smelled good, like a rich old library. Miss Emily had a small, neat room off the parlor, and she sat in it all day, in a big armchair, with a shawl over her head. She never went out, and she never had any visitors except the minister and the doctor and the neighbors who came in to see how she was doing."
Example 4: This paragraph from "The Yellow Wallpaper" by Charlotte Perkins Gilman reveals the inner thoughts and emotions of the main character:
"I sometimes fancy that in my condition if I had less opposition and more society and stimulus - but John says the very worst thing I can do is think about my condition, and I confess it always makes me feel bad. So I will let it alone and talk about the house. The most beautiful place! It is quite alone, standing well back from the road, quite three miles from the village. It makes me think of English places that you read about, for there are hedges and walls and gates that lock, and lots of separate little houses for the gardeners and people."
