rk.

Its Composition. You, no doubt, have written stories for your
composition work, but so far they have probably been chronological
narratives; that is, stories told, as the newspapers tell them, by
relating a series of events in the order of time. The real short story,
has, like the novel, a plot. The word _plot_ here means the systematic
plan or pattern into which the author weaves the events of the story up
to some finishing point of intense interest or of great importance to
the story. This vital part of the narrative is called the _climax_ or
crucial point. If you note the pattern or design in wall paper, carpet,
or dress ornament, you will see that all the threads or lines are
usually worked together to form a harmonious whole, but there is some
special center of the design toward which everything works. In the
short story, as soon as the author arrives at the crucial point he is
through, often having no other conclusion. This ending is so important
that it must always be thought out or planned for from the very
beginning. This is true even in a surprise ending, such as O. Henry
delights in.

Unlike the novel, the short story works its plot out in some single
main incident, which is usually acted out by one chief character in a
short space of time, and all but the necessary details are omitted.
Thus the short story, which is read in a brief time, has a better
opportunity than the novel to produce a complete unity of effect upon
the mind of the reader, such as the effect of horror in Poe's "The Fall
of the House of Usher."

The short story consists of setting, characterization, and narrative.
Any one of these may be emphasized more than the other two. To
illustrate from the stories included in this book: Mr. Garland has
emphasized setting, or time, place, and atmosphere, in "The Camping
Trip." That is, the greatest interest in the story lies in the
beautiful background of the out-of-doors in Iowa in the month of
June. In "Friends," on the other hand, Myra Kelly has emphasized
characterization, for Mrs. Mowgelewsky, Morris, and Miss Bailey present
the real interest of the story. In "The Red-Headed League" by Conan
Doyle the attention centers upon the action.

The technical details of the short story may be summed up and made
clearer to you by illustrating them from the first story given in this
collection, "The Gift of the Magi." The story is "set" in an
eight-dollar-a-week apartment in New York City on the d