The Last Lesson, by Alphonse Daudet, is not very long, but holds many elements of theme. A short story must be like a spider web, all ideas interconnected underneath the surface to support the main concept that the story is presenting. A memorable short story holds the biggest ideas in the fewest possible words by including theme, symbolism, and great character development.ĭeep, complex themes are vital to a successful short story.

This is why people read short stories: they want to figure it out by themselves. As Mary Lavin stated, the reader must search for the hidden meanings, rather than have them explicitly provided.

What captivates the reader’s attention in a fascinating short story is not the literal meanings of the words, but the figurative ones.

The distinguished short story writer Mary Lavin once said, “I don’t think I would ever want to be a writer of detective stories, but I would like to be a detective and there is a great deal of detection in short stories.” Not having everything neatly and obviously presented is a trait within every great short story.

Short stories to write an essay on