EVERYTHING YOU CAN LEARN FROM A TWO SENTENCE STORY

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THE SHORTEST STORY:

yup, that‘s the full story

yup, that‘s the full storySO LET‘S THINK WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM IT

THE PREMISE

The first sentence sets the background to the whole story. It tells us where the action is taking place and who is at the center of this action.

THE LAST MAN ON EARHT

the last man on Earth

THE BACKSTORY

what we find out by this simple phrase is that something has happened on Earth that left only one person on it.

the last man on Earth

THE BACKSTORY

what we find out by this simple phrase is that something has happened on Earth that left only one person on it.

BACKWARDS MOVIN STORY

this short phrase works as a reference to the events that happened before the present story time – this is a flashbackor an analepse.

THE PRESENT MOMENT

..sat alone in the room…

this is the starting point in the narrative, but the actual story starts

way before that

THE PRESENT MOMENT

..sat alone in the room…the story starts with something happening on Earth that leaves only

one man on it

FLASHBACK

last man on Earth

THE PRESENT MOMENT

..sat alone in the room…and it even entails that the man must be

special or that he spared due to some special circumstances or possibly due his

characteristics or features – the story cascades even beyond the point of

mysterious event because of the simple question “why this man?”

FURTHER FLASHBACK

last man on Earth

THE PRESENT MOMENT

..sat alone in the room…

there was a knock on the door

so the story develops and we know that the longer action of sitting is

interrupted by the shorter action of knocking.

last man on Earth

DEVELOPMENT

FLASHBACK

a knock on the doorTHE ACTION METONIMICALLY POINTS TO THE

SUBJECT WHO IS ABLE TO CARRY IT OUT

and this simple action breaks the previous flashback reference that stated that our hero was the last man

on EARTH…

THE PRESENT MOMENT

..sat alone in the room…

there was a knock on the door

the “knock on the door” disrupts the initial flashback because it is shown as incomplete and we are missing a part

of the disappearance of everyone elsestory

last man on Earth

THE FILL-IN FLASH BACK

FLASHBACK

CHARACTERSSO HOW MANY CHARACTERS ARE WE

DEALING HERE EXACTLY?

it seems that we have three subjects: the hero sitting in the room, someone knocking on the door and everyone else who are gone (dead or

missing or departed elsewhere)

SO?WHAT OF IT?

THE PRESENT MOMENT

..sat alone in the room…

if we go back to the very beginning of the story, we can se that we have access to the information that the man sat ALONE. We know that no one else is around.

last man on Earth

THE PRESENT MOMENT

..sat alone in the room…

last man on Earth there was a knock on the door

and when the story progresses we are not allowed to see who is actually behind the door – we do not have access to that information. Furthermore, the story is cut off with an ellipses

…WHAT DOES THIS ELLIPSES MEANS?

this indicates an omission – this means that we don’t get to see the resolution, we are not going

to find out.

SOMEBODY CUTS US OUT ON PURPOSE.

THE PRESENT MOMENT

..sat alone in the room…

last man on Earth there was a knock on the door

what we also find out is that the information we are given at the beginning of the story might be unreliable – as our hero-subject might be not the only one left

THE PRESENT MOMENT

..sat alone in the room…

last man on Earth there was a knock on the door

OR the second possibility exists that whoever knocks is not a man, but something else entirely

Who tells us that he is the last man? Are we mislead on

purpose?

Who tells us that he is the last man? Are we mislead on

purpose?THAT IS A POSSIBILITY, BUT WE WILL NOT KNOW FOR SURE. BUT THERE

ARE OTHER INTERPRETATIONS AS WELL. LET’S SEE HOW THEY ARE TRIGERRED…

some of the possible interpretations of the story might be influenced by the genre references that might point to science-fiction or even Biblical genres

last man on Earth there was a knock on the door...

some of the possible interpretations of the story might be influenced by the genre references that might point to science-fiction or even Biblical genres

last man on Earth there was a knock on the door...

on the other hand the abrupt action, the inability to see the other subject knocking and the cut out ending points to horror genre

last man on Earth there was a knock on the door...

so these little details point us to other texts and genres and by doing this they actually

control and guide our reading

INTERTEXTUALITY

AMBIGUITYWE ARE FACED WITH EQUALLY

PLAUSIBLE EXPLANATIONS

we might read the text in different ways of follow different leads, but all of them are

equally plausible thus creating the thrill and the sense of uneasiness. We narrative meaning

is beyond our control here.

WHAT IS IT FOR?

Ambiguity increases the tension and the possible odds. The more uncertain we are and the higher the stakes – the more we get invested in narratives. This narrative gives us an unsolvable riddle and doesn’t provide any clues as to which interpretation is more probable.

AMBIGUITY

ANDTHAT’S NOT ALL

THERE ARE SOME CONCLUSIONS LEFT TO MAKE

AND SOMETIMES IT BACKTRACKS, FILLS THE HOLES OR EVEN NEGATES THE INFORMATION WE WERE GIVEN

EARLIER

JUST REMEMBER THAT I WROTE THAT THIS IS GOING TO BE SHORTEST LESSON IN STORYTELLING

IT‘S JUST LIKE THE CONCLUSIONS – YOU CAN GIVE THEM AT THE BEGINNNG OF YOUR PRESENTATION, BUT FOR SOME GODDAMN REASON YOU KEEP THEM TILL THE VERY END

NOTHING EXISTS IN VACUUM. EVERY ELEMENT YOU USE IN THE STORY INSTANTLY RELATES TO THE WEB OF MEANING –

SOMETHING THAT HAS BEEN USED AND DONE BEFORE.

AND THAT IS FINALLY

ALL

MORE STUFF ON UNDERSTANDING STORYTELLING

http://www.semiosearch.lt

ANDRIUS GRIGORJEVAS