Stories

Stories for children are very important to their development into teenagers and adults. Short stories are modeled to teach children the difference between good and wrong, the proper way of acting, and life lessons that influence their behavior and guide their actions. These stories offer hope and excitement to the children they are read to because it exposes them to a new world outside their comfort zone.

I think for the majority of teens in high school, the stories they read are not stories they read for fun or because they want to but because they are “forced” to in order to receive a good grade. Though, there are a few who do enjoy reading and absorb the material and come out of it differently than before. Myself, for example, I’m not much of a reader and I do legitimately read when I need to but never for fun. Recently though, after reading the literature that I have during this school year, I’ve learned a couple of lessons or two that do in fact apply to my life and these connections I’ve made have actually inspired me to maybe pick up a book for fun and enjoyment, outside the requirements of school.

I remember, as a child, reading some of the classics. The three little pigs, Cinderella and Snow White (Saw them on TV even though I feel they’re kind of girly), and there were probably some other big titles that I just can’t think of. These stories were fun, showed me a world outside my own, but one day, during my very young days of being about five year old, maybe four, I remember reading one story in particular that changed me. It was, The Little Engine That Could, the story was one of perseverance, struggles, and endurance as the train overcame the obstacles in his way and made it up the hill. That story taught me to never give up and keep on pushing especially during times of extreme hardships.

Stories should include the following to be as great as they can be: 1) A strong character exemplifying desired skills or traits, 2) A central theme with which the readers can identify or warp to fit their own, 3) A non abstract problem or conflict that’s easy to identify and connect with, 4) Repeating the problem at hand to keep the story focused, 5) A solution to the problem that teaches the readers or shows them something they should get out of it, 6) Possible antagonist that clearly separates themselves from the protagonist and shows what is “good” or desirable and what is “bad” or wrong, 7) A life lesson for the reader to apply to his/her life if the occasion arrived. Focusing on the character development, they don’t need to be fully developed in a sense. You don’t need to know every single detail to understand who that person is but a good author should include enough for the readers to figure out what kind of person he is and why he does things the way he does. As readers, we should be able to pick up on this character development and take away something from the story that we haven’t from another that is useful towards application in the real world or allows for greater insight into that which the author tries to convey within the story.