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Storytelling in the form of short stories has been prominent in history through ancient legends, mythology, folklore, and fables. Many of these stories were passed down through oral traditions.

The 14th century had many prominent short story collections such as One Thousand and One Nights (a collection of folk tales from a multitude of authors).

The early 19th century marked the rise of short stories by individual authors. The Brothers Grimm Fairy Tales and Edgar Allen Poe’s fiction are examples of prolific stories that shaped the short story genre.

Print magazines and journals also pushed the popularity of short stories. Short stories published by magazine and newspaper editors created a demand for plot-driven narratives.

Short stories that showed more literary techniques were desired by big time publishers such as The New Yorker and Harper’s Magazine.

This golden era of publishing is what gave short stories their form today.

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Short stories are simplified. Their setting is made simpler and one or two main characters are introduced.

There is not a deep dive in the history of the characters and there are not many subplots.

Some stories follow the traditional narrative storytelling style (exposition, rising action, climax, and resolution) while more contemporary fiction begins in the middle of the action.

Short stories typically have a central theme they follow but ambiguous endings have become more common today. Open ended readings are encouraged and more complex understanding of human behaviour is necessary.

Literary devices are utilized to create a mood and the genre itself is suited towards experimentation in writing style and form.

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Short stories have a variety of categories they may come under: horror, romance, mystery, satire, thriller, etc. Popular themes of short stories include:

Fable: A story that serves a moral lesson, often using animals, creatures, nature, or objects to come to life.

Flash fiction: A tale that composes of 5 to 2,000 words that does not have a traditional plot structure or character development. It is often characterized by a surprise or plot twist.

Mini Saga: A short story that uses strictly only 50 words.

Vignette: A scene that has description or defining point that does not have a full plot or narrative but has important detail about a character or idea.

Modernism: Contains an experimentation with narrative form, style, and chronology to record the experience of a character.

Postmodernism: Utilizing fragmentation, paradox, or unreliable narrators to engage the author, reader, and text.

Magical Realism: Mixing realistic narrative or settling with parts of surrealism, fantasy, or dreams.

Minimalism: Writing that can be distinguished through its straightforward language, concise nature, and lack of plot resolutions.

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"The One About Coyote Going West"  by Thomas King 

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"The One About Coyote Going West"  by Thomas King 

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This story is about Coyote, who is mischievous and tricky. Coyote wants to share stories about who found "Indians" and goes around saying that Coyote itself found "Indians."

The structure of this story is very new for me. As I am used to the grammar and structure of European stories, I had to take a lot of time to understand how the words come together to make the plot.

A lot of imagery, metaphors, and mention of mythical creatures in this story.

The story using playful language to explore deeper themes. As Coyote travels to the West to find "the one who is messing up the world" and discovers televisions, vacuums, and sheets. The world Coyote knows of is of big mountains, fresh rivers, and nature. The colonization and industrialization of Coyote's land "ruined" her world.

Sentence structure of this story is varied with some sentences concise and others long. All sentences are direct and use a different type of grammar than European stories.

The story indirectly sends messages about the treatment of Indigenous peoples after colonization as seen through Coyote's finding of befriending of baby ducks. Coyote thinks that she is the one who found Indians, so she assumes these ducks are Indians. Once the ducks hatch and become Indians they hate their attributes and blame Coyote for being their "disgusting" features. Some Indigenous peoples are no longer proud of their identity, harmful stereotypes affecting the way they see themselves and their culture.

Indigenous stories have always carried deeper meanings. Through metaphors and stories, lessons and values are taught.

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Indigenous storytelling can be defined as circular as the protagonist is at the front and pushes the narrative forward.

Unlike European stories, all traditional Indigenous stories have a non-linear narrative. Quite a bit of Indigenous stories have no beginning, middle, or end.

The storyteller and listener are considered to be one in Indigenous storytelling. As one hears the story, it becomes part of oneself and it is a central duty to carry these stories forward.

Indigenous stories are mainly shared through oral traditions, which is rooted in Indigenous law and cultural practices. Stories are led by elders or designated storytellers and may be passed down during social gatherings, rituals, ceremonies, and story circles.

Indigenous stories remain adaptable as narratives evolve with contemporary issues and ongoing concerns in the world.

Storytelling orally is more engaging and holistic than written text. Immersive storytelling is inclusive to all literacy levels and have dynamic layers that grow with the more people that share.

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"The Giving Tree: A Retelling of a Traditional Métis Story" by Leah Dorion 

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"The Giving Tree: A Retelling of a Traditional Métis Story" by Leah Dorion 

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The story explores themes of respect, gratitude, and the power of nature. The story features an Elder telling the story of a peculiar tree that gives all for the people surrounding it.

The Giving Tree emphasizes Métis core values and beliefs including kindness, caring, patience, and the connection with the Creator and Mother Earth.

The Giving Tree provides the people with food, shelter, and materials for tools. This tree however is taken for granted and overused.

This story features illustrations that aim to celebrate Métis culture and emphasizes the importance of reciprocity.

Dorion highlights the integral value of Indigenous storytelling that teaches values through metaphors and symbolism.

Like the other Indigenous stories I've read, I see the continuation of engaging story telling. Indigenous stories have the ability to hook the reader by enforcing lessons hands on instead of directly talking about values that are important to Indigenous culture.

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This story features a young Indigenous boy and an elderly women that have an unlikely friendship. The boy initially judges Mary, thinking that her appearance was peculiar. The boy and Mary begin to have a familial connection after an exchange of berries and sugar.

This story highlights the importance of family and connection in Indigenous culture.

Indigenous stories all aim to connect and share lessons through different scenarios and push for the reader to recognize what is being taught through the tribulations of the characters.

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This story is about a woman with heart disease in the late 1800s whose husband has died. She is initially overcome with grief and wails. However, she slowly realizes the freedom she could have without her husband and becomes overjoyed. At the sight of her husband at the door she suddenly dies of heart disease.

This story addresses feminism and brings up how women want their own happiness instead of belonging to their husbands.

The story uses European grammar and requires analysis and thinking to understand its lessons.

The story is not direct in what it is trying to communicate as its lessons are deeply embedded, requiring the reader to see between the lines.

This is a circle story with the beginning and the end being one.

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"The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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"The Minister's Black Veil" by Nathaniel Hawthorne

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In a small town, a minister appears at a meeting wearing a black veil. His behaviour is no different than normal and he gives no explanation to why he is wearing the veil. Though the veil first scares his congregation, it has this inane power to make his leadership and sermons more powerful.

This story highlights how much appearance can affect the treatment of a person and that those that be their true selves are often ostracized by society.

This story indirectly tries to communicate its lesson and requires for the reader to analyze its contents to understand the true meaning.

The writer uses imagery and does not use many metaphors to explain the premise of the story.

The use of European grammar and sentence structure is seen and there is a clear start and end, the beginning and finish at different points.

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A stray dog that escaped abuse meets a young boy who wishes to care for him. However, the young boy's efforts to care for the dog end up hurting him and eventually lead to the dog's abuse and death by the hands of the boy's father.

This story uses symbolism and literary devices to relate the boy and the dog to social issues.

The story has a clear beginning, climax, and resolution that can be seen through the linear nature of the narrative.

The author requires the reader to think deeper about the issues the they present and indirectly relates to post-Civil War Reconstruction where recently freed slaves continued to be mistreated by white Southerners.

There is a use of European grammar, punctuation, and sentence structure.

This story is very indirect in what it is trying to communicate. Analyzing the text beyond what is written is required to understand the message of the author.

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Both forms of storytelling serve to teach or inform the reader about a lesson.

Short stories use imagery and do not dive into great detail about the characters and their backstories.

Both types of storytelling have their characters go through a journey to teach the reader about the lesson they wish to communicate.

Symbolism is used in both stories and the stories relate to real world issues.

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Indigenous stories have a circular structure while non-Indigenous stories have a linear narrative.

Indigenous stories are usually verbally communicated and passed down while non-Indigenous stories are written for their audience to read.

Indigenous stories evolve to adapt to contemporary issues and change as generations pass the stories down while most non-Indigenous stories have their one author and do not change beyond that unless a retelling is published.

Indigenous stories are more direct with the lessons they try to communicate and are easy for a reader of any level to understand. Non-Indigenous stories require the reader to read between the lines for what the writer is trying to communicate.

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Indigenous Intellectual Property is not adequately protected under the Canadian Copyright Act. The colonial idea of ownership does not fit Indigenous songs, oral stories, and traditions. Indigenous knowledge stretches the constraints of colonial possession of knowledge.

It's important to be extremely cautious when citing Indigenous knowledge that is found in texts because it is likely that this knowledge was taken from a community without permission.

The Canadian Copyright Law often contradicts the Indigenous idea of ownership. Indigenous communities view the "owner" of a work to be people from which the knowledge originated while a text that has been researched or appropriated by an author would "legally" own that work under the Copyright Law.

Indigenous peoples consider the unauthorized use of their cultural expression as theft. It is extremely crucial to ask for permission to share a traditional Indigenous story as not doing so is considered a grave offence.