This document analyzes and summarizes the key elements and lessons that can be learned from analyzing a two sentence story. It discusses how much information can be inferred from just a few words. The short story establishes the background, implies something happened to leave the man alone on Earth, and creates intrigue with an unexpected knock at the door. Leaving the story ambiguous and cutting it off creates tension and allows for multiple possible interpretations that are influenced by genres. Every element in a story relates to other narratives and meanings.

1. EVERYTHING YOU CAN LEARN FROM A TWO SENTENCE
STORY
www.semiosearch.lt

2. THE SHORTEST STORY:

3. yup, that‘s the full story

4. yup, that‘s the full story
SO LET‘S THINK WHAT WE CAN LEARN FROM IT

5. 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

6. 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.

7. 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 flashback
or an analepse.

8. THE PRESENT MOMENT
..sat alone in the room…
this is the starting point in the
narrative, but the actual story starts
way before that

9. 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

10. 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

11. 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

12. a knock on the door
THE 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…

13. 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 else
story
last man on Earth
THE FILL-IN
FLASH BACK
FLASHBACK

14. CHARACTERS
SO 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)

15. SO?
WHAT OF IT?

16. 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

17. 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

18. …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.

19. 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

20. 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

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

22. 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…

23. 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...

24. 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

25. 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

26. AMBIGUITY
WE 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.

27. 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

28. AND
THAT’S
NOT ALL
THERE ARE SOME CONCLUSIONS LEFT TO MAKE

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

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

31. 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

32. 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.

33. AND THAT
IS FINALLY
ALL

34. MORE STUFF ON UNDERSTANDING STORYTELLING
http://www.semiosearch.lt
ANDRIUS GRIGORJEVAS