In this article we will talk about how the novel differs from the short story. First, let's define these genres, and then compare them.

and story

A novel is a fairly large artistic genre. This genre belongs to the epic. There can be several main characters, and their life is directly connected with historical events. In addition, the novel tells about the whole life of the characters or about some significant part of it.

The story is a literary work in prose, which usually tells about some important episode in the life of the hero. There are usually few acting characters, and only one of them is the main one. Also, the volume of the story is limited and should not exceed about 100 pages.

Comparison

And yet, what is the difference between a novel and a short story? Let's start with the novel form. So, this genre involves the depiction of large-scale events, the versatility of the plot, a very large time frame that includes the entire chronology of the story. The novel has one main storyline and several side ones that are closely intertwined into a compositional whole.

The ideological component is manifested in the behavior of the characters, the disclosure of their motives. The action of the novel takes place against a historical or everyday background, touching on a wide range of psychological, ethical and worldview problems.

The novel has several subspecies: psychological, social, adventure, detective, etc.

Now let's take a closer look at the story. In the works of this genre, the development of events is limited to a specific place and time. The personality of the protagonist and fate is revealed in 1-2 episodes, which are turning points for his life.

The plot in the story is one, but it can have several unexpected twists that give it versatility and depth. All actions are connected with the main character. In such works there are no pronounced links to history or socio-cultural events.

The problems of prose are much narrower than in the novel. Usually it is associated with morality, ethics, personal development, the manifestation of personal qualities in extreme and unusual conditions.

The story is divided into subgenres: detective, fantasy, historical, adventure, etc. It is rare to find a psychological story in literature, but satirical and fairy-tale ones are very popular.

What is the difference between a novel and a short story: conclusions

Let's summarize:

• The novel reflects social and historical events, and in the story they serve only as a background for the narrative.
• The life of the characters in the novel appears in a socio-psychological or historical context. And in the story, the image of the protagonist can be revealed only in certain circumstances.
• The novel has one main plot and several secondary plots that form a complex structure. The story in this regard is much simpler and not complicated by additional storylines.
• The action of the novel takes place in a large time period, and the story takes place in a very limited one.
• The novel problematic includes a large number of issues, and the story touches on only a few of them.
• The heroes of the novel express worldview and social ideas, and in the story the inner world of the character and his personal qualities are important.

Novels and short stories: examples

We list the works that are:

• Belkin's Tales (Pushkin);
• "Spring Waters" (Turgenev);
• "Poor Lisa" (Karamzin).

Among the novels are the following:

• "Nest of Nobles" (Turgenev);
• "Idiot" (Dostoevsky);
• "Anna Karenina" (L. Tolstoy).

So, we found out how the novel differs from the story. In short, the difference comes down to the scale of the literary work.

The question of the genre differences between the story and the story does not have an unambiguous answer. This is due to the fact that until the middle of the 19th century, all prose works that described historical events or individual episodes from the life of real or fictional characters were called the story. An example is The Tale of Bygone Years, The Captain's Daughter by A.S. Pushkin, "Petersburg stories" N.V. Gogol.
In modern literature, the genre story is determined according to criteria that reflect the volume of the narrative, its factuality, an emphasized tense climax, the absence of additional storylines and the expressiveness of artistic details. This means that the story is a relatively small prose work, distinguished by compositional rigor, in which a fictional event reveals the character of the hero or serves as a kind of focus that reveals the motives of his actions. The effect of authenticity is achieved due to the time-limited, but emphasized important development of the action and the weight of each fragment of the narrative. There are not a large number of characters in the story: only one, the main character, is in the center of attention, the rest are assigned an episodic role.
Tale refers to the middle epic genres, which display not one, but several important episodes from the life of the hero, indicating his involvement in the life of society, the fate of other people, significant historical events. Unlike a story, a story can have a branched plot with the development of action in different time slices. The composition of the story often includes author's digressions, landscape sketches, portrait characteristics of the characters: their use in the text of the work helps to achieve the depth of the content and fully reflect the idea of ​​the work.
The content of the story can be based on factual material or an unusual story from the life of people, scientific hypothesis, fantastic fiction. Hence the diversity of the genre: a historical and military story, a social, adventure, fantasy story and even a fairy tale story.
The genre of the story is not characterized by such diversity. In style, it is close to a short story or essay, depending on the dynamics of the narrative: descriptive or built on an acute conflict.

ImGist determined that the difference between a story and a novel is as follows:

The story reflects one important episode or event in the life of the hero, while the story traces several significant events for the development of the action.
The plot line of the story, as a rule, has no compositional parallels. In the story, the plot can have a main and additional lines.
In the story, the narration strives for conciseness of form and dynamism of the development of the plot. The story uses techniques that slow down the action and switch the reader's attention from the event side to the content side: for example, the author's digressions and landscape sketches.
Unlike the story, which most often claims to be historical or factual, the content of the story is only a plausible fiction.

In this material, we will consider the differences between literary works.

In this article we will understand the differences between fairy tales and stories, poems, and fables. And also we will analyze each of these literary types in more detail.

What is the difference between a fairy tale and a story: comparison, difference and similarity

A fairy tale and a story refer to a prosaic presentation of a plot, there are many similarities between them, as well as a difference. A similar manner of narrative description, the presence of heroes of the first and second plan, as well as the presence of an exciting plot and denouement of the story.

The difference is that the fairy tale is based more on fictitious events, with hints of magic and fantasy, and almost always has a happy ending. Of course, this is why fairy tales are so easy to remember for children and adults. Fairy tales often contain very important morals, and thanks to the way they are presented in the form of fairy tales, these morals are easy to convey to children.

The story is based on realistic events, most often the stories use a small number of heroes and participants, and often a small amount of work. Thanks to the inherent monologues, logical reasoning, the image of the protagonist seems quite plausible and real.

Main differences:

• In a fairy tale with each episode, new adventures open up. A story is a short episode that becomes the main one for the hero.
• The fairy tale uses fiction and allegory, and the stories use realistic events.
• In a story, time and space are limited, but in a fairy tale, it’s the other way around.
• The story does not use many characters, in contrast to the number of heroes of the fairy tale

What is the difference between fairy tales and stories about animals: comparison, difference and similarity

Fairy tales always contain elements of fantasy, witchcraft and magic, while stories tell about more real events, even if they are not taken from real life, they are based on real actions.

Fairy animals always have human features, for example, in fairy tales, animals have the ability to talk, walk like a person, and much more. While the stories use animals in their usual interpretation.

From childhood, everyone can remember wonderful bedtime stories that tell about various animals and fictional characters that resemble people in their behavior. In fairy tales, characters in the form of animals are endowed with emotions and feelings, which cannot be found in ordinary stories about life.

What is the difference between fairy tales and fantasy stories: comparison, difference and similarity

Fantasy is a genre of fiction that uses elements of something strange, unusual, that goes beyond the usual life. This genre is uniquely inherent in all known fairy tales, but is also used in real stories.

• One of the main differences between fairy tales and short stories is that stories always have an author, while fairy tales often have a folklore origin.
• The second difference is that fantasy stories are not aimed at teaching something, at a time when there are always hidden morals in fairy tales and often teach us love, kindness, respect, etc. In other words, fantasy stories are for entertainment, and fairy tales are for education.
• The third difference between fantasy stories and fairy tales is the end of the story. Fairy tales always end well and happily, which is very attractive to young readers, but stories do not always have a favorable ending, at least the target audience of stories is designed for the older generation.

Is Zhitkov's "Brave Duckling" a fairy tale or a story?

The tale "The Brave Duckling" has become a classic in fiction and is undoubtedly very popular among young readers. They are introduced into the program already in the second grade and the children are happy to listen and re-read this fairy tale.

• Despite the fact that this work has an author and a rather small plot, this is not a story, but a fairy tale, because. animals are definitely endowed with human qualities, emotions.
• Also, this work has a moral and teaches young readers courage, willpower and courage, the need to have an inner core and faith. The author emphasizes the importance of friendship, because it is very difficult to resist the enemy alone. Together we can become an invincible force.
• After reading this work, one can understand the importance of courage and fearlessness, because everything that seems scary to us is not always so in reality. The fairy tale teaches you to face your fear, and gives you the motivation to overcome it.

Due to the fact that the work has a moral, the main characters in the form of ducklings, which are endowed with human qualities, and a happy ending - you can easily determine that Boris Zhitkov's "The Brave Duckling" is a fairy tale.

What is the difference between a story and a story?

In order to understand the difference between a story, a story and a fairy tale, you first need to understand the definition of these terms.

• A fairy tale, as we know, is a work of art that is based on fictional and unreal events. It always has a happy ending, and is focused on conveying morality and teaching the reader something.
• The story is a short work based on more realistic events and describes some fragment from the life of the protagonist. The ending does not always end well, and often only a small number of actors are used.
• The story is an exclusively genre of Russian literature, in the rest there is no such term. Roughly speaking, a story is something between a novel and a short story. It has a fairly large number of characters that can change during the story. Also, the story is longer than the story.

The difference between a story and a story

Main differences:

• The number of characters in a fairy tale and a story can be the same and reach a large number of characters that change throughout history. And the stories always use a small number of characters.
• The volume of the story is much larger than in the stories.
• For the genre of the story, as well as for the fairy tale, it is typical to track a series of events that are intertwined, and in the stories there is only one author's event, or a fragment from life, history is taken.
• In the story you can find a prehistory, a smoothly developing plot, which you will not find in stories and fairy tales.

What is the difference between a true story and a story, a story and a fairy tale?

True story is one of the genres of folklore literature, events are transmitted in the "folk language", in other words, as a retelling. When compared with a story, a story and a fairy tale, they were more similar to the latter genre.

Difference between fairy tale and reality:

• A fairy tale has a more stable structure than a true story.
• The story has a non-repeating plot, the main idea is preserved, but the characters, place of origin, etc. can change.
• The hero was, more often there is a person who accomplished breathtaking feats, such a plot is also intriguing, like a fairy tale, but unlike a fairy tale, less magic and sorcery is used
• In a story and a story there is always an author, unlike there were also fairy tales, because. this is folk art
• The end of the fairy tale is always happy, which cannot be said about other genres. True story can even end in tragedy or drama.

What is the difference between a fable and a fairy tale?

It is not always possible to distinguish a fable from fairy tales, because they have a lot in common and similar. The story has most of the differences with such a genre as a fable.

• The fable belongs to the epic genres, and is based on mythology, which arose during the heyday of ancient culture. Just like a fairy tale, a fable has a moral, has an instructive and entertaining character. The similarity appears at the end of the plots, both in a fairy tale and in a fable - always a kind and moralizing end, often described in the form of a proverb or saying.
• A distinctive feature of a fairy tale is that in it the development of the plot occurs as a chain of events. The plot of the fable develops as a whole.
• In the fable, you can meet mythical creatures and animals that symbolize certain human qualities, for example: a fox is a symbol of cunning, a wolf is avarice, an owl is wisdom, a hare is cowardice, and many others.

Also, the difference between a fable, a fairy tale and a story is that a fable is a satirical work, more often written in verse, but a story and a fairy tale are in prose. A fable, like a story, is a short work, and a fairy tale does not have clear boundaries for writing.

How is a poem different from a story and a fairy tale?

A poem is a poetic form of the lyrical-epic genre of fiction. Even a novice reader can distinguish a poem from a fairy tale, because a feature of the poems is the rhythmic form of writing. Rhyme - is not read by the distinctive characteristic of poetry, because. it is absent in the white poem.

More often in a poem, the poet expresses his feelings, experiences and emotions. Unlike fairy tales and short stories, poetry cannot be retold. In poetry, the text is always ordered, the author sets a certain rhythm of the work, which can be lost during retelling.

Main differences:

• A story and a fairy tale are prosaic works, and poems have their own ordered structure.
• Rhyme is not used in stories, while in more verses - rhyme is a prerequisite for writing, not counting blank verses
• Poems do not have a storyline, unlike stories and fairy tales.
• Stories and fairy tales are based on an epic story from the life of a hero, and thanks to a poem, the author can convey his emotional state
• It is possible to retell a story and a fairy tale, but if you retell a poem, its meaning will be lost.

How is a fable different from a poem?

A poem is a small work with a rhyme, through which the author conveys the inner state, emotions and experience to the reader. Rhythm and rhyme are not inherent in this type of work in all cases, for example, when writing blank verse, but a poem can be identified due to the increased emotionality and small volume of the work.

A fable is a small work based on mythology and fictional stories, also written both in verse and in prose. According to its characteristics, this genre is very similar to fairy tales, but it also has distinctive features.

• Unlike a fable, verses are not limited in their purposes, that is, there is no morality and instructive character in verses. And the fable always carries a moralizing character in the plot.
• The difference between fable and verse is the characters. In the fable, animal characters are more often used, which are endowed with human features. At a time when the hero of the verse can be anyone.
• Also, a distinctive feature of poetry and fable is that works in verse can be closely connected with reality and reality, but this is not the main condition. Also in the verses there is no description of a specific event.

While the fable is based on fiction, an imaginary and non-existent world is described. And in the course of the plot, a “painful” problem is described that concerns humanity and society.

Video: "The Brave Duckling". B. Zhitkov

Literary narrative genres, which include the story and the novel, are not always separated by a clearly defined border. However, it is a mistake to think that the story is a small novel. Such a definition takes place in foreign literary criticism, but Russian artistic prose, which has its own special characteristics, requires a more accurate genre classification.

Definition

Tale- this is a prose literary work, the genre feature of which is the focus of the narrative on the fate or a significant episode from the life of one hero.

Novel- a major work of fiction, presented in the epic genre. In the novel, the dramatic fates of the characters are closely connected with historically significant events. The ideological content of the novel touches on deep worldview problems or social topics relevant to its time.

Comparison

The novel is characterized by the scale of the depiction of the events described, the diversity of the plot, the wide time frame, which includes the chronology of the narrative. The plot of the novel is based on one main and several additional storylines. They are closely interconnected and represent a single compositional whole of the work.

The general definition of the novel as a genre is concretized in its varieties such as social, psychological, historical, adventure, fantasy and detective novels.

In the story, a series of successively developing events is limited to a specific time and is concentrated in a specific place. The fate and personality of the hero are revealed within the narrative of one or more episodes that become turning points in his life.

The plot of the story has no parallels, as in the novel, but can be complicated by unexpected twists that give it depth and versatility. The plot action is concentrated around the protagonist, whose inner world invariably remains in the center of the author's attention.

There is no expressed socio-cultural or historical projection of the described events in the story. The direct participation of the protagonist in them creates a tense plot dynamics in the work, consonant with the natural course of events in ordinary, real life.

The problematic of the story is much narrower than that presented in the novel. It, as a rule, concerns issues of ethics and morality, personal development and manifestation of the qualities of a human character in unusual or even extreme situations.

Like a novel, a story can be historical, adventure, fantasy, detective, or everyday life. Such a genre variety as a psychological story is a rare phenomenon in literature, but the genres of a satirical story and a fairy tale story are well known.

Findings site

1. The novel reflects historically and socially significant events. In the story, they can only serve as a hidden background for the narrative.
2. The fate of the characters in the novel appears in a historical or socio-psychological context. In the story, the personality of the protagonist is revealed in specific situations and events.
3. The plot of the novel has a branched structure, including additional storylines. The plot of the story is simpler and is built without parallels complicating its development.
4. The action of the novel covers a significant period of time. The events described in the story are limited by time and place of action.
5. The problematic of the novel concerns a wide range of issues. The problem of the story affects only some of them.
6. In the novel, characters can be exponents of philosophical ideas and worldview positions. For the content of the story, the individuality of the hero and his personal human qualities are important.
7. In modern literature, the story can be represented by genre varieties that do not coincide with the genre variety of the novel.

The story and the story are very similar to each other. Sometimes even experienced philologists cannot immediately determine in which genre a work is written - a story or a story. However, in most cases, you can understand what genre is in front of you. To do this, you need to know how the story differs from the story.

Story and novel: differences

• Both genres are prose, but more often the story is larger than the story.
• The story is distinguished by accuracy (the time and place of action are clearly indicated), tension, a clear plot, a small number of events, it describes one or more episodes from the life of the hero. The plot of the story is one-line. The story may contain lyrical digressions, the author’s reflections, descriptions of the landscape, the setting, etc. The course of the narrative there is more calm and smooth, the story covers several events from the hero’s life, describes a certain period of his life. In the story, along with the main storyline, there may be additional ones that are intertwined with the main one.
• There are very few characters in the story, maybe even just one - the main character. There are more characters in the story, but there is a main character around whom the whole story is built.
• In the story, the author often strives for factual or historical authenticity, while the story is a plausible fiction.

The term "story" also has a historical meaning. In ancient Russia, any story was called a story. These were oral stories about the events that the narrator saw or heard. Chronicles were an important source of old stories.