Passive Voice in Short Stories: Analytical Study

Abstract

A short story is a work of fiction. A prose narrative of shorter length than
the novel, and it usually concentrates on a single theme. Many writers prefer
writing short stories when they want to present a single significant episode or
scene involving a limited number of characters.

Writers differ in their style, but they agree on certain basic elements in
writing the short story. Readers also differ in their preference, some might prefer
crime short stories, others like fantasy ones, while many are obsessed by
romance or mystery short stories.

The way in which the writers present their short stories is restricted to
each writer’s point of view and the angle from which he wants to show his
opinion and makes it apprehensive for his readers. So different parts of speech
are involved in writing short stories, and different structures are used, but the
focus of this paper is on the use of passive voice in short stories. Do writers
prefer or prefer not to use the passive voice in their writings, and if they do
prefer using it, will this affect the phrasing of the short story in a way that ties up
the process of comprehension in the mind of the reader? This paper tries to
answer this question, depending on the analysis of four short stories, chosen
from different types for different writers.