Analysis of Elements on A Short Story “A Vine on A House” by Ambrose Bierce

Abstract

Abstract  

Literature could refer to a collection of literary works that were written by the authors' imagination and thought. This study aims to examine the elements of a short story described in "A Vine on a House." This short story was written by Bierce and published in 1905. A descriptive qualitative method is used in this research. The findings show that the characters are Mr. Harding, Mrs. Harding, Mrs. Harding sister, Mr. and Mrs. Harding two children, the Rev. J. Gruber, Hyatt, and the sheriff of the county. The settings of places are at Harding House and Norton, while the setting of times starts in 1884, 1886, one summer evening, the next evening, by day and night, shows the story ends six or seven years later. The plot of this story is divided into four parts: exposition, conflict or complication, climax, and resolution. There are two themes in this story, namely mystery and death, which are shown by the condition of Harding's house and the invention of the dead body that resembles Mrs. Harding at the end of the story. It also shows that the author applies a third-person point of view with the use of pronouns for the characters, such as she, he, or they.