Intrinsic Elements and Narrative Techniques in Short Stories Written by Junior High School Students in Sidenreng Rappang Regency

Abstract

This study describes the intrinsic elements and narrative techniques in short stories written by junior high school students who participated in the 2025 Festival Bulan Bahasa in Sidenreng Rappang Regency. The study employed a descriptive qualitative design. The data consisted of textual excerpts from 13 short stories and were examined through an objective approach rooted in New Criticism and a narratological perspective. Data were collected through documentation, repeated reading, marking, and classification, and were analyzed using content analysis. The findings show that all 13 short stories contain seven intrinsic elements: theme, character and characterization, plot, setting, point of view, language style, and moral message. The stories consistently developed the competition theme, "Youth and the Indonesian Language," through education, friendship, self-development, language awareness, and polite communication. All stories used chronological forward plots, while settings were dominated by schools, homes, libraries, and other environments familiar to students. Narrative techniques were characterized by orderly plot management, character development through action and dialogue, complementary use of dialogue and narration, consistent first- or third-person perspectives, and conflicts drawn from students' everyday lives. Several texts, however, showed compressed conflict development or rapid character change. Overall, the interaction between intrinsic structure and narrative technique enabled the students to construct coherent stories and communicate moral and linguistic values clearly.