Kenzo Analyzes the 2024 HIS Writes Silver Medalist "Shadows of the Forest!"

Asana Yano’s story, “Shadow of the Forest,” got 2nd place on HIS entries. The story is about two main characters, Rena and Cora, each trying to find and have a better life. We highly recommend reading “Shadow of the Forest” before and after reading this article.

Dramatic code is essential in any work centralized around a story, whether it is a movie, poem, novel, or manga. In essence, dramatic code is the fundamental system of great stories; a character with aspiration making it come true by overcoming hurdles and changing themselves. This series of basic processes creates satisfaction for the audience once the cycle is completed.

Because of the three writing techniques used in Asana Yano’s short story “Shadows of the Forest,” the character interactions, the story world, and the complex structure, Asana Yano succeeds in creating a carefully crafted and woven story that constantly hooks readers to the narrative, their own experience, and the characters.  This excellent use of techniques is what makes the story enjoyable to its readers.

Firstly, Asana establishes her story by purposefully creating character interactions. In the story, there are three characters; Cora, Rena, and Rena’s mother. Each character has its own unique problem and view of the world. For instance, Rena, Cora, and Rena’s mother had these struggles throughout the entire story, respectively: Losing hope, getting bullied by her peers, and alcohol addiction as the result of regretful actions. The technique of character interactions gets highly appealing with a combination of perspective techniques. 

As described in the book The Anatomy of Story by John Truby, Asana Yano establishes each of the characters into four types.

Rena falls in as the “Hero” like the image below. She is the most important character in the story, she has a specific goal and has a central problem.

Diagram of basic story characters; Image by Kenzo Fachin

Cora falls in as an Ally and Hero. She has a central problem and specific goal, and although she has a role as one of the main characters, the story is mostly based on Rena’s view of the world.

Rena’s mom falls into the category of opponent. For Rena, her mom represents misery in her life, and she struggles with her mother’s addiction to alcohol. Likewise, Rena’s mother was an opponent and fake ally to Cora. 

In summary, this well crafted establishment of characters sets the base of the story as unique and appealing for any readers.

Secondly, the story world and the symbolism of “forest” help aid in creating the atmosphere of the story. The forest overall has a significant story in the story; it is where the story begins and ends. The Anatomy of Story describes that the forest is symbolized as a sanctuary that protects characters. However, in “Shadow of the Forest”, the forest is a symbol for two things: A shelter and a memorial landmark of the past. On one side, the forest symbolizes shelter throughout the story. It is where Cora and Rena meet, and Rena can truly enjoy being herself. One example of this symbolism is shown in the story when Cora mentions that, “The only place where I feel safe is here, in nature, in the forest.” This textual example shows how it is a sanctuary for her. Another example, one from Rena is, “I couldn’t wait to go to the forest again. I couldn’t keep my mind off of it and Cora. As the bell rang I was the fastest person to run out of the classroom and leave school. I didn’t even bother to go home and ran straight to the forest.” This evidence illustrates how the forest became Rena’s symbol of hope and, most importantly, a safe shelter.

The Dramatic Code

As we analyzed the story in layers, the final and most significant base of the story is the Dramatic Code. Asana Yano uses The Dramatic Code to make her story and its ending fulfillable to its readers. As written earlier, dramatic code is the fundamental structure of the story. Dramatic code essentially is a story providing growth and character overcoming the hurdle through development for character change. Asana Yano incorporates this by not only showing the change of two main characters- Rena and Cora but also with Rena’s mother. Firstly, Rena demonstrates the dramatic code by having each of the four following elements(desire, action, struggles, and character change) respectively; The desire to make life better, going and talking with Cora, facing struggles with her mother, and becoming someone that moved on and can turn the life around. Each of these elements creates satisfaction for readers. Moreover, Rena’s mother shows the dramatic code. Before she had the desire to move on from endless regrets in her life. Then, she takes action by stopping using alcohol and involving more with Rena. Thirdly, she had several struggles like Rena not being able to believe her change. And then at the end of the story, Rena’s mother becomes someone that Rena can trust and disconnect herself from her past. The fact that there are two characters that establish and strengthen the dramatic code is what supports all the other narratives and techniques in the “Shadow of the Forest.”

Overall, the shadow of the story makes itself a compelling and appealing story to readers by using three storytelling techniques at a talented level. So, if you are interested in reading Asana Yano’s “Shadow of the Forest,” please read it here.
Lastly, I want to give huge thanks to John Truby for providing the creative writing class with dynamic and effective ways to create a great story. You can try reading his book, The Anatomy of the Story yourself.