Characters: A woman and the man who got her pregnant.

Setting: This appears to be a newspaper ad, and a number of conclusions about the setting could be drawn by considering where and during what time period one would run a newspaper ad for a pair of baby shoes.

Plot: Obviously, the woman became pregnant. She began preparing for the baby's arrival, which is evident from the fact that she bought or was given some new baby shoes.

 Conflict: The fact that the baby shoes were never used indicates that the baby died either before or during birth — quite a conflict for a young mother-to-be.

Theme: The theme of this story is dealing with loss — specifically the loss of a child. Are the baby shoes kept as a reminder of the loss or in hope of having another child? Are they destroyed in a fit of anguished rage? No; they are put up for sale, giving us a glimpse of how the characters are dealing with the loss as well as some of the considerations that went into the decision to sell the shoes.

Großartige Hemingway Kürzestgeschichte: "For sale: Baby shoes. Never used." Cliffnotes erklärt noch einmal schnell, weshalb es wirklich eine Kurzgeschichte ist.