Name:____________________
Short Stories Packet
Overview
Setting
-
The time and location
When, where, what
Weather
Social conditions (who can talk to who). Racism
Personification
-
Giving an object people-like characteristics
Inanimate object people-like characteristics
Example: The trees danced in the wind
Engages the reader
Theme
- Main idea the author is trying to get across
- Theme cannot be one word
- Take a main topic from the story and figure out
what the author is saying about it.
- It’s not the message/moral
- It never appears (right-there) in the story
- Ex. Love must end in tragedy
-
Plot – Plot Points/Plot Graph
1.Beginning, introduction, exposition
2. Initial Incident – event that sets off conflict
3.Rising Action (something increases)
4.Climax
5.Falling Action
6. Resolution, Conclusion, Denouement, End
Types of conflict
Person vs self (decision) Person vs. God/Fate
Person vs Person
Person vs society
Person vs nature
Person vs supernatural
Person vs technology
What is conflict? There are two sides, each
side’s goals cannot co-exist.
P.O.V. / Narrative Style
- from whose perspective is the story being told?
- 1st person narrative “I am going to the store”
-2nd person narrative “You are going to the store"
-3rd person narrative “Ben is going to the store”
“He is going to the store”
Limited – no access to thoughts.
Omniscient – narrator knows all. Actions and
thoughts.
Be aware of verb tense!
Foreshadowing
- Dropping hints of what’s to come
- Implied, not explicit
Twist Ending – story ends in a way that was not
expected. Story does build towards this new ending,
however.
Mood – emotions the reader feels from reading. Also
applies to a setting.
Flashback – an event that already happened gets
mentioned.
Suspense – a feeling of dread or anticipation.
Suspense increases during the rising action.
Symbolism – Use a tangible object (something
you can touch) to represent something
intangible (you can’t touch).