Short Story
Unit
Literary Dictionary
• Use 7 pieces of white paper
• Use the definitions on page R6
• Remember you must include:
– A cover page including the title and your name as an
author
– A table of contents listing the terms alphabetically
– The literary term printed boldly and clearly on the page
– The definition of the word neatly printed on the page
– 1 example from the text (any of the stories that we read)
along with page numbers where you found the example
– A visual representation of one of the examples that you
used (you can draw, use a magazine cut out, a picture from
the computer…)
– A page number
Elements of a Story
Plot
Setting, mood, rising action, climax,
falling action, and resolution
Climax
Rising action
Setting &
mood
Falling action
Resolution
Plot:
chain of related events that take place in a story; “framework” of the story
I.
II.
III.
Exposition (Basic Situation) = provides needed background information;
presents a character in a situation that contains the possibility of action
Rising Action (Complication)= develops the basic situation; the conflict
intensifies
Climax= the most tense or exciting part of the story, the turning point of
the action, when something happens to decide the outcome of the
conflict.
IV. Falling Action= the action after the climax; conflicts are often resolved
V.
Resolution= The action and conflicts have been resolved
Setting
• Time
–
–
–
–
Historical period
Time of year
Season
Time of day
• Place
– Geographic region
– Environment
– Community
Characterization
Characters and how we get to
know them:
A: Direct characterization :
Characters are clearly and
obviously described (“The teacher
was seven feet tall. He had an
aggressive, often angry,
personality…”)
B. Indirect characterization:
Characters are not described
directly, and we have to infer what
they are like from how they affect
the story (“I felt Mr. Ratfoot’s
shadow looming over me, and
dreaded hearing his loud voice
yelling at me about my homework,
as usual…”)
Characterization= development of characters
I. Direct Characterization= tells readers directly
what a character is like (example: narrator’s
comments)
II. Indirect Characterization= shows readers
what a character is like
Types of Characters
A. Main Character= character at the center of a story’s action
B. Minor Character= less important character
C. Dynamic Character= character that grows or changes as the plot
unfolds
D. Static Character= character who remains the same throughout
the story
E. Flat Character= character who has only one or two key personality
traits and can be described in a single sentence
F. Round Character= character who is more complex, fleshed out;
there are more sides to this character’s personality than can be
described in a single sentence
G. Stock Character= person who fits a preconceived notion about a
“type” (examples: villain, hero, damsel in distress, mad scientist)
H. Protagonist= main character in a story
I. Antagonist= character or force that conflicts with the protagonist
Conflict
7 major types of conflict
Internal Conflict:
– Man vs. self
– Man vs. unknown
External Conflict:
–
–
–
–
–
Man vs. nature
Man vs. technology
Man vs. society
Man vs. man
Man vs. supernatural
Irony, Paradox, Oxymoron
• Irony -A discrepancy between two
elements in the story, e.g., between
what a character says and what he/she
does, between what the reader expects
and what happens, between the setting
and the mood, etc.
• This includes paradox (seeming
contradiction that is nonetheless true,
like someone who looks big and fierce
but is really a sweetheart)
• This also includes oxymoron A
combination of contradicting words
such as: killing with kindness, dark
sunshine, happy depression
Narration/ Point of View
• A: Point of View:
– 1st person
– 3rd person limited
– 3rd person omniscient
• B: What narrative techniques does the author use in
telling the story?
– Foreshadowing (hints about events ahead)?
– Flashbacks (passages describing previous events)?
– Stream-of consciousness narration (where events are told
through a series of thoughts, as if we’re inside the mind of
a character)?
Point of View
• 1st person
– “I”
– The audience sees the world from the perspective of the main
character only.
– The audience only knows the thoughts of one person.
• 3rd person limited
– He, she, and they
– The story is told by narrative that is observing through the main
characters eyes only.
– The audience only knows the thoughts of the main character.
• 3rd person omniscient
– He, she, they
– The story is told by a narrator that observes the action through more
than one character.
– The audience knows the thoughts of more than one character.
– Stream of consciousness
Foreshadowing
• A literary term that author’s
use to give the reader clues
about what will happen
later in the story.
• Can be in the form of a
symbol (black cat), music,
or more directly told to the
reader.
The Lady or the Tiger
http://www.teachertube.com/viewVideo.php?title=Lady_or_the_Tiger&video_id=113641
The Monkey’s Paw
The Simpsons The Monkey’s Paw
• http://www.streaming-tvepisodes.co.uk/the_simpsons/s03e07.html
Motivation
• What makes a character
behave as he/she does?
– Exterior motivation (forces
outside the character, like
poverty, a natural disaster,
inheriting money)
or
– Internal motivation (forces
from within a character, like
ambition, kindness,
jealousy, etc.)
Author’s Purpose
• Why do you think that authors write books?
• There are three basic reasons why writers
write.
– To inform
– To persuade
– To entertain
Mood or Tone
•
The emotional atmosphere of the story:
scary, gloomy, peaceful, joyous, tense, etc.
Theme
Theme = insight or idea about human life and human nature
that gives meaning to a story; central message in a work of
literature. Big idea explored in the story, e.g., ambition,
romantic love, loss of innocence, the indifference of nature,
etc.
1. A theme must be expressed as a generalization about life
or human nature.
2. A theme should explain the whole story, not just parts of
it.
3. A theme is not the same as a moral.
Imagery
• Painting a picture in words, through
appealing to the senses: “He glided
through the warm, sea-scented breeze
along the beach under a bright blue
sky” or “The tiny garnet red eyes of the
rat glittered as it rummaged through
the stinking garbage strewn about the
street.”
Daily Inquiry Journal
• Have you ever had
new people move
into your block or
neighborhood?
What did you
think of the
newcomers before
you met them?
How accurate
were your
assumptions after
you got to know
them?
Rain, Rain Go Away
Figurative Language
• You remember this from poetry. It’s when you express your idea not
literally but through comparison with something else, or through
having one thing stand for another:
• simile: comparing by using like or as : “My love is like a red red
rose.”
• metaphor: comparing without using like or as: “My love is a red red
rose.”
• personification: a type of metaphor, in which something nonhuman s given human qualities: “The sun smiled down on me.”
• hyperbole: deliberate exaggeration for effect: ”He was more
obnoxious than a dog with rabies.”
• symbol: where one thing is made to stand for something else; a
dove is a symbol of peace, etc.
Writing your own short story
• Your story should be based on something that
has happened within your life experience.
• It should focus on ONE specific event – not an
entire vacation.
• Your story should have a plot, a central
conflict, a climax, and a resolution. It should
NOT just be multiple paragraphs of
description.
• At least two pages.
Characters
Ways to describe a character to the reader:
1. Physical description; appearance
2. Speech
3. Private thoughts; feelings
4. Motives (reasons why a character acts as
he/she does; what causes behavior)
5. Actions
6. Speech, action, thoughts, feelings of other
characters
7. Effect on other characters
The Woman in the Snow