SHORT STORY TERMS
Short Story Terms
Term and Definition
What is Style?
-Definition: the manner of expression of a particular
writer produced by: Choice of words, sentence structure,
the use of literary devices, and other elements of
composition.
Examples: Scientific, expository, poetic, and journalistic.
For example: An article from a magazine or a newspaper
is written in a different style than one from a scientific
journal.
Short Story Terms
What is motif?
Definition: a recurring subject, theme, idea, etc.,
especially in a literary, artistic, or musical work.
Motif and theme are linked in a literary work but
there is a difference between them. In a literary
piece, a motif is a recurrent image, idea or a
symbol that develops or explains a theme while
a theme is a central idea or message.
Example: A Cinderella motif…
Short Story Terms
What is Theme?
The theme is a central idea or message.
Example: The theme of a fable is its moral. The
theme of a parable is its teaching. The theme of a
piece of fiction is its view about life and how people
behave.
In fiction, the theme is not intended to teach or
preach. In fact, it is not presented directly at all. You
extract it from the characters, action, and setting
that make up the story. In other words, you must
figure out the theme yourself.
Example: Overcoming obstacles, good conquers
evil..
Short Story Terms
What is a vignette?
Definition: a short, well-written sketch or descriptive
scene.
It does not have a plot, which would make it a story, but it
does reveal something about the elements in it…
-It may reveal character, mood or tone
-It may have a theme or idea of its own that it wants to
convey
-It is the description of a scene or character that is
important…
Example: Freedom Writers or House on Mango Street
Short Story Terms
Term and Definition
What is Allusion?
-Definition: is a brief and indirect
reference to a person, place, thing
or idea of historical, cultural,
literature or political significance.
Examples: Romeo and Juliet“Montague must be so happy we can Capulet
this all go”(Kaye).
Short Story Terms
Term and Definition
Simile
-Definition: comparison using
the words like or as.
Example:
As slow as molasses in January.
She sings like an angel.
Short Story Terms
Term and Definition
Metaphor
-Definition: A comparison
without using the words like or
as.
Example:
The cat is a bag of bones.
We are the American Flags we draw.
Short Story Terms
Term and Definition
Personification
-Definition: giving human
characteristics to things that
are not human.
Example:
The wind howled.
The desk has legs.
Short Story Terms
Term and Definition
Hyperbole
-Definition: An extreme
exaggeration used to describe a
person or thing.
Example: She has as many pairs of shoes as
there are stars in the sky.
Short Story Terms
Term and Definition
Onomatopoeia
-Definition: Words that make noise.
such as buzz or splash.
Example: Buzz…splash…crash…
Short Story Terms
Term and Definition
Tone
-Definition: is an attitude of a writer toward a
subject or an audience. Tone is generally conveyed
through the choice of words or the viewpoint of a
writer on a particular subject.
Examples: The tone can be formal, informal,
serious, comic, sarcastic, sad, and cheerful or it
may be any other existing attitudes.
SHORT STORY TERMS
Main Characters
Protagonist—the main character of a story.
The action of the story revolves
around the protagonist and the
conflict he or she faces.
Example: Luke
Skywalker
Antagonist
Antagonist—the character or force
the protagonist struggles against and
must overcome.
Example: Darth Vader
Dynamic Characters versus
Static Characters
Dynamic characters
• change or grow as a result of the story’s action
• learn something about themselves, other
people, or the world as they struggle to resolve
their conflicts
Luke Skywalker is a Dynamic Character
The changes that a dynamic character undergoes
contribute to the meaning of the story.
Dynamic Characters versus
Static Characters
Static characters
• do not change or grow
• are the same at the end of a story as they were
in the beginning
R2D2 is a Static Character
Subordinate characters are often static characters.
Flat Characters versus
Round Characters
Round characters
• have many different
character traits that
sometimes contradict
each other
• are much like real
people, with several
sides to their
personality
Example: Princess Leia
Hans Solo
Flat Characters versus
Round Characters
Flat characters
• have only one or two
character traits that can be
described in a few words
• have no depth, like a
piece of cardboard
Example: Storm Troopers
Subordinate Characters
Stock/Sterotypical Characters
add depth and complication
to the plot.
Family
Friends
Direct and Indirect
Characterization
Direct Characterization—Writers tell us
directly what characters are like or what their
motives are.
Indirect Characterization—Writers show us
characters but allow us to decide what characters
are like.
Direct and Indirect
Characterization
Quick Check
Oh, but he was a mean old man at
the grindstone! A squeezing,
wrenching, grasping, scraping,
clutching, greedy old sinner!
- A Christmas Carol
Is this an example
of direct or indirect
characterization?
What kind of
person do
you think this
character is?
Direct
Direct and Indirect
Characterization
Quick Check
Lord Asriel was a tall man with
powerful shoulders, a fierce dark
face, and eyes that seemed to flash
and glitter with savage laughter.
- The Golden Compass
Is this an example
of direct or indirect
characterization?
What kind of
person do
you think this
character is?
Indirect
Indirect characterization is
revealed five different ways
• Speech
(a character’s own words)
• Appearance
(how a character looks)
• Private Thoughts
(what a character thinks)
• Reactions of others
• Actions
(how other characters
feel about a character)
(what a character does)
Direct and Indirect
Characterization
“Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut
your throat!”
A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with
a great iron on his leg. A man with no
hat, and with broken shoes, and with an
old rag tied round his head. A man who
had been soaked in water, and
smothered in mud, and lamed by stones,
and cut by flints . . . ; who limped, and
shivered, and glared and growled; and
whose teeth chattered in his head as he
seized me by the chin.
- Great Expectations
Which methods
of indirect
characterization
are being used?
Indirect Characterization
“Keep still, you little devil, or I’ll cut
your throat!”
A fearful man, all in coarse grey, with
a great iron on his leg. A man with no
hat, and with broken shoes, and with an
old rag tied round his head. A man who
had been soaked in water, and
smothered in mud, and lamed by stones,
and cut by flints . . . ; who limped, and
shivered, and glared and growled; and
whose teeth chattered in his head as he
seized me by the chin.
-
Speech
Appearance
Actions
What kind of
person do
you think this
character is?
Indirect characterization
Her eyes were Frenchmen blue, staring out of a
soft, round face. She appeared completely
unafraid, and there was a look to her stare that
made the Baron feel uneasy for no reason he
could explain.
- Dune
Which methods
of indirect
characterization
are being used?
Indirect characterization
Her eyes were Frenchmen blue, staring out of a
soft, round face. She appeared completely
unafraid
unafraid,and
andthere
therewas
wasaalook
looktotoher
herstare
starethat
that
made
made the
the Baron
Baron feel
feel uneasy
uneasy for
for no
no reason
reason he
he
could
explain.
could explain.
- Dune
Appearance
Reactions of Others
Which method is being used?
She was wearing grubby tennis
shoes and a shapeless gray sweater
over a summery calico dress.
Appearance
What kind of
person do
you think this
character is?
Which method is being used?
“I know everyone hates me,” Nancy
sobbed. “It’s because I’m not as
pretty as the other girls.”
Speech
What kind of
person do
you think this
character is?
Which method is being used?
(for Aunt Sylvia)
When Aunt Sylvia entered the room,
my mother narrowed her eyes and
pursed her lips in disapproval.
Reactions of
Others
What kind of
person do
you think this
character is?
Which method is being used?
It wasn’t long before Alison began to
wonder how she could get that doll
away from her sister and all to
herself.
Private Thoughts
What kind of
person do
you think this
character is?
“Good Hands”by Ron Koege
Plot
Exposition:
1. Characters: Brittany, Kent and Olivia are introduced
2. Setting: school
3. Conflict: Olivia is in a wheelchair and she is upset that
Kent (Olivia’s boyfriend) called Brittany last night
“Good Hands”
Plot
Rising Action:
1. Olivia doubts why Kent would want to be her boyfriend.
2. She discussed all the ways that she is unlovable in the eyes of
others.
3. She is in a wheelchair due to a car accident
4. Father is with another family
5. Helplessness in the restroom and the pat on the head by the
other student.
6. Brittany begins to get frustrated with Olivia’s attitude at lunch
“Good Hands”
Plot
Climax/Turning Point:
1. Confrontation with Kent and Olivia
Falling Action:
1. Olivia grapples with the discussion between her and
Kent
2. Olivia shows up for the game
Resolution/Denouement:
1. Olivia catches the ball and Kent acknowledges
the catch… everything seems to be better between the two.
Indirect characterization is
revealed five different ways
• Speech
(a character’s own words)
• Appearance
(how a character looks)
• Private Thoughts
(what a character thinks)
• Reactions of others
• Actions
(how other characters
feel about a character)
(what a character does)