SHORT FICTION
UNIT
9th Grade English
Setting
 The time AND/OR place of a piece of writing.
*** Sometimes the setting is specific, but at other
times it can be very general.
** There can be more than one setting for a story –
but consider what the MAIN setting is.
PLOT
Sequence of incidents or actions in a story.
Whatever the characters do, or whatever
happens to them, constitutes plot.
But First….You can’t have plot without:
CONFLICT!
 The dramatic struggle between opposing FORCES within
a work of literature.
Two main types of conflict:
Internal
 Opposing forces WITHIN
an individual.
Example: Should I or
shouldn’t I tell Mrs. Sinn
that I saw Lucifer cheating
on his test?
External
 Opposing forces between
two or more individuals,
elements, institutions,
etc.
 Example: Batman
versus the Joker
 Example: Being stuck in
a traffic jam.
FOUR
categories of
conflict:
MAN vs. MAN
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Self
Man vs. Nature
Can you
think of an
example of
each
category?
NOW, back to PLOT…
PLOT STRUCTURE
Plot is the literary element that describes the
structure of a story. It shows the a causal
arrangement of events and actions within a story.
Climax: the turning point,
the most intense
moment—either mentally
or in action
Rising Action: the
series of conflicts and
crisis in the story that
lead to the climax
Exposition: the start of
the story, the situation
before the action starts
Falling Action: all
of the action
which follows the
climax
Resolution: the conclusion, the
tying together of all of the
threads
MOOD
 The prevailing emotions or atmosphere of
a given work. Often, the setting
contributes to the mood
WHAT IS THEME?
 Themes can be found everywhere:
literature, stories, art, movies etc…
 The theme of a fable is its moral.
 The theme of a parable is its teaching.
 The theme of a piece of literature is
its view about life and how people
behave.
THEME & MEANING
Theme is the…
underlying meaning of the story,
a universal truth,
a significant statement the story is making
about society, human nature, or the human
condition.
THEME = IDEA
 The theme of a literary work is its
underlying central idea or the
generalization it communicates about
life.
PLEASE KEEP
IN MIND:
At times the author's
theme may not confirm
or agree with your own
beliefs.
Even then, if skillfully
written, the work will
still have a theme that
illuminates some
aspects of true human
experience.
Be aware that the theme never
completely explains the story.
It is simply one of the elements that make up
the whole. Some short stories have
secondary themes as well.
IRONY….
 The essential feature of irony is the
indirect presentation of a contradiction
between an action or expression and the
context in which it occurs.
Types of Irony
Verbal
Dramatic
Situational
Situational
Irony
** This is a relatively
new term.
EXAMPLE:
The Wizard of Oz
When the
exact
opposite of
the expected
outcome
occurs in
literature.
VERBAL
IRONY
VERBAL IRONY
occurs when one
meaning is stated,
but a different
meaning is
intended.
Examples of Ironic
Similes:
As pleasant as the flu
As clear as mud
DRAMATIC
IRONY
 Occurs by giving the
spectator (and/or reader)
an item of information
that at least one of the
characters in the
narrative is unaware of
(at least consciously),
thus placing the spectator
a step ahead of at least
one of the characters.
LET’S DISCUSS!
What was IRONIC about each of the stories we read
so far?
“The Most Dangerous Game”
“The Lady or the Tiger?”
“The Lottery”
“War”
*** Each story includes several examples of irony.
AUTHOR’S PURPOSE
The author’s intent to:
Inform
Persuade
Entertain
The purpose of all of the short
fiction we read so far is to
_________.
If I won 5
million dollars on
the lottery I
would…