Short Story
A short story is:
•a work of fiction that is shorter and more
limited than the novel,
•usually focuses on one important event in
the lives of a small number of main
characters,
•author’s purpose is to entertain,
•varies in length, but is usually short
enough to be read in one sitting.
Plot
Development
Plot Diagram
Plot:
The sequence of events in a story.
Exposition
Exposition:
the author introduces the characters, creates
the setting, and introduces the conflict.
Exposition
Setting:
Setting:
Includes where and when the story takes
place.
How setting is expressed:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
Place
Time of day
Weather
Seasons
Type of People
Kinds of clothing
Smells, sounds
Exposition
Character:
Character:
Person, animal, or imaginary creature that
plays a role in the story.
Types of Characters:
Protagonist: main character in the story,
hero(ine).
Antagonist: character that causes the initial
conflict . . . The bad guy or gal
Round: character with
many personalities.
He/she has many
strengths and
weaknesses.
Flat: this character
usually has one kind of
personality, such as only
good or only evil. Often,
less important in the story.
Dynamic:
this character changes
because of what happens to
him or her in the story.
Often this character learns
as a result of an event in
the story.
Static:
This character stays the
same throughout the story.
Conflict:
Conflict:
A struggle or clash between two opposing
forces.
Conflict:
Internal Conflict:
External Conflict:
Struggle occurs
within the
character
Struggle occurs
between the
character and an
outside force.
Man vs. Self
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Society
Man vs. Nature
Rising Action & Climax
As they say in writing and reading circles . . .
the plot thickens!!!
Plot Diagram: Rising Action
Rising Action:
a series of crises, events or turning points
that build tension towards the climax.
Plot
Diagram:
Climax
Climax
Climax:
The most intense or crucial moment or event
when the tension reaches a peak.
Rising Action:
The stairs
leading up to the
top. There are
many stairs that
lead there.
Climax:
You have reached the
top of the stairs after a
long climb. This is the
highest point with the
most excitement.
Falling
Action
&
Resolution
Plot Diagram: Falling Action
Falling Action:
The story examines the consequences or
outcomes of the climax and the tension fades.
Falling Action:
After reaching the
climax, the stairs lead
back down. There may
be many stairs or just a
few that lead there.
Resolution:
The problem or
conflict is solved.
The last puzzle
piece is put into
place.
Plot Diagram: Resolution
Resolution:
How the story’s main problem or conflict is
resolved; bringing the conflict to an end.
Theme
• 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.
Possible Theme Topics:
Betrayal
Courage
Loyalty
Fear
Freedom
Friendship
Happiness
Honesty
Perseverance
Point of View
Perspective from which
the story is told.
1st person: In the first person point of view, the narrator is a
character in the story. He/She will use pronouns like “I” “we” “.
When reading stories in the first person, we need to realize that
what the narrator is recounting might not be the objective truth.
We should question the trustworthiness of the accounting.
3rd Person : Here the narrator does not participate in the action of
the story as one of the characters, but lets us know exactly how the
characters feel. We learn about the characters through this outside
voice.
Omniscient Points of View
A narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing, or
omniscient.
Limited Points of View A narrator whose knowledge is limited to one character,
either major or minor, has a limited omniscient point of view.
As you read a piece of fiction think about these
things:
•How does the point of view affect your responses to the
characters?
•How is your response influenced by how much the
narrator knows and how objective he or she is?
•First person narrators are not always trustworthy.
•It is up to you to determine what is the truth and what is
not.
“Tell-Tale Heart”
By Edgar Allan Poe
Poe was born in Boston. He was a poet,
writer, editor, and literary critic. His
short stories were his main type of
writing, and today they are considered
some of the best American short stories
in history. His tales usually are a mix of
mystery and macabre (grim and dealing
with death).
Poe married his 13-year old cousin,
Virginia Clemm. Her early death may
have inspired some of his writing. Poe’s
best known fiction are Gothic (horror
and romance ) in order to appeal to the
public’s tastes at the time.
born January 19, 1809, Boston, Massachusetts—
died October 7, 1849, Baltimore, Maryland
Biography
Vocabulary
Resembled – looked like
Distinctly – clearly
Cunning – slyly, carefully, cautiously
Hideous – very ugly or frightful
“I think it was his eye. Yes, it
was his eye! One of his eyes
was pale blue and dull. It
resembled the eye of a vulture.”
“The Tell-Tale Heart” is a fun little horror story where the
narrator is driven almost insane because of his obsession
with an old man’s creepy eye!
The narrator thinks he’s perfectly sane and tries to convince
the reader throughout the story. He is suffering from
extreme paranoia and mental health issues.
Ask yourself: What point of view is the
story in?
Ask yourself: Whose heart does
he really hear beating?
Direct vs. Indirect
Characterization
Direct Characterization is:
the writer makes direct
statements about a
character's personality:
• tells what the character is
like.
Indirect Characterization is:
the writer reveals
information about a
character and his
personality through that
character's:
• thoughts, words, and
actions,
• how other characters
respond to that character,
including what they think
and say about him.
Indirect Characterization:
Characterization:
“ThatDirect
Ed Johnson,”
said Anderson, watching the
Ed Johnson
scratched
his head
in confusion
old mechanic
scratch
his head
in confusion
as
therep
sales
rep explained
Dralco’s
the as
sales
explained
Dralco’s
newestnewest
engine
engine performance
diagnostic“He
computer.
performance
diagnostic computer.
hasn’t got
The
old mechanic
hated modern
a clue
about
modern electronics.
Giveelectronics,
him a good
preferring
old days
when all manuals
he needed
set of
tools andthe
a stack
of yellowing
with
was a stack
of manuals
good
of tools.
a carburetor
needing
repair, and a
he’d
be set
happy
as a hungry frog in a fly-field.”
Ervin II, Terry . "Fiction Factor - Direct vs. Indirect Characterization." Fiction Factor - Writing Tips for Fiction Writers.
N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Oct. 2010. <http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests
Motive
• Motive is the reason a character takes a
specific course of action.
– Not all motives are bad.
– Some motives can help lead the character to
a resolution.
“Charles” by Shirley Jackson
Shirley Jackson, 1916-1965, one of the most
brilliant and influential authors of the twentieth
century, is widely acclaimed for her stories
and novels of the supernatural, including the
well-known short story “The Lottery” and the
best-selling novel “The Haunting of Hill
House.”
Shirley Jackson wrote in two styles. She
could describe the delights and turmoil's of
ordinary domestic life with detached hilarity;
and she could, with cryptic symbolism, write a
tenebrous horror story in the Gothic mold in
which abnormal behavior seemed perilously
ordinary.
Excerpt from her obituary published in the New
York Times on August 10, 1965
(December, 14, 1916 - August, 9 1965)
Dialogue
• Dialogue is the conversation between two
or more characters in a novel, short story,
drama, etc.
• Dialogue is set aside by the use of
quotation marks and a short explanation of
who spoke the words. There can also be
a descriptive word used to describe how
the words were spoken.
How dialogue is used in Charles:
• Dialogue is used to show the relating of a
story from Laurie to his mother.
• His mother becomes increasingly
concerned about the environment her son
is being taught in.
• What do we find out about Charles at the
end of the story?
“The Marble Champ” by Gary Soto
•
AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by
permission.
Gary Soto is a man who writes from
experience. He grew up in one of the
many barrios (poor Mexican American
neighborhoods) of Fresno, California, and
since the mid-1970s he has borrowed from
that community to create an astonishing
number of works.
Soto, however, does not see himself as
strictly a Chicano author. True, in his over
twenty books of poetry and prose for
adults and in over thirty books for younger
readers, he focuses on the daily trials and
tribulations of Spanish-speaking
Americans. But, through crisp, clear
imagery and his true-to-life characters,
Soto connects with readers of all ages and
backgrounds.
April 12, 1952-
Vocabulary
• Slivers- small, slender, often sharp piece,
as of wood or glass, split, broken, or cut
off
• Reluctantly- unwilling
• Entranced- to fill with delight or wonder
Theme
• What are some of the lessons that Lupe
learns from her experience?
• How can these lessons be found in your
own life?
“The Bet” by Anton Chekhov
One of Russia's greatest writers,
Chekhov began his career writing
jokes and anecdotes for popular
magazines to support himself
while he studied to become a
doctor. Between 1888 and his
death he single-handedly
revolutionized both the drama
and the short story. Near the end
of his life he married an actress,
Olga Knipper. He died from
tuberculosis in 1904, age 44.
Biography taken from:
http://chekhov2.tripod.com/
Vocabulary
•
•
•
•
Prominent
Emitted
Lackadaisical
Stealthy
Factual vs. Interpretive Questions
• Factual Questions
have only ONE
correct answer.
• Factual questions
address only ONE
specific part of the
story.
• Interpretive Questions
have MORE THAN
ONE possible answer
• Interpretive Questions
apply to MORE THAN
ONE part of the
story.
Practice
Does the lawyer stay for the entire 15 years?
Why did the lawyer leave 5 minutes early?
“All Summer in a Day” by Ray
Bradbury
•
Ray Bradbury is one of those rare
individuals whose writing has changed
the way people think. His more than
five hundred published works -- short
stories, novels, plays, screenplays,
television scripts, and verse -exemplify the American imagination at
its most creative.
Once read, his words are never
forgotten. His best-known and most
beloved books, THE MARTIAN
CHRONICLES, THE ILLUSTRATED
MAN, FAHRENHEIT 451 and
SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY
COMES, are masterworks that
readers carry with them over a
lifetime.
August 22, 1920-
Vocabulary
• Slackened- to become less active
• Surged- a strong wavelike forward
movement
• Tumultuously- highly agitated
Suspense
• Suspense is the quality that is created
when the reader is uncertain about what
will happen next.
• In “The Bet” readers are left wondering if
the man will stay the whole time or if the
banker will win the bet.
• In “The Tell-Tale Heart” readers are left
wondering if the man will confess his
crime.
Foreshadowing
• Foreshadowing is the use of hints or clues
in a narrative to suggest what action is to
come.
Flashback
• Flashback occurs when the author
interrupts the action of the story to give us
information that occurred before the story
began.
• At the beginning of “The Tell-Tale Heart”
and “The Bet”, both authors tell us that the
story they are about to tell has already
occurred.
Dramatic Irony
• Dramatic Irony occurs when the reader
knows something that a character does
not.
• For example in the story “Charles”, we
know that the boy Laurie is actually the
child Charles long before the mother does.
Tone
• The attitude a writer takes toward his or
her subject, characters, and readers.
• Through tone, a writer can amuse, anger,
or shock the reader.
• Tone is created through the choice of
words and details.