Short Stories
Notes: 8-5
“The Battle by the Breadfruit Tree”
• Setting: African plateau by tree, modern times
• Protagonist: camera man…I…baboon??
• Antagonist: leopard/their inability to film/frozen
state
• Conflict: leopard wanted to eat the
baby…fight/missing filming
• Climax: ambush! Rescue!
• Ending: tied up- all explained
• OS: “Smith and I were anxious to procure…”
• POV: 1st person
“The Gun”
• Setting: basketball court, bad neighborhood,
1970s
• Protagonist: Derek
• Antagonist: detectives
• Conflict: Derek messed w/a gun, questioning
• Climax: find out Derek killed someone
• Ending: twist- unexpected
• OS: “He runs…”
• POV: 3rd
“Finding Myself”
• Setting: gym, high school, Pascack, 1980s
• Protagonist: Jeannie Ryan-athletic
• Antagonist: Jeannie’s lack of desire to score/lack
of self-confidence
• Conflict: not good at basketball/shooting
• Climax: makes the jump shot
• Ending: tied up
• OS: “Coach Ely said that I’d know when it was
right.”
• POV: 1st
“The Secret”
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Setting: the moon, future
Protagonist: Henry Cooper
Antagonist: Dr. Hastings/agency
Conflict: won’t tell him the secret
Climax: he tells him
Ending: cliffhanger
OS: “Henry Cooper had been on the moon for
two weeks…”
• POV: 3rd person
“On the Outside”
• Setting: 1930s, train, Detroit to NY
• Protagonist: businessman/man on the
train…observer/the boy
• Antagonist: hunger/GD/poverty/capitalism
• Conflict: hunger/boy alone?
• Climax: they discover the dad’s dead
• Ending: twist/tied up?
• OS: “I can’t remember when the boy got on the
train.”
• POV: 1st