Literature Unit 1
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List the elements of the plot.
Identify the elements of the plot in a short story
Create a plot diagram for a short story
Define setting in a short story
Examine the effect of the setting on the short story
Identify the point of view of a story
Evaluate the author’s use of POV on the overall story
Describe the conflict in a short story
Differentiate between external and internal conflicts
Argue the importance of the type of conflict on the
impact/meaning of the short story
Compare/Contrast indirect and direct characterization
Discuss possible themes in short stories
Defend the chosen theme with examples from the short story
Write a short story
 A Short story is a concentrated dose of short fiction; it is
a small, well-polished stone is a vast quarry of fiction.
 At the foundation of the short story, as with most fiction,
is a set of the short story devices
 Plot
 Setting
 Character
 Theme
 Point of view
Plot is the sequence of events in a story; it
is the sequential/causal backbone of the
story.
Basically what happens
But plot is as much about
WHY AS WHAT.
Why do those things happen in the order
they happen
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Linear/Cause & Effect Plot
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One thing causes another or
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Things happen in chronological order (most stories)
Episodic Plot
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Quest Plot
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Related, but not necessarily interconnected episodes (The House
on Mango Street, Don Quixote)
Characters striving or questing for something (The Lord of the
Rings)
Argument/___________________ Plot
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Often a direct address to audience (Notes from the Underground)
 TO UNDERSTAND THE PLOT, YOU WILL HAVE TO
CAREFULLY FOLLOW WHAT IS HAPPENING, EVENT
BY EVENT.
 THIS IS CALLED SEQUENCING.
While the music plays, discuss plots
with a partner. Tell your partner the
plot of your favorite movie?
Not just what happens – why does
that happen
An important part of the plot is its
conflict: the struggle between two
or more forces that must be resolved
by the end of the narrative.
The conflict is also called the
Narrative Hook
 External Conflict - Conflict that occurs against an outside force
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Nature
Man vs. Society
Internal Conflict
– Conflict that occurs within the character
Man vs. Himself
When the music starts list with a partner
and example of each type of conflict.
You need one example for Man vs. Man,
one example for Man vs. Society, one
example for Man vs. Nature, and one
example for Man vs. Himself.
Setting is the story’s time and place.
Ex: location, the weather, the time of year.
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Mood: Setting can contribute to the mood, or
emotional quality, of a literary work.
EX: a story set in the wild, stormy forest might
have a tense or frightening mood.
Describe the setting, including the where,
when, and mood of this picture:
Characters are the people, animals, and
other individuals in a story.
In some cases a character can be a thing
(The Ring)
Authors reveal the personality of each
character through two types of
characterization.
Indirect Characterization – finding
out about characters through other
people’s thoughts or the character’s
actions, thoughts or words
Direct Characterization – the author
describing the character’s physical,
appearance, thoughts, spoken words,
and actions.
 Round or Dynamic
Character- The character:
The character evolves and
changes throughout the
story.
 Flat or Static Character_The character does not
change.
MINOR
CHARACTERS
THESE ARE
CHARACTERS
ARE NOT TOO
IMPORTANT TO
THE STORY.
THEY MAY BE
MENTIONED
ONLY A FEW
TIMES.
 The theme is the central message of a
literary work.
What is the author’s opinion on the
subject matter of the story
Usually not overtly stated, but implied
 A narrator is the person who tells a story. The
relationship of the narrator to the story is called the
point of view.
 In a story with first person point of view, the narrator,
a character in the story, is referred to as “I” or “we.”
 In a story with second person point of view, the
narrator addresses the reader,_________, as “_____.”
 In a story with third person point of view, the narrator
is outside of the story and uses “he” or “she” to tell the
story.
Write three sentences, in
three different POVs, about
a character walking down
the road.
Omniscient
Narrator is all-knowing, knows the
thoughts, words, and actions of all
characters
Limited
Narrator’s knowledge is limited to knowledge
of the thoughts, words, and actions of one
character or a few characters
Voice is the distinctive use of language that
conveys the author’s personality to the reader.
Could also be a CHARACTERS voice
 Voice is determined by diction, an author’s
choice of words and the arrangement of those
words, and tone, an author’s attitude toward his
or her subject matter or audience.
Most plots follow time sequence, but an
author can use complex plot devices,
such as flash-forwards, flashbacks,
subplots, or parallel plots to add interest
of excitement.
Most, NOT all, plots develop in 5 stages:
exposition, rising action, climax, falling
action, and resolution.
 Exposition: introduces the story’s characters, setting
and conflict.
 Rising Action: occurs as complications, twists, or
intensifications of conflict occur.
 Climax: the story’s most dramatic moment.
 Falling Action: the logical result of the climax.
 Resolution: presents the final outcome of the story.
 Narrative Hook: the actual conflict of the story which
draws us in.
RISING ACTION
FALLING ACTION
INCITING INCIDENTThe Conflict
INTRODUCTION
(Narrative Hook)
RESOLUTION/DENOUEMENT
Analyze this short film.
Write down
1. Setting/Mood
2. Characters – direct characterization/indirect
characterization
3. Type of Plot
4. Exposition/Rising Action/Climax/Falling Action/Resolution
5. Conflict/Narrative Hook
6. Theme