SHORT STORY UNIT 1:
Mood, Setting, Plot
What is a short story?
… a work of fiction
that centers on a
single idea and can
be read in one
sitting. It usually has
one main conflict.
Setting and Mood
Setting: the time and place where action
unfolds in the story, drama, or other literary
work
Mood: the feelings evoked in the mind of
the reader. Diction (word choice) affects
the mood.
Setting
How does the setting affect the story?
● CONFLICT
● CHARACTER
● MOOD
● SYMBOLISM
Compare to The Count of Monte Cristo
PLOT
The series
of events
in a
narrative (story)
Narratives follow a plot line …
Plot Line
_____________
_____________
Plot
Line
_____________
A. Exposition
_____________
Plot
Line
_____________
A. Exposition
Key characters,
setting, and basic
situation are
introduced. Tone
and mood are
established.
_____________
Plot
Line
_____________
A. Exposition
Key characters,
setting, and basic
situation are
introduced. Tone
and mood are
established.
_____________
B. Narrative Hook
Plot
Line
_____________
A. Exposition
Key characters,
setting, and basic
situation are
introduced. Tone
and mood are
established.
_____________
B. Narrative Hook
The author hopes to “grab”
or “hook” your attention.
The conflict is introduced.
Plot Line
C. Rising Action
_____________
A. Exposition
Key characters,
setting, and basic
situation are
introduced. Tone
and mood are
established.
_____________
B. Narrative Hook
The author hopes to
“grab” or “hook” your
attention. The
conflict is introduced.
Plot Line
C. Rising Action
A series of conflicts that
build upon each other …
the protagonist must
address the conflict.
_____________
A. Exposition
Key characters,
setting, and basic
situation are
introduced. Tone
and mood are
established.
_____________
B. Narrative Hook
The author hopes to
“grab” or “hook” your
attention. The
conflict is introduced.
Plot Line
D. Climax
C. Rising Action
A series of conflicts that
build upon each other …
the protagonist must
address the conflict.
_____________
A. Exposition
Key characters,
setting, and basic
situation are
introduced. Tone
and mood are
established.
_____________
B. Narrative Hook
The author hopes to
“grab” or “hook” your
attention. The
conflict is introduced.
Plot Line
D. Climax
The turning point of the story in which the
character directly addresses the conflict.
Highest point of tension …
C. Rising Action
A series of conflicts that
build upon each other …
the protagonist must
address the conflict.
_____________
A. Exposition
Key characters,
setting, and basic
situation are
introduced. Tone
and mood are
established.
_____________
B. Narrative Hook
The author hopes to
“grab” or “hook” your
attention. The
conflict is introduced.
Plot Line
D. Climax
The turning point of the story in which the
character directly addresses the conflict.
Highest point of tension …
C. Rising Action
A series of conflicts that
build upon each other …
the protagonist must
address the conflict.
_____________
A. Exposition
Key characters,
setting, and basic
situation are
introduced. Tone
and mood are
established.
E. Falling Action
_____________
B. Narrative Hook
The author hopes to
“grab” or “hook” your
attention. The
conflict is introduced.
Plot Line
D. Climax
The turning point of the story in which the
character directly addresses the conflict.
Highest point of tension …
C. Rising Action
A series of conflicts that
build upon each other …
the protagonist must
address the conflict.
_____________
A. Exposition
Key characters,
setting, and basic
situation are
introduced. Tone
and mood are
established.
E. Falling Action
The events that occur as a result
of the climatic event … events
leading to the denouement
_____________
B. Narrative Hook
The author hopes to
“grab” or “hook” your
attention. The
conflict is introduced.
Plot Line
D. Climax
The turning point of the story in which the
character directly addresses the conflict.
Highest point of tension …
C. Rising Action
A series of conflicts that
build upon each other …
the protagonist must
address the conflict.
_____________
A. Exposition
Key characters,
setting, and basic
situation are
introduced. Tone
and mood are
established.
E. Falling Action
The events that occur as a result
of the climatic event … events
leading to the denouement
_____________
B. Narrative Hook
The author hopes to
“grab” or “hook” your
attention. The
conflict is introduced.
F. Denouement
“The Bet”
by Anton Chekhov
1. A priori: something is considered true,
without being tested.
2. Frivolous (adj): not serious; care-free
3. Trifle (noun): little value; not important
4. Compulsory (adj): required; mandatory
5. Caprice (noun): whimsical; sudden,
unpredictable change
6. Threshold (noun): entrance of a house;
starting point
7. Zealous (adj): diligent; ardently active;
devoted
8. Procured (verb): to get something; to
obtain
9. Immense (adj): gargantuan; vast;
huge
10. Indiscriminately (adverb): lacking
judgment
11. Treatise (noun): formal essay …
systemically written
12. Spar (noun): a pole used as a mast;
nautical gear
13. Groped (verb): to search blindly
14. Bedstead (noun): framework for a bed:
supports the bedspring and mattress
15. Emaciated (adj): wasted; puny; gaunt;
sickly
16. Cleaving (verb): splitting; to separate
“I have watched from there the lightning
flashing over my head and cleaving the
storm-clouds”
17. Illusory (adj): deceptive; misleading
18. Renounce (verb): to give up formally
ALLUSION
The Real Reason the Lawyer Left Early
“The Gettysburg Address”
Abraham Lincoln
delivered this speech
on Thursday,
November 19, 1863, at
the dedication of the
Soldier’s National
Cemetery in
Gettysburg,
Pennsylvania - four
and a half months after
the Union armies
defeated those of the
Confederacy at the
decisive Battle of
Gettysburg.
The only confirmed photo of
Abraham Lincoln at Gettysburg
(circled), taken about noon, just
after Lincoln arrived …
“The Gettysburg Address”
Mood: the feeling you get as you
read a book or watch a movie
Movie: Music creates the mood
Book: Diction (word choice) creates the
mood
How do you create mood in a
piece of writing?
1. Connotation: the emotional associations a
word or words have for the reader
2. Imagery: the words form a
picture in your mind
What images do you see/hear?
How do you create mood in a
piece of writing?
1. Connotation: the emotional
associations a word or words
have for the reader
Highlight the words by using different
colors: dedicated, consecrate,
devotion
How do you create mood in a
piece of writing?
1.
2.
Connotation: the emotional associations a word or words have for the
reader
Imagery: the words form a picture in your mind
3. Figurative Language: words
mean more than just what they
say … simile, metaphor,
personification.
What type of figurative language do
you see on line 5?
How do you create mood in a
piece of writing?
1.
2.
3.
Connotation: the emotional associations a word or words have for
the reader
Imagery: the words form a picture in your mind
Figurative Language: words mean more than just what they say …
simile, metaphor, personification
4. Sound Effects:
words/phrases that appeal to
the sense of hearing.
Repetition!!!
What is the Lincoln’s purpose in
delivering “The Gettysburg Address”?
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson
Questions as you read …
• Note the mood at the beginning of the story
… how does it change?
• Based on inferences, who controls the town?
• Why are the townspeople holding the
lottery?
• Why don’t they stop?
• Is the lottery democratic?
• What does Mrs. Delacroix’s stone symbolize?
THEMES
• Evil disguised as good
• Prejudice and Hypocrisy
• Minds slipping the bonds of reality
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How does “The Lottery” prevent the
breakdown of society in this community?
2. What are the roles in this society?
3. How does this society use “scapegoats”?
Are there any examples in our society of
using “scapegoats”?