Short Story Elements Analysis
Character:
- Protagonist:
- Antagonist:
- Dynamitic Character:
- Static Character:
- Flat Character:
- Round Character:
Plot:
- Exposition (Introduction):
- Rising Action (includes conflict):
- Climax (turning point) :
- Falling Action:
- Resolution:
Conflict:
- Man vs Man
- Man vs Self:
- External conflict:
- Internal conflict:
- Man vs Nature:
- Man vs Society:
Point of View:
- First Person:
- Third Person:
Irony:
Foreshadowing:
Plot/Setting:
Theme:
Suspense:
Short Story Elements – Vocabulary
Character: Person in a story
- Protagonist: Person who drives the action- main character
- Antagonist: The opponent of the main character- causes the conflict
Character Analysis:
Static: stays the same
Dynamic: Changes
Flat: stereotyped/one sided
Round: multi-faceted
Plot: the events that make up a story
- Exposition (Introduction): situation, setting, characters
- Rising Action: conflicts and complicating events that lead up to
the climax
- Climax: Tense minute where the reader realizes the outcome
- Falling action: results of the climax and previous decisions (very
short in a short story)
- Resolution/conclusion/denouement: all the problems are done
(good or bad)
Conflict: struggle or problem between opposing forces
- External Conflict:
- Man vs Man: A situation in which two characters have opposing
desires or interests. The typical scenario is a conflict between the
protagonist and antagonist. This is an external conflict. Most
thrillers and mysteries have this type of conflict.
- Man vs Nature: In this type of conflict, a character is tormented
by natural forces such as storms or animals.
- Man vs Society: struggle is with an outside force
- Man vs Self ( Internal & External):
- Internal conflict: struggle takes place within the character
(greed, jealousy, etc…) this conflict develops from a protagonist’s
inner struggles, and may depend on a character trying to decide
between good and evil or overcome self-doubts. This conflict has
both internal and external aspects, as obstacles outside the
protagonist force the protagonist to deal with inner issues.
Narrator: Person created by the author to tell you the story
Point of View: vantage point from which the narrator tells the story
- First Person: the narrator is in the story (uses I)
- Third Person: narrator is not in the story but zooms in on ONE
character who is (like a parrot on his shoulder – uses he, she,
they)
Foreshadowing: hints or clues about what is coming later
Setting: time and place of a story
Theme: the main idea of a story
Suspense: anxiety about what will happen next in a story
Connotation
All the meanings associated with a word
Denotation
Literal meaning of the word
The dictionary definition