SHORT STORY
• A work of fiction that usually can be read in one
sitting.
• Has one main conflict, a few characters, and limited
detail.
• Largely a product of the writer’s imagination with
made-up characters and events. However, the
characters, events, and places in a short story often
reflect the real world.
READING A SHORT STORY
• Question
• Predict & Infer
• Use what information you have to draw conclusions and to
assess what could happen next.
• Clarify
• Pay close attention to detail and analyze how a writer develops
each element and technique used.
• Summarize
• Pull It Together
• Determine the central point or insight of the story. What did it
mean to you? React to it. Did you like it? Why or Why not? Key
to understanding the story is with your feelings.
STORY ELEMENTS
• Plot: the plan of action, the arrangement of events in a
story. Plot comes from a….
• Conflict: struggle between opposing forces.
• Character: the people or animals who take part in the
action
• Point of View: the angle or perspective from which a story is
told
• Setting: where and when the action takes place
• Theme: the message of the story. An insight into life
revealed by the story. Theme is conveyed through the
characters, setting, and plot.
PLOT
• A series of connected, related events. Framework of a story.
• Like links in a chain
• “Hooks” our curiosity
• Read to find out “what happens next”— creates suspense
• Based on conflict
• Things to keep in mind:
• Picture the action that is unfolding.
• Be aware of the order in which events take place.
• Identify the conflict and note details that move the plot
forward.
• Think about the structure of the plot, the way that the
events fit together to make an interesting story.
PLOT CHART/FREYTAG’S PYRAMID
PLOT CHART/FREYTAG’S PYRAMID
EXPOSITION
• Introductory material
• Creates the tone of the story
• Sets the scene
• Introduces and identifies characters
• Establishes the situation at the beginning of the story
Example: The Lion King
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HwSKkKrUzUk
EXPOSITION
• In The Lion King, what do we learn from the
exposition?
 Setting: African plains, Pride Rock, many animals
 All animals show loyalty to lions and come
together for birth of new lion
 Mufasa well-respected, Rafiki is his advisor
 “Circle of Life” – order and balance
PLOT CHART/FREYTAG’S PYRAMID
RISING ACTION
• Events that introduce central conflict(s)
• We begin to learn more about the characters and their
struggles.
• What it isn’t: The big conflict itself or the background
information.
 The rising action can last for a while as we build up
to a pivotal conflict.
RISING ACTION
• In The Lion King, what are some of the events of the
rising action?
 Mufasa dies,
 Scar takes over,
 Simba leaves his kingdom,
 He meets some animal friends,
 And eventually decides to return.
PLOT CHART/FREYTAG’S PYRAMID
CLIMAX
• The point of greatest interest or highest excitement
• The turning point
• This moment determines all remaining events of the
story
CLIMAX
• In The Lion King, what is the climax?
 Fight between Simba and Scar
PLOT CHART/FREYTAG’S PYRAMID
FALLING ACTION
• Events which lead to the resolution of the conflict
• Tying up of loose ends
 Can last for a while until we see a definite
resolution to the story.
• A shift from how things were before the climax and
how things have become after.
FALLING ACTION
• In The Lion King, what are some of the events of the
falling action?
 Hyenas abandon Scar
 Begins to rain, literally and figuratively cleansing
the kingdom
PLOT CHART/FREYTAG’S PYRAMID
RESOLUTION/DENOUEMENT
• Literally the “un-knotting”
• The end of the story
• The solving of the conflict
 We get an idea about what it’s going to be like after
the story ends.
 CHANGE marks the resolution.
RESOLUTION/DENOUEMENT
• In The Lion King, what is the resolution?
 Simba and Nala have a cub
 Hope for the future
 Final CHANGE from the rule of the evil Scar
QUICK CHECK
Complete the Freytag model using scenes of The Tortoise
and the Hare with your partner.
Answer Key: 8, 1, 3, 4, 6, 7, 2, 5
PLOT TECHNIQUES
Non-Linear Plot: Events are NOT revealed in the order
that they occurred.
Flashback: a scene within the story that interrupts
the sequence of events to reveal something that
happened at an earlier time
Foreshadowing: hints or clues early on that suggest
things that will happen later in the story
 What purpose might an author have to incorporate a
non-linear plot element?
Create mystery, tension, or surprise
QUICK CHECK: AESOP’S FABLES
One fine summer day, Grasshopper was hopping about in the field. As he
chirped and danced, he spied Ant carrying a big kernel of corn to his nest.
Grasshopper watched as Ant came back, lifted another kernel, then
carried it to the nest as well. This happened repeatedly. Finally,
Grasshopper asked, "Ant, why do you work so hard on such a lovely day?"
"Soon it will be winter," replied Ant. "I'm gathering food for my family. I suggest
you do the same!"
"Why bother about winter?" asked Grasshopper. "There's plenty of food in the
fields now!"
Ant remembered last winter and how deep snow had covered everything.
There had been no way to get out of his anthill, let alone try to find food!
Now, an even worse winter was predicted. "You'll feel differently when the
big snow comes!" said Ant, as he shook his head and walked away.
When winter came, Grasshopper had no food. The fields were covered with
deep snow. Grasshopper was very hungry and sad, knowing that Ant had
food enough because he had worked hard to prepare in advance.
QUICK CHECK: AESOP’S FABLES
1. What is the flashback that the author uses in this
story?
“Ant remembered last winter and how deep snow had covered
everything. There had been no way to get out of his anthill, let
alone try to find food! Now, an even worse winter was predicted.”
2. What was the author’s purpose in using the flashback
with this specific character?
The author’s purpose was to prove that the Ant was proactive in
preparing for the winter because of what he experienced in the
past.
3. What is foreshadowed in this story? Give the specific
text where the author uses foreshadowing.
"Soon it will be winter," replied Ant. "I'm gathering food for my
family. I suggest you do the same!“
"You'll feel differently when the big snow comes!" said Ant, as he
shook his head and walked away.
SETTING
The setting is the 1. TIME and 2. PLACE of a work of
literature.
Things to keep in mind for TIME: season; year in history;
(past, present, or future)
Things to keep in mind for PLACE: social, political,
economic issues of the setting; how the environment
affects the characters
Setting can be specific or broad.
SETTING
• Functions of a setting:
 Helps create the mood of a story
 Tells us about the context of the story.
 Can trigger an action or cause conflict
• Try to picture the setting when you read.
• Notice how it influences the plot or the characters.
Think about the mood that it creates. Assess the
importance of setting by deciding whether the
same story could happen in any other time or
place.
QUICK CHECK
1. How would Harry Potter be different if they only lived in the
Muggle world?
2. How would a story of our classroom go if we were on a
beach?
3. How would your favorite MTV show be different if it took
place 50 years ago? 500 years ago?
4. How would the books you read in school be different if they
were set in the future?
See how setting impacts the story?
“The Most Dangerous Game”
Pre-Reading – English I Honors
Directions: a) Decide if you agree or disagree with each
statement. b) Write a response paragraph (5-7 complete
sentences) for each that explains your opinion and connects
the statements to your own life.
1. Those who perform well under pressure tend to succeed.
2. A person’s character is revealed during intense competition.
3. The first impression you have of someone is always correct.
THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
• Author: Richard Connell (1893 – 1949)
• Sports reporter at age ten!
• By sixteen, he was editing his father’s newspaper in
New York
• Harvard University editor
• Enlisted WWI – editor division newspaper
• After the war – fiction, movie screenplays
• 1924—The Most Dangerous Game (movie in 1932)
• Received two Academy Award nominations for his
work.
THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
• Setting: Ship-Trap island
• Characters: Whitney, Rainsford, General Zaroff, Ivan
• Rainsford—main character. Celebrated hunter
• Culture of big game hunting
• practiced by all cultures, more so than farming
• Humankind’s occupation for more than half a
million years
• Traits required – cooperation, organization,
aggression
• Hunting large wild animals – ultimate test of skill
• Now a subject of controversy (endangered species)
THE MOST DANGEROUS GAME
Topics -
• Hunters vs. the hunted
 Role reversal
• Murder vs. hunting
 Is there a difference?
• Humanity
 Are human beings really civilized?
• Suspense
• Defined as curiosity, uncertainty, anxiety about the outcome
of events
• Place characters in tense, risky or unpredictable situations
• Provide hints, keep reader guessing
THEME
Theme: Life lesson, meaning, moral, or message about life or
human nature that is communicated by a literary work.
 In other words…Theme is what the story teaches
readers.
A theme is not a word, it is a sentence.
 You don’t have to agree with the theme to identify it.
Examples:
 Money can’t buy happiness.
 Don’t judge people based on the surface.
 It is better to die free than live under tyranny.
THEME
Themes are not explicit (clearly stated). Themes are implied.
Themes are bigger than the story.
Not “love.” Not “revenge.”
Think BIGGER. Find “Real” World advice.
“Love can sometimes be hard.” “Revenge creates more problems
than solutions.”
Small
World
of the
Story
Big World of the Theme.
Applies to the “Real” World.
THEME
To be a true theme, the truth or comment must apply to
people or to life in general, not just the characters in
the book.
For example, “In Beauty and the Beast, Belle learns
that true beauty comes from within,” only applies to
the story.
Instead, express the theme like this: “In Beauty and
the Beast, we learn through Belle and the beast that
true beauty comes from within.”
THEME
Difference between theme and subject:
• Subject: what a work is about. It can usually be
expressed in one word. For example, “Love” is a
subject of Romeo and Juliet.
• Theme: What does the work say about the subject? It
should be a complete sentence or statement. For
example, “In Romeo and Juliet, we learn that teen
romance can be a stronger force than family ties.”
THEME
Multiple themes are possible for any literary work, BUT
they must be supported by textual evidence.
In order for a theme to be justified, there must be
specific, concrete evidence from the text. For
example, if your potential theme statement is that
“Poverty creates tough, self-reliant people,” then the
book should contain examples of poor characters
who develop toughness and self- reliance.
THEME
Finding the theme:
What is the subject?
What does the book say, or teach us, about the
subject?
How does the work communicate the theme? In
other words, what specific details, characters,
actions, incidents, etc, suggest the truth of the
theme statement?
QUICK CHECK – What is the theme?
In his sophomore year of high school, Michael Jordan tried
out for the varsity basketball team at Laney High School in
Wilmington, North Carolina. But at five feet and eleven
inches tall, the coach believed that Jordan was too short to
play at that level, so Jordan was cut from the team. Jordan
didn’t let this obstacle defeat him. In fact, it pushed him to
work even harder. He trained vigorously and grew another
four inches the following summer. When he finally made
the varsity squad, Jordan averaged 25 points a game and
went on to become one of the greatest basketball players in
history.
POINT OF VIEW
• Who is telling the story?
• Narrator: a story’s voice
• The writer’s choice of narrator determines the story’s
point of view, which directs the type and amount of
information revealed.
 Who would be the narrator of the story of your life?
 Who would be the narrator of WWII?
 Who would be the narrator of the history of
mankind?
POINT OF VIEW
• To determine
POV, you must
consider the
pronoun case
of your narrator.
First-Person
I, me, my, mine, we, us,
ours,
SecondPerson
you, your
Third-Person
he, she, her, they, them
(also character's
names)
POINT OF VIEW
• First Person
• One of the characters in a story
• We can only know what this person sees and hears
about events and about other characters (which can
create bias).
• Second Person
 Used for directions (recipes, manuals, etc)
POINT OF VIEW
• Third Person Omniscient – “all knowing”
• Not a character in the story
• Can tell us everything about every character
(including how they think and feel)
• Third Person Limited – focus on one character
• Not a character in the story
• We witness the events of a story just as this one
character witnesses them.
• Third Person Objective
• Narrator does not reveal any character’s thoughts or
feelings.
• Only dialogue and actions are narrated.
POINT OF VIEW
Tips on Identifying:
Check 1st or 2nd-person before worrying about
objective, limited, or omniscient.
Ask, “Who’s story is the narrator telling: his, mine, or
someone else’s?”
Focus on narration not dialogue.
Quick Check – What is the POV?
One of the most active volcanoes in Cook Inlet is
Augustine, whose symmetrical cone rises 1,254
meters above the sea. Since Captain James Cook
discovered and named it in 1778, Augustine has
erupted in 1812, 1883, 1935, 1963-64, 1976, and
1986. Curiously, the quiet intervals between these
eruptions apparently have shortened from 70 to 10
years.
Third Person Objective
Quick Check – What is the POV?
“You were lying inside the hut,” my father told me. “A tiny baby at
your mother’s side. A stream of people came in to see you. But
Grandma Sumah was there, and you know what she’s like…She
had your faced covered. ‘Please can we see the baby’s face?’
people kept asking. But Grandma just scowled at them and
muttered something about protecting you from the Evil Eye.” The
Evil Eye is a curse that all Zaghawa—and many other Muslims—
believe in with fervor. With my mother resting, Grandma Sumah
was looking after me, and she was very superstitious. She didn’t
want anyone looking at me too closely, just in case they had bad
intentions and gave me the Evil Eye.
First Person
Quick Check – What is the POV?
Before applying the screen protector, clean the surface
of your phone’s screen with a soft cloth. Once the
surface of your screen is clean, remove the paper
backing on the screen protector. Evenly apply the
sticky side of the screen protector to your phone’s
screen. Smooth out any air bubble trapped on
between the protector and the phone screen. Enjoy
the added protection.
Second Person
Quick Check – What is the POV?
Dr. Miller doesn’t want the tigers to vanish. These majestic
beasts are disappearing at an alarming rate. Dr. Miller
thinks that we should write to our congress people. If we
let them know that we demand the preservation of this
species, maybe we can make a difference. Dr. Miller also
thinks that we should donate to Save the Tigers. Our
donations will help to support and empower those who are
fighting the hardest to preserve the tigers. He thinks that
we owe it to our grandchildren to do something.
Third Person Limited
CHARACTER
• Protagonist
• Main character
• This is the character we focus our attention on, the
person who sets the plot in motion.
• Always a well-rounded character that learns
something by the end of the story,
• Often, but not always, the hero.
• Example: Superman
• Antagonist
• The character or force that blocks the protagonist
• Often the villain
• Example: Lex Luthor
CHARACTER
Dynamic Characters
 Experience a change or shift in attitude and behavior
during the course of a literary work.
 (not literal change, like a haircut, but a change in values
or beliefs—sometimes a new understanding or sense of
awareness)
Static Characters
 Do not change. Attitudes and behavior remain
essentially stable or the same throughout the literary
work. Hold the same beliefs or opinions in the end as
they did at the beginning of the story.
Change in circumstance does not produce a dynamic
character – only if the changes in one’s circumstance
(whether good or bad) causes the change in the character.
Quick Check – Dynamic or Static?
Bert, a bumbling salesman, never takes the time to
organize his files, properly record his sales, or follow up
with customers. Finally, his boss gets fed up and fires him.
Bert struggles for two months to find a new sales position.
During that time, his car is repossessed for nonpayment
and he maxes out his credit cards. Bert finally finds a new
sales position but, before a week passes, he is called into a
conference with his new boss. Bert is informed he must get
organized or he’ll be fired. A week later the new boss fires
Bert after he fails to follow up with an important customer.
Static
CHARACTER
Round Characters
If something is round (like a globe), does it have much
depth to it? YES!
A round character is one who shows many different
traits – faults and virtues.
Flat Characters
If something is flat, does it have much depth to it? No!
A flat character is one who only shows one trait.
Quick Check – Round or Flat?
A character in a story named Elaine never cuts
anybody a break. She tells her friends and coworkers
that charity and compassion have no place in society.
On the other hand, Elaine can never pass up feeding a
stray kitten or puppy, and always tries to find a good
home for lost or abandoned pets.
Round
CHARACTER
• Creating Characters=Characterization
 These are the qualities that make up a particular
character.
 We can also think of characterization as the
character’s personality, values, beliefs, and
development.
• Examples –
 Batman: just, resourceful, intelligent, caring,
passionate, steadfast, strong
 Katniss Everdeen: intelligent, strong, caring, selfless
• Can be DIRECT or INDIRECT
 Depends on whether or not the author tells us the
characteristics of a character
CHARACTER
Direct Characterization – the narrator tells us directly
what a character is like and what their motives are.
 Ebenezer Scrooge was very stingy with his money.
Indirect Characterization – we make inferences about
characters based on what we learn about them
indirectly.
• 1. Speech – the most obvious: tone of voice, choice
of words/connotation
• 2. Appearance – looks, sounds, physical traits
• 3. Character’s Private Thoughts
• 4. How other people feel about them.
• 5. Actions – what we see them doing.
CONFLICT
• Struggle or clash between opposing characters OR
forces
• Conflict represented in varying forms: arguments,
battles, fights, struggles, decisions, etc.
• Internal vs. External
INTERNAL CONFLICT
• Man vs. self
• This is the only type of internal conflict
• This when the protagonist struggles with himself,
with his own soul, his own ideas of right and wrong,
physical limitations, etc.
EXTERNAL CONFLICT
• Struggle with forces outside of one’s self
• Man vs. man
• The protagonist struggles against other people.
• Man vs. society
• The protagonist struggles against ideas, practices,
rules, and customs of other people.
• Man vs. nature
 The protagonist struggles against storms, animals,
etc.
Quick Check – What type of conflict?
1. A student struggles to decide whether to study for his
math test or go to the big game.
Internal conflict – man vs. self
2. Batman fights against the Joker to save the people of
Gotham.
External conflict – man vs. man
3. Astronaut Mark Watney struggled against the perilous
Martian atmosphere while left stranded.
External conflict – man vs. nature