Plot and Setting
Notes
RIGHT SIDE




You can read a short story in one
setting.
A short story is less than 40 pages.
Short stories are written in prose.
Everything but poetry is written in
prose.
What is Setting?



Where and when the story takes place
Can be real or imaginary
Described by using imagery
– Language that appeals to the five senses
 Sight
 Hearing
 Touch
 Smell
 Taste
Three Elements of Setting:

Location
– The geographical location the story takes place.

Environment
– The type of surroundings in which the story
takes place.

Time
– The time in history (or the future) in which the
story takes place.
PLEASE NOTE: Many of these elements
intertwine in writing and aren’t “distinct.”
Setting

Sets the story’s mood and atmosphere
A dark and stormy night
A bright, sunny day
A castle on the
edge of a cliff
Clock Buddies !!
(3 MIN)
Make your clock buddy appointments.
12:00
3:00
6:00
9:00
Keep this sheet in your notebook!
12:00 Clock Activity:
(3 min)


Think of a place you have been.
Describe the setting to your partner
and see if he or she can guess where
and when your setting is.
Setting and Characters



The setting helps the reader better
understand the characters.
Characters interact with the setting to
show and tell the story.
Setting helps the reader share what
the characters see, hear, smell, and
touch.
Setting and Plot




The setting supports the plot and
should make sense.
Plot is the organized pattern or
sequence of events that make up a
story.
Each event causes or leads to the
next.
Some events foreshadow other
events.
Types of Linear Plots
Plots can be told in:
-Chronological order Most stories are told in
chronological order, the order in which events happen
in real time.
-Flashback when the story begins with a character
speaking as he or she remembers events from a past
experience
-In media res (in the middle of things) when the story
starts in the middle of the action without exposition
Five stages of Plot





Exposition- introduces the story’s
characters, setting, and conflict.
Rising Action- occurs as complications,
twists, or intensifications of the conflict
occur.
Climax- is the emotional high point of the
story.
Falling Action- is the logical result of the
climax.
Resolution- presents the final outcome of
the story.
Five stages of Plot
(3 min)

LEFT SIDE
Draw and label a plot diagram
showing its five stages
3
2
4
1
5
Exit Slip

Without looking at your notes, list the
three elements of setting.
Stick it on the wall
Review




What are the three elements of
setting?
Everything but _______ is written in
prose.
The setting supports the _____.
Label this plot diagram
Understanding Conflict



Plot is often created through conflict
Conflict is what drives the plot of a
story
What are the two kinds of conflict?
– External= outside forces
– Internal= emotions & fears
Denotation vs. Connotations



Different words have double meanings
Denotation is the dictionary meaning of a
word.
Connotation is the emotions or feelings
associated with a word.
The word Dinky has emotional overtones
whereas the word Small does not.
T: “The Most Dangerous Game”
A: Richard Connell
G: short story
-What do you think the
word “Game” in the title
means?
-What does the title
suggest that the story
will be about?
Below are some words associated with the story. With your
group make a prediction about the story and use all the
words in a paragraph. Share predictions with class. (5 min)
"The Most Dangerous Game"
Survival
Mansion
Copy and write a synonym for
each vocabulary word on pg. 4
(5 min)





Receding
Disarming
Prolonged
Imprudent
surmounted





LEFT SIDE
Unruffled
Invariably
Diverting
Impulse
Protruding
Study for Vocabulary Test !!
As a class, Review/Study
Vocabulary page 4





Does a man with a receding hairline have
much hair?
Would a disarming leader be able to calm
an angry crowd?
Would you be displeased if a vacation was
prolonged?
Is it imprudent for bicyclists to wear
helmets?
Would you admire a person who
surmounted a difficulty?
Review/Study
Vocabulary Continued





Is an easygoing person likely to remain
unruffled during a crisis?
Would you be surprised if someone who was
invariably late arrived halfway through a party?
If a critic calls a play diverting, did he enjoy it?
Would a timid animal often have the impulse to
run?
Would a careful construction worker leave a
nail protruding from a floorboard?
Brain Break
Sports Galore !!
Mimic the sport:













􀂾
􀂾
􀂾
􀂾
􀂾
􀂾
􀂾
􀂾
􀂾
􀂾
􀂾
􀂾
􀂾
Shooting a jump shot
Running through tires
Batting a baseball
Serving a tennis ball
Downhill skiing
Spiking a volleyball
Swinging a golf club
Throwing a football
Juggling a soccer ball
Shooting an arrow
Swimming underwater
Fielding a ground ball and throwing it to first base
Dunking a basketball
Plot and Setting
Literary Terms
Pg. 1019











(10 min)
Study for Test !!
Plot
 Foreshadowing
Exposition
 Suspense
Internal Conflict
 Details
External Conflict
 Comparison
Climax
 Contrast
Resolution
 Flash-forward
Setting
 Narrative Fiction
Mood/Atmosphere
 Short Story
Main Idea
 Third-Person Narration
Prose
(point of view)
Chronological order
 Theme
Interactive Notebook
Quickwrite (5 min) LEFT SIDE

Value of Life-When is it okay to take
life away? Describe a situation when
this would be considered okay.
Kinesthetic
Pre-reading Survey

Answer Agree/Disagree to the following
statements:
–
–
–
–
–
–
___
___
___
___
___
___
Hunting is a sport.
Animals have no feelings.
Hunting is evil.
Hunting is unfair.
Strength is more important than intelligence.
Bringing a gun to a knife fight is fair.
T: “The Most Dangerous Game”
A: Richard Connell
G: short story
pages 4-25
Complete vocabulary
section of study guide
Things to think about as you read
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
Identify the setting at the beginning of the work.
Rainsford has no sympathy for __________.
What happened to Rainsford when he reached for his
pipe?
What’s the first thing Rainsford does when he reaches
shore?
What does General Zaroff think “are the attributes of an
ideal quarry”?
What is the conflict between Rainsford and Zaroff on
page 13?
Interactive Notebook
9:00 Clock Activity
(5 min)


LEFT SIDE
Compare & Contrast the main characters by
completing a Venn diagram.
Write details that tell how the subjects are different
in the outer circles. Write details that tell how the
subjects are alike where the circles overlap.
Different
Rainsford
Same
Different
General Zaroff
Remember This?

Without looking at your notes,
explain the difference between
external and internal conflicts on
your post-it note and stick it on the
wall.
Literary Term
Word Splat (Quiz Tomorrow!!)

Exposition

Foreshadowing

External Conflict

Mood/Atmosphere

Contrast

Internal Conflict

Resolution

Comparison

Prose

Flash-forward
Interactive Notebook
Quickwrite
(5 min)
LEFT SIDE

Fear-How does fear impact our
decision making? What fear have you
had to overcome in order to complete
a task?
Things to think about as you read
continued:
7. Zaroff’s human quarry usually consist of
___________.
8. What are the directions (rules) for the game? (page
16)
9. What type of “collection” does Zaroff want to show
Rainsford? (pg. 16)
10.What causes Rainsford to become the hunted?
11. How is Zaroff wounded? (page 20)
12. How does Rainsford trap one of Zaroff’s hounds?
13. How and where does the game end? What is meant
by “I am still a beast at bay?” Who wins?
Review Foreshadowing
Class Activity:
Match each event in the first column
with the event in the second column that it foreshadows.
1.
2.
3.
4.
Whitney tells
Rainsford about the
evil reputation of the
island.
The island is called
Ship-Trap Island, and
sailors fear it.
Zaroff tells Rainsford
that he has found a
new, more dangerous
animal to hunt.
Zaroff knows that
Rainsford is a famous
big game hunter.
a.
b.
c.
d.
The most dangerous
game that Zaroff
hunts is human
beings.
Zaroff hunts
Rainsford.
Rainsford falls
overboard and swims
to the island.
Zaroff traps ships and
captures sailors, who
serve as his prey.
Finish Your Study Guide
(10 min)
Open Note Quiz Tomorrow!!

You will be able to use YOUR study
guide tomorrow on the test so make
sure it is completed.
Format for a Plot Diagram
Homework: (Create a plot diagram for “The Most
Dangerous Game” by using this format)
Climax-- point
where the
protagonist
changes
Rising Action – 3
details that
summarize the
story
Exposition --introduces
the characters,
background and setting
Setting:
Protagonist:
Antagonist:
Examples
of Conflicts
Man Vs. Nature
Man Vs. Man
Man Vs. Self
LEFT SIDE
Falling action -- one
detail about what
leads to the end of
the conflict
Resolution -- the
end of the
conflict
Theme:
Point of View:
Exit SlipEvaluate which is the dynamic, static, and
subordinate character.
Explain your answer on your post-it note and
stick it on the wall.
Ivan
Zaroff
Rainsford
Review Homework:
Basic Situation
(Exposition)
The famous hunter, Sanger Rainsford,
falls overboard and swims to Ship Trap
Island. Owner of the island, General
Zaroff, hunts men for sport. He will
hunt Rainsford.
Setting
Ship Trap Island
Caribbean
Jungle
Protagonist-Antagonist
Question: Who is causing the conflicts?
This person is our antagonist!
Answer: Zaroff
Question: Who is facing the conflicts?
This person is our protagonist!
Answer: Rainsford
Rising Action-Main Events
1. Rainsford hides up a tree. Zaroff lets
him escape.
2. Rainsford builds a Malay man-catcher
which wounds Zaroff.
3. Rainsford builds a Burmese tiger pit.
It kills one of Zaroff’s dogs.
Rising Action-Main Events
4. Rainsford builds a Ugandan knife
trap. It kills Ivan.
5. Rainsford dives into the sea.
6. Zaroff goes home, believing he has
won the game.
Climax
Question: What is the highest point of
tension and suspense in the
story?
Answer: Rainsford confronts Zaroff
in his bedroom.
Falling Action

Rainsford and Zaroff fight!
Resolution (denouement)
Question: How does the story end?
Answer: Rainsford sleeps in Zaroff’s
bed. Rainsford has killed
Zaroff.
Theme

You can not understand what it is like
for others until you truly walk in their
shoes.
Point of View
Who is telling the story? Is it a character in
the story? If not it is a third person narrator.
Can we get into the minds of all characters
and know their thoughts? If so then it is an
omniscient narrator. If not it is a limited
narrator because we are limited to knowing
one character’s thoughts.
3:00 Clock Activity:
(30 min)

Using what you know about plot and
setting, create a plot map for ShipTrap Island. You must label your
map. You will be given a rubric. You
must include all parts to get all
possible points.
Honors: Creative Writing
(You will be given a rubric.)
Create and write an alternate ending to “The Most
Dangerous Game” utilizing (and identifying within
your text) the following three poetic devices:
simile, metaphor & imagery. Minimum: 1 page
typed (double spaced) Underline your similes.
Circle your metaphor and italicize your examples of
imagery! Incorporate the following:
 Utilize the quote…He had never slept in a better
bed, Rainsford decided somewhere in your
paper.
 3 similes
 1 metaphor
 5 examples of imagery (1 example for each
sense…taste, touch, smell, sight and sound)
Study for Test!!
Study all vocabulary, literary terms,
and notes