Unit 1:Short Story Unit

Introductionand

Literary Terms

Short Story Literary Terms

short story plot conflict characters setting

characterization antagonist protagonist

symbol theme irony point-of-viewtone

mood imagery dialogue dynamic character

foreshadowing static character diction

flat character round character

What is a Short Story?

0A short story is a brief work of fiction meant to be read in one sitting.

0 It is a work of fiction created from the writer’s imagination and personal vision.

0Due to the length of a story (usually between 500 and 10,000 words), it must be crafted in a concise, compact manner that accomplishes its purpose in relatively few words.

Plot0A story’s plot is its

series of related events. 0Throughout the course

of a story’s plot, events unfold, build to a climax (or high point), and are then brought to a conclusion.

What are some of the key elements of a short story?

Some of the key elements of a short story are:• Plot• Conflict• Characters• Setting• Symbols, and • Theme

The plot consists of:

0The exposition 0The rising action 0The climax0The falling action And0The resolution

CONFLICT

There are two main types of conflict in literature:

0An external conflict is a struggle with an outside force:

Man v. ManMan v. SocietyMan v. Nature

0An internal conflict is a struggle within the mind of one character.

A struggle between opposing forces.

External Conflict!Man v. Man

External Conflict!Man v. Nature

Internal ConflictMan v. Self

Characters

0The characters in a story are the personalities who participate in the action

0Usually, story characters are human beings, but they can also be animals or even objects.

Characterization

0The act of creating and developing a character.

Writers use these methods of characterization to tell readers about characters:

0Providing descriptions of what characters look like.

0Describing characters’ words and actions

0Showing characters interaction with one another

0Sharing characters’ thoughts and feelings.

Setting

0The setting of a story is the time and place of the action.

Protagonist & Antagonist

Protagonist Antagonist

0The protagonist is the main character in a literary work.

(The protagonist is not necessarily a good guy, but simply the main character.)

0 The antagonist is a character or force in conflict with a main character, or protagonist.

(The protagonist is not necessary a bad guy, but simply in conflict with the main character, the protagonist)

SymbolFor example, a flag is a piece of cloth, but it also represents the idea of a country.(The American Flag also represents a sense of freedom.)

A symbol is anything that stands for something else.

Theme

0A theme is a central message or insight into life that the author is trying to convey.

0 Examples of Themes:

You reap what you sow.Being kind to others pays

off in the end.The grass is not always

greener on the other side.Be grateful for what you

have.Never judge a book by it’s

cover.

Irony

0 Irony is the difference between appearance and reality, or expectation and result.

There are 3 types of irony:

→

0 Verbal Irony – when words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant.

0 Situational Irony – an event occurs that directly contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience.

0 Dramatic Irony – there is a contradiction between what the character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true.

Point of View (POV)

0Point of view is the perspective, or vantage point, from which a story is told.

01st person point of view – narrator is part of the story and uses the pronoun “I”.

03rd person point of view – the narrator is not a part of the story and uses the pronouns “he”, “she”, “they,” etc.

Tone

0The tone of a literary work is the writer’s attitude toward his or her audience and subject.

The tone can often be described by a single adjective, such as formal or informal, serious or playful, bitter or ironic, etc.

Mood

0Mood, is the feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage.

Often the mood can be described in a single word, such as lighthearted, frightening, eerie, or despairing.

Imagery

0 Imagery is the descriptive or figurative language used in literature to create word pictures for the reader.

0These pictures, or images, are created by details of: sight sound taste touch smell

Dialogue

0A dialogue is a conversation between characters that may reveal their traits and advance the action of a narrative.

Diction

0 Diction is your choice and arrangement of words.

Diction is influenced by audience, purpose, and occasion.

Your diction may be casual, formal, technical, simple, or complex.

Examples:

Formal Diction“To my horror, I realized that I had absentmindedly mailed the urgent letter without a stamp.”

Casual DictionOops, I must have goofed and forgotten to put a stamp on that!

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing is the use in a literary work of clues that suggest events that will happen later in the story.