English 9 A short story elements (with elements of character), the day the Cisco kid shot John Wayne

static character

the character doesn't change during the story

conflicts

the struggle the characters are involved in (internal or external ).

Flat Character

A character seen in only one way; only one side of the personality is revealed

premonition

A warning in advance

3rd Person Omniscient Point of View

All-knowing third person narrator who can tell readers what any character things or feels

Static Character

Characters who don't change throughout story

internal conflict

INSIDE A CHARACTER conscience decision

external conflict

OUTSIDE A CHARACTER character vs. character character vs. nature character vs. technology character vs. society

dramatic irony

The audience knows something the character does not. There is a contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true.

1st person Point of View

When a character in the story tells the story (I lived on Main street.)

Dynamic Character

a character who develops or changes through the course of the story

situational irony

a contrast between what the audience and a character expect and what actually happens

dialogue

a conversation between two characters

genre

a division or type of literature; there are three major genres: prose, poetry, drama

nonentity

a person or thing of no importance

archetype

a recurring and familiiar pattern in literature (i.d. villain, underdog, damsel in distress)

allusion

a reference to a well-known person, place, event, and/or literary work

flashback

a section of a literary work that interrupts the sequence of events to relate an event from an earlier time

laggard

a slow person, especially one who falls behind

narrator

a speaker or character who tells the story

rising action

all the events that lead up to the climax

Denouement

any events that occur after the resolution

Narrative

any writing that tells a story

Theme

central message or insight of life revealed

denotation

dictionary meaning

change

does the character change, learn or grow during the story?

falling action

eases tension, shows how main character resolves conflict; end of the central conflict

apprehensive

fearful or anxious, especially about the future

dialect

form of language spoken by people in a particular region or group

foreboding

giving a feeling that something bad will happen

protagonist

hero, central character; the "Good guy"

climax

high point of interest in a literary work; ; the "ah ha" moment

foreshadowing

hints in the text that lead the reader to think or see something coming up

maliciously

in a way that shows hatred and a desire to harm somebody or hurt their feelings

exposition

introduces the setting, the characters and the basic situation (conflict)

exasperation

irritation, frustration

Indirect Characterization

it is up to the reader to draw conclusions about the character based on indirect information such as dialogue, action, thoughts or other characters

symbol

literary device where something stands for or represents something else

character

person or animal who takes part in action of a literary work

plot

sequence of events in a literary work

conflict

struggle between opposing forces

antagonist

the "Bad guy": villian; character who works AGAINST protagonist

mood

the atmosphere or feeling created in the reader by a literary work or passage

Direct Characterization

the author directly states the character's traits

dynamic character

the character does change during the story, and reacts to change in a dynamic way

personality

the way a character acts

tone

the writer's attitude toward her/her audience and subject; it can described as formal, informal, serious, playful, bitter, or ironic

connotation

thoughts/feelings associated with a word

ominous

threatening

setting

time and place of action of the story's action

scrutinize

to examine closely

appearance

what a character looks like, what they wear, etc.the outside self that other people judge the character by

3rd Person Limited Point of View

when a voice outside the story narrates the story, but only through one character's eyes.

background

where the character is from, the school they go to, experiences the character has gone through in their life

relationships

who is the character related to? (family) /who are their friends? how does the character relate to others?

motivation

why the character does what he/she does

verbal irony

words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant

imagery

words or phrases that appeal to one or more of the five senses

Fiction

writing that tells of imaginary characters and events; made up stories; false written work