Short Story Introduction

What is a short story?

A brief tale that can be read in one sitting. - E. A. Poe

Foil Characters

A foil is a character who is contrasted with another character.

Plot

A sequence or order of events in a story. The "backbone" of the story!

Characterization

Act of creating and developing a character.

Rising Action

Action building to the major conflict.

Falling Action

All of the action occurring after the climax

Direct Characterization

Author directly states a character's traits.

Indirect Characterization

Author shows what a character is like by describing looks, actions, and what other characters say about him/her.

Force against the main character = Antagonist

Can be a person, feeling, or situation

Main character = Protagonist

Can be good or bad Plot must revolve around him or her.

Theme

Central message or insight into life revealed through the literary work. Message the author intends to convey through the story. Not a condensed summary of the plot.

Dynamic Characters

Changes in some important way

Internal Conflict

Character vs. himself or herself

Round Characters

Characters who are so thoroughly described (thoughts, feelings, etc.) they seem real

Flat Characters

Characters whose personalities are reliant upon stereotypes or who only show one or two personality features; underdeveloped.

Plot includes

Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, and Resolution.

External Conflict

External Conflict = character vs. outside force Character vs. Character Character vs. Society/Standards Character vs. Nature

First Person Narrator

First-person narrator The narrator is a character in the story Can only reveal personal thoughts and feelings and what he or she sees Can't tell us thoughts of other characters.

Exposition

Gives background information of story; tells how the story begins; introduces characters.

Characters

People that make up a story.

Point of View

Pertains to who tells the story and the relationship of the narrator to the characters in the story. There are several different ways for a story to be told.

Static Characters

Remain the same throughout the story

Elements of a Short Story

Setting, Plot, Characters, Point of View, Theme, Characterization, Conflict, and more!

Conflict

Struggle between opposing forces

Climax

The most dramatic point in the story; the turning point in the story. When you reach the climax of a story, you will feel the conflict is about to be resolved.

Third Person Omniscient

The narrator is an all-knowing outsider who can enter the minds of more than one of the characters—God-like narrator.

First Person Direct Narrator

The narrator is an outsider who can report only what he or she sees and hears. Can tell us what is happening, but he can't tell us the thoughts of the characters. This is like a reporter on the news telling the story.

Third Person Limited Narrator

The narrator is an outsider who sees into the mind of one of the characters...

Resolution

The set of events that bring the story to a close.

Setting

Time and place in which the work of literature occurs