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
