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THE SHORT STORY. A short story. Is a brief work of FICTION One main character faces a CONFLICT The conflict is resolved in the PLOT. There are 5 major elements in every short story. Plot Setting Characters Point of view Theme. The plot. The sequence of EVENTS
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A short story • Is a brief work of FICTION • One main character faces a CONFLICT • The conflict is resolved in the PLOT
There are 5 major elements in every short story • Plot • Setting • Characters • Point of view • Theme
The plot • The sequence of EVENTS • Involves CHARACTERS and a problem (CONFLICT) • Has 7 basic parts
CLIMAX MOMENT OF DISCOVERY RISING ACTION STORY TITLE FALLING ACTION INCITING INCIDENT RESOLUTION EXPOSITION
CLIMAX High point of interest or suspense MOMENT OF DISCOVERY The “ah-ha!” for the character RISING ACTION All the events leading up to the climax STORY TITLE FALLING ACTION All the events after the climax leading to the resolution INCITING INCIDENT Sets the plot in motion RESOLUTION EXPOSITION The conflict is resolved Introduces setting, characters, situation
CLIMAX High point of interest or suspense MOMENT OF DISCOVERY The “ah-ha!” for the character RISING ACTION All the events leading up to the climax FALLING ACTION STORY TITLE All the events after the climax leading to the resolution INCITING INCIDENT Sets the plot in motion RESOLUTION EXPOSITION The conflict is resolved Introduces setting, characters, situation
The setting • The TIME of the story including HISTORICAL PERIOD, YEAR, SEASON, TIME OF DAY • WHERE the story takes place including geographical LOCATION (region, country, state, town), SOCIAL, ECONOMIC, CULTURAL environment • Presents the EXISTING SITUATION • Provides a PROBLEM the characters must face and overcome
Characters • The people or animals who PARTICIPATE IN THE ACTION • Details are revealed through: • physical DESCRIPTION • words (WHAT THE CHARACTER SAYS) • actions (WHAT THE CHARACTER DOES) • interactions with others (WHAT OTHERS SAY ABOUT THE CHARACTER)
Point of view • The vantage point from which the story is told • First-person narration: • the narrator is a character IN THE ACTION • uses first-person pronouns; I, ME, WE • Third-person narration: • the story-teller REPORTS events • the story-teller DOES NOT TAKE PART in the action
THEME • The CENTRAL MESSAGE or INSIGHT INTO LIFE; the LESSON to be learned • A GENERALIZATION about people or about life • The main idea
The theme can be: • STATED DIRECTLY • The author expresses the theme directly in a sentence or two. • IMPLIED • The reader must “read between the lines” and decide what the work is saying about the nature of people or life.
Read between the lines to find the theme by analyzing: The TITLE = clues to the main idea The SETTING = details revealing the author’s attitude toward the world in general The PLOT = conflict and resolution of the conflict The CHARACTERS = actions, traits, motivations, moment of discovery, conclusions they draw
There are 5 major elements in every short story • Plot • Setting • Characters • Point of view • Theme