Short Stories

1. Short Stories The long, and SHORT of it!

2. Setting • Can be used to set the atmosphere for the story: • “During the hole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country.” “The Fall of the House of Usher” Edgar Allan Poe

3. Plot • Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows an arrangement of events and actions within a story.

4. Plot Diagram Climax Falling Action Rising Action Resolution Exposition

5. Exposition • The start of the story, the situation before the actions starts. • Most but not all of the setting is included in this part.

6. Rising Action • This is the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax of the story.

7. Climax • This is the turning point, the most intense moment, either mentally or in actions.

8. Falling Action • This is the events that follow the Climax and bring about a closure to preceding events. It ties up most loose ends.

9. Resolution • The close of the story, or the conclusion. All loose ends are tied and all events are brought to a close.

10. Characters • Protagonist: • The main character in a literary work • Ex: Harry Potter, Bella Swan, or Cinderella • Antagonist: • The character who opposes the protagonist • Ex: Voldemort, Victoria/Volturi, or the Wicked Stepmother

11. Point of View • The perspective from which the story is told. • Who is telling the story? • How do we know what is happening?

12. First Person • The story is told from the viewpoint of one of the characters, using the first person pronoun “I.” • “The thousands of injuries of Fortunato I had borne as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I give utterance to a threat.” “The Cask of Amontillado” Edgar Allan Poe

13. Third Person Omniscient • The story is told from the viewpoint of the author directly. You know everything that everyone else knows.

14. Third Person Limited • Third person limited point of view is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented only externally. Third person limited grants a writer more freedom than first person, but less than third person omniscient.

15. Mood • The climate of feeling in a literary work. The choice of setting, objects, details, images, and words all contribute toward creating a specific mood.

16. Tone • The authors attitude, stated or implied, toward a subject. • Ex: • Optimism • Humorous • Seriousness • Bitterness

17. Theme • The central idea or central message of the story. It usually contains some insight into the human condition—telling something about humans and life • The theme can be stated directly or implied by the events and actions in the story.

18. Conflict • The dramatic struggle between two forces in story. Without conflict, there is no plot. • Types of Conflict • Interpersonal • Human vs Human • Human vs Nature • Human vs Society • Internal • Human vs Self

19. Symbol • Something that represents an idea, quality, or concept larger than itself. • Ex: • Lion symbolizes courage • A red rose symbolizes love

20. Irony • Ironyis an implied discrepancy between what is said and what is meant.Three kinds of irony: • 1. verbal irony is when an author says one thing and means something else. • 2. dramatic irony is when an audience perceives something that a character in the literature does not know. • 3. irony of situation is a discrepancy between the expected result and actual results.

21. Personification • Giving non-human things human characteristics. • EX: Hey Diddle, Diddle, the cat and the fiddle. The cow jumped over the moon; the little dog laughed to see such sport. And the dish ran away with the spoon. - Mother Goose • My Computer hates me. • The camera loves me. • Opportunity knocked on the door.