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Elements of a Short Story: Conflict, Plot, Characters, and Literary Devices

Learn about the essential elements of a short story, including conflict, plot, characters, and various literary devices such as foreshadowing, flashback, imagery, irony, diction, and suspense.

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Elements of a Short Story: Conflict, Plot, Characters, and Literary Devices

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  1. Unit: Literary Devices- 43 slides total

  2. Literary DevicesPart 1

  3. What makes a story short? Short stories are brief works of fiction in which a character faces a conflict that is resolvedin the plot of the story. Think about a 30 minute sitcom on TV; some sort of conflict occurs, but it’s always fixed by the end of the show

  4. Two important questions… • What is a conflict? • Why does every short story need to have a conflict?

  5. The problem or struggle in a story that triggers the action. There are 5 basic types of conflict. Conflict

  6. 1. Man v. Man 2. Man v. Himself Types of Conflict

  7. 4. Man v. Society 5. Man v. Nature 3. Man v. Fate

  8. Any struggle or problem that is going on within the character. How would we know a character in a story was having an internal conflict? Internal ConflictMan v. Himself / Herself

  9. Any struggle or problem that involves the character and any other person, thing or unknown force Man v. Man Man v. Nature Man v. Society Man v. Fate External Conflict

  10. Besides conflict, every short story needs to have a series of events that somehow connect to build the story. What is this called? (Hint: It’s made of 5 elements)

  11. - The action or sequence of events in a story - It is usually a series of related events that build up on one another as the story develops The Plot!

  12. Climax (Crisis, turning point, point of no return) Rising Action (complication) Falling Action Exposition Resolution Plot Line

  13. 1. Exposition(the beginning)– The background or situation surrounding the story, setting, characters 2. Rising action(introduction of conflict) - the series of struggles that builds a story toward a climax, the main conflict introduced 3. Climax(the high point)– the turning point, which marks a change, for the better or the worse, for the protagonist

  14. 4. Falling action(winding down) – part of the story that works out decisions reached during the climax 5. Resolution(the ending or denouement) – is part of the story in which the conflict is solved or resolved

  15. Ok, so now we have a plot with a conflict – what else does a short story need?

  16. Protagonist– Main, or focal, character in conflict with the antagonist Antagonist - The person or thing working against the protagonist (This could be a person or a force; even society’s expectations of the protagonist could be a force against him/her) Let’s talk about characters…

  17. Literary DevicesPart 2

  18. The lesson about life the author is trying to get across in a story Is the theme told to you directly at the end of a story or implied? Theme

  19. In the children’s book Charlotte’s Web, Charlotte, the spider, tells Wilbur, the pig, that all living things must die, and later on, she dies saving his life. The author was giving us a clue about what would happen later – what is that device called?

  20. Foreshadowing • The use in a literary work of clues that suggests events what will happen later in a story

  21. Flashback (this is almost the opposite of foreshadowing) • A flashback is when an author refers back to something that previously happened

  22. Imagery • The words used to appeal to the five senses. It creates word pictures in our minds while we read. “The east wind came whipping across the fields from higher ground. He stamped his and blew upon is hands. In the distance he could see the clay hills, white and clean, against the heavy pallor of the sky” (du Maurier 63). We can feel / hear the wind and see the hill s and sky in our minds!

  23. Setting • The time, place and background of the story. • The setting can change throughout a story What is the setting of your favorite movie? Your favorite book?

  24. Is using a word or phrase to mean the exact opposite of its literal or normal meaning. What’s good Ma? (be mature) What is the irony in this Vine? Irony

  25. Three Types of Irony Dramatic- a difference in what a character thinks and what the reader/audience knows is true Verbal- the writer says one thing and means another Situational- an event occurs that contradicts the expectations of the characters, the reader, or the audience Which type of irony was in the Vine clip?

  26. 3rd Block Stopped Here

  27. Do you speak the same in front of your grandma as you do in front of your friends? I certainly don’t. I don’t speak the same way in front you that I do at home.

  28. Probably not :) Authors choose their words carefully, too – this is called their diction

  29. Diction The author’s word choice, including the vocabulary used, the appropriateness of the words, and the vividness of the language. Why would a short story author have to choose their words very carefully?

  30. That moment when you’re in a scary movie, and you KNOW the bad guy is about to jump out from around the corner, and your heart starts pounding a little, and you start feeling a little nervous because you’re afraid of what is going to happen

  31. The uncertainty or anxiety we feel about what is going to happen next in a story That is called SUSPENSE

  32. - Is the method an author uses that reveals characters and their personalities Characterization

  33. Direct Characterization – a writer tells us directly what a character is like or what their motives are Example: The doctor was bald and quite impatient.

  34. Indirect Characterization – In which a writer shows us a character but allows us to interpret for ourselves the kind of person we are meeting How do authors use indirect characterization? • Speech • Appearance • Private thoughts • Actions and how others in the story feel about them

  35. Example: As the doctor’s head shone in the light, he tapped his pen on the clipboard while the patient slowly described his symptoms.

  36. Characters • Static character: A character who doesn’t change or learn a lesson during the story • Dynamic character: A character who develops and grows (changes) during the course of the story • Flat character: A character who shows only one trait throughout the story • Round character: A character who shows many traits in a story, both the good (virtues) and the bad (vices or faults)

  37. Literary ElementsPart 3 Symbolism, Tone, and Mood

  38. Person, place, thing, or event that stands both for itself and for something beyond itself. Public symbols are symbols that are widely recognized and accepted Can you think of any public symbols? Symbolism

  39. Symbolism, Literary Example

  40. Why would the eagle be chosen as a symbol of the United States? What metaphors exist within the symbol of the eagle when comparing it to a nation? 1. 2. 3. Symbolism

  41. Strength of an eagle’s wings… Sharp eyes… Largeness of the bird… Why do you think our forefathers chose the eagle over Benjamin Franklin’s proposed turkey? Symbolism

  42. - Tone is the attitude that an author takes toward the audience, the subject, or the character. - Tone is conveyed through the author's words and details. Tone

  43. - Mood is the emotions that you feel while you are reading. Some literature makes you feel sad, others joyful, and sometimes angry. Mood

  44. The End

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