SHORT STORY UNIT

Lots of fun to come!

Element of a Short Story

Plot

Plot is like an old-fashion roller coaster.

The actual events that that occur within a story

This happened. Then, that happened. And, you would not believe what happened next.

Exposition

Rising Action Falling Action

Climax

Resolution

Plot

Sometimes stories have subplots which involve conflicts of lesser importance.

The plot of the story includes:

exposition-background setting, characters, and conflicts

rising action-building suspense climax-peak of suspense and

turning point of the story falling action- easing of tension resolution-tying up of story’s

loose ends.

Three order’s in which a story can be told: Chronological ABCD Flashback C happened which reminds

me of AB then we come back to D Overlapping AB happened to Character

#1, AB happened to Character # 2, CD happened to Character # 1, CD happened to Character #2

Two Types of Conflict

man vs. self: if the character struggles with something inside himself, usually a moral issue.

man vs. nature, man vs. society, man vs. man : the character struggles with something outside himself- an outside force that does not have to be human.

Internal Conflict External Conflict

Point of View (3 types)

First Person uses I or me; is a character within the

story and is involved in the action. This is a biased point of view because you only get one character’s views and opinions.

Point of View

Third person limited (WATCHING OUTSIDE)

uses he, she, they; is NOT a character within the story- not involved in the action; only has limited view of what happens (can’t get inside the character’s heads.)

Example: If someone was standing outside our classroom and telling a story of what was going on inside.

Point of View

Third Person Omniscient (ALL KNOWING) uses he, she, they; is NOT a character

within the story and is not involved in the action; almost like a psychic - the narrator can read the characters’ minds. The narrator

does not have to read all of the characters minds, but at least 2 to be considered Omniscient.

Is the underlying message about life or human nature that the writer shares with the reader.

Must be stated in a complete sentence. For example the theme of a story is not “love.” The theme could be… “Love will conquer all.”

The theme can be either:Stated Theme: a message that is directly stated

or immediately obvious to the readerImplied Theme: a message that is not stated and

must be inferred (searched out) by the reader

Characters and Characterization Who is in the story: could be people,

animals, pencils that talk, ect…We learn about Characters TWO ways:

1.) Direct characterization: the narrator tells you about a character i.e.: She was beautiful but quite stupid.

Characterization

2) Indirect Characterization: you find out about the characters personality traits through what they say, what others say about them (dialogue), and through their actions.

i.e: Jane said, “Look at the way the boys flirt with Ashley, just because she’s so good-looking. I don’t understand what they see in her, I mean, she can’t even add 2+2.”

Characters

Protagonist- is the character who struggles for something. The protagonist is the hero of the story

Antagonist- is the character who struggles against something, usually the protagonist.

Setting

when and where the story takes placeWhere does the story take place:EnglandA castleWhen: 1998Christmas4:00 a.m.

Setting

Cultural Setting: religion, morals, customs, ect.

Historical Setting: if the story takes place during a significant event in history (i.e.: WWII)

Short Story Terms to Define

Foreshadowing Irony Mood Suspense Static character Round character Dynamic character Flat character