Short Stories and Elements of Story What to look for and how to find it

Parts and Pieces

Plot Diagram: Exposition Rising Action Turning Point Climax Falling Action Conclusion

Plot Diagram: Exposition Background What happens BEFORE the story begins Example: In Cinderella, her mother is dead. Her father is remarried and after his death, she is relegated to the kitchen by her evil stepmother. Example: In Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress, the characters are in re-education camp. Prior to the story they are friends and have loves in the city. The lives they led are exposition.

Plot Diagram: Rising Action The events in the story What happens IN the story Example: For example, the rising action in Cinderella would be her performing her duties in the kitchen and cleaning for her family. Also, hearing about the ball and wanting to go dance. Example: In Things Fall Apart, the rising action is everything up to the point where Okonkwo kills the messenger in Part 3.

Plot Diagram: Turning Point A point in the story where things change. Example: In the fairy tale, Cinderella makes it to the ball with the help of her fairy godmother. Example: In Things Fall Apart this would be when Okonkwo has to go into exile because of inadvertently killing the boy at the funeral.

Plot Diagram: Climax Climax Climax is the point of greatest tension in a work of literature Occurs after the rising action and before the falling action.  Example: In Cinderella this would be when the shoe fits. Example: In Things Fall Apart this would be when Okonkwo kills the messenger in Part 3.

Plot Diagram: Falling Action Otherwise known as the “Denouement” The falling action in a work of literature is the sequence of events that follow the climax and end in the resolution. This is in contrast to the rising action which leads up to the plot's climax. Example: In Cinderella this is when Cinderella gets to marry the prince. Example: In Things Fall Apart this is when Okonkwo’s body is found by the white men.

Plot Diagram: Closure/ Conclusion the sense of completion or resolution at the end of a literary work or part of a work. excludes the claims of other interpretations. Example: “And they lived happily ever after.” Example: In Things Fall Apart, the District Commissioner decides to include Okonkwo as a paragraph in his work.

Setting the time, place, physical details, and circumstances in which a situation occurs. Settings include the background, atmosphere or environment in which characters live and move, and usually include physical characteristics of the surroundings. Settings enables the reader to better envision how a story unfolds by relating necessary physical details of a piece of literature.

Point of View (POV) A way the events of a story are conveyed to the reader, First-person point of view is in use when a character narrates the story with I-me-my-mine in his or her speech. Second-person point of view, in which the author uses you and your, is rare; authors seldom speak directly to the reader. Third-person point of view is that of an outsider looking at the action. The writer may choose third-person omniscient, in which the thoughts of every character are open to the reader, or third-person limited, in which the reader enters only one character's mind, either throughout the entire work or in a specific section. Third-person limited differs from first-person because the author's voice, not the character's voice, is what you hear in the descriptive passages.

Characters A person who is responsible for the thoughts and actions within a story, poem, or other literature. Characters are extremely important because they are the medium through which a reader interacts with a piece of literature. A protagonist is considered to be the main character or lead figure in a novel, play, story, or poem. It may also be referred to as the "hero" of a work. An Antagonist is the character in a story or poem who deceives, frustrates, or works again the main character in some way. The antagonist doesn’t necessarily have to be a person. It could be death, the devil, an illness, or any challenge that prevents the main character from living “happily ever after."

Background/ Cultural Context the behaviors and beliefs characteristic of a particular social, ethnic, or age group Social Example: the drug culture, the skateboard culture, the intellectual culture Ethnic Example: American, Chinese, Greek, the Age group Example: youth culture, Generation X,

Themes/ Lessons What theme is: What theme is not: Theme is the meaning released by the work when we take all aspects of the work in its entirety into account. It is an aspect of human experience that the author wishes to express. What theme is not: It is not the "moral" of the story…It is more than this! It is not a "hidden meaning" that needs to be pulled out of the story. Discovering theme: Theme can be discovered only by becoming aware of the relations among the parts of a story and of the relations of the parts to a whole:

Author’s Tone/ Style Tone is the stylistic means by which an author conveys his/her attitude(s) in a work of literature. Tone is an integral part of a work’s meaning because it controls the reader’s response which is essential to fully experiencing literature. Examples of TONE words: simple, straightforward, direct, unambiguous, candid, indirect, understated, evasive, allusive, complicated, complex, difficult, admiring, worshiping, approving, complimentary, proud, disliking, abhorring, contemptuous, strident, harsh, acerbic, angry, outraged, violent, forceful, powerful, confident, energetic, vibrant, ironic, sardonic, sarcastic, mocking, satirical, critical, sharp, biting, cynical

Make Connections and Enjoy! Meaning is the most important part of a story. Make it meaningful and look for connections to your life.