Short Story Unit Plot – the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story. – Revolves around a conflict (or problem) 5 Stages – Exposition – Rising Action – Climax – Falling Action – Resolution

Exposition – Introduces characters, setting, and conflict Rising Action – Builds suspense as conflict becomes clear Climax – Point of greatest suspense – Point when conflict is solved 5 Stages of Plot (Exposition/Rising Action/Climax)

5 Stages of Plot (Falling Action/Resolution) Falling Action – Shows the effects of the climax – Describes what happens to characters next Resolution – Answers any remaining questions related to the plot

Irony – The effect created when there is a sharp contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually happens. Example: a fire at the fire station – How was the ending of “The Turtle” ironic? – How about “The Dinner Party”?

Conflict – The struggle between opposing characters or forces that is central to the action of a literary work. Two kinds – External Character struggles against another character, society, or force of nature. – Internal Character struggles with an issue or problem within his or her own mind.

Conflict In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina was making its way toward New Orleans. Residents faced both kinds of conflict. – Internal: As the storm got closer, residents had to make a decision whether or not to pack up and leave their homes or stay and ride out the storm. – External: Once the storm hit, the residents were battling nature for survival as flood waters rose and wind battered their houses.

Characterization Direct Characterization – When an author tells you how a character looks, behaves, and thinks. Example: Mark is a generous person. Indirect Characterization – When an author lets the audience draw their own conclusions about a character by the way they speak or act or how others react to the character. – Audience needs to make an inference. Example: Mark spent his weekend working at a soup kitchen.

Characters There are two kinds of characters: – Dynamic A character is one who changes throughout a story. – Ebenezer Scrooge is an example because he was a miserly and miserable at the beginning of A Christmas Carol. – Static A character is one who stays the same throughout a story. – Bob Cratchit is a static character because he was a friendly, hard working guy at the beginning of the story and he still is when the story ends.

Theme – The underlying idea the writer wishes to convey about that subject. In A Christmas Carol, one possible theme could be: – It’s never too late to make a change in your life.

Dialect – The form of a language spoken by people in a particular region or group. Example: In Ohio, people don’t refer to soda as soda, they call it pop. – Writers use dialect to make writing more authentic. – An author may use dialect to help provide characterization for his/her characters in a story. If you want a 14 year old kid (Theodore Boone, for example) to sound very smart, the author will have him using a large vocabulary. This lets the reader know that the kid is smarter than average.

Tone – An author’s attitude towards a subject. During your Book Talks, many of you wrote about how you couldn’t wait to read another book by this author. That reveals a positive tone towards the subject (in this case, your book).

Mood – The emotional effect or feeling that an author creates in a literary work. Think about “Lather and Nothing Else” – Mood of that story was tense and suspenseful – Hernando Tellez kept you on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what was going to happen.

Foreshadowing – The author’s use of clues to hint at what might happen later in the story – builds the readers’ expectations and creates suspense – Example: When Paul woke up this morning, he had no idea this would be the most important day of his life.

Turning Points Turning Point – a point in time when something happens that causes a shift or a permanent change in direction Example: What if Mr. White had never taken the monkey’s paw, or if he had never made a wish? Mr. White accepting the monkey’s paw and wishing on it was a turning point in the story. – What was a turning point in “Lather and Nothing Else?”