Parts of the Short Story English

The Setting The setting is where and when the story takes place –General Setting – Time period, geographic area, level of realism –Specific Setting – An office, an apartment, a spaceship

Characters Characters are the people, animals, or things that the story is about –Main Character – the primary and most important characters in the movie; these characters are affected by the story –Supporting characters – characters that have smaller parts; these characters affect the story

Characters, continued –Protagonist – The “good guy,” the hero, the main character –Antagonist – The “bad guy,” the person who stands in the way of the protagonist

Character Types –Round – A character who resembles a real person; a character who changes and acts as a real person would –Flat – A character who does not change or experience emotional growth –Stock – A cliched character; a type of character you have seen before Example – McDonald’s worker, cab driver, storm trooper

Point of View From what perspective is the story told? –First person – POV of the main character, uses “I” –Second person – POV of the reader, uses “you” –Third person – POV of an outside observer, uses “he” & “she” Limited – the observer can only “see” what happens Omniscient – the observer knows the characters’ thoughts, can “see” inside their heads

Plot The plot of the story is what happens in the story Almost every plot is based on a conflict –Person vs. Person –Person vs. Self –Person vs. Nature –Person vs. Society

The Plot Curve Exposition – Beginning of the story; characters are introduced, setting is established, tone and mood are set Rising Action – The conflict begins; the protagonist works towards settling the conflict Climax – The pinnacle of the story; the protagonist solves the conflict (or doesn’t)

Plot Curve, continued Falling Action – The specifics of the climax play out; what happens as a result of the climax Resolution (Denouement) – Loose ends are wrapped up; the reader sees the new and changed protagonist; life goes on

Tone, Mood, Theme Tone – The attitude of the author toward the story – sarcastic, anger, affection, approval, disapproval Mood – The emotion of the story – happy, sad, depressing, tragic Theme – The main point of the story – what message does the story send?