Elements of a Short Story Genre- A type or category (of literature, film, etc.) Examples: novel, musical, drama….

Definition of Short Story “A brief fictional narrative, written in prose.” Fictional: Untrue Narrative: A Story Prose: Written in full sentences, paragraph style (as opposed to poetry )

History of the Short Story 1. The origin of man-oral tradition

Bible- parables: stories with morals/lessons

Greek/Roman Period Incidents/Epics

Middle Ages Knights Fables

1800’s Short Stories Edgar Allen Poe Washington Irving

The Short Story 1. Plot 2. Characters 3. Setting 4. Theme 5. Author’s Style

Plot The series of events (action) that takes place in a story. Rising Action- climax-denouement.

Plot Diagram Draw this on the bottom of your hand out Exposition Rising Action Climax Falling Action Resolution

Exposition The beginning of the story when we meet the characters and discover the conflict Setting; characters; conflict

Narrative Hook Catches the readers attention and makes the reader want to keep reading Maybe an introduction of the problem

Rising Action Events of the story that move the story along PLOT

Climax Turning point of the story. High point of interest

Falling Action The final events of the story that bring the story to a close

Resolution End of the story when readers figure out the theme and the solution to the conflict

Theme The author’s purpose for writing the story--the “message” that the reader receives.

Setting Time, place, historical background (other things going on in the time period, for example, the Civil War. Setting

Suspense Feeling of curiosity or uncertainty about the outcome of events in a story

Foreshadowing Events in the story that are used to suggests things that have yet to happen. Used to create suspense

Characterization Direct---author states character’s traits directly Indirect---author shows character’s personality through their actions, words, feelings, etc…

Characters We learn about a character through DADI Interaction with other characters. Description of the character Actions of the character Dialogue of the character

Characters Round Flat Static Dynamic

Characters can be either static or dynamic.

Static characters never change

Dynamic Characters change (psychological)

Characters can also be Round or Flat Shows many traits and/or flaws Only shows a single trait or flaw

Characters may be the protagonist (hero or…) An antagonist (villain)

Point of View 1st Person-Told by a character in the story. Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks: “My mama always said life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.”)

Point of View 3rd person limited- Told by an outside narrator-focus on one character 3 rd person omniscient-narrator is all knowing of other characters thought and motivations

Conflict Problem to be solved Five types:

Person vs. self Person vs. Person

Person vs. Nature Person vs. Society

Person vs. Higher Power

Complications Events that stand in the way of the conflict being resolved.

Imagery Use of words that appeal to the senses –Smell---the rancid odor of decaying flesh –Sight---the brilliant colors of the twilight sky –Taste---the flavor was that of dirty mud covered in moss

Symbolism Author uses something that represents more than what it is. Something stands for something else IE: The flag represents freedom, liberty, etc.

Allegory Story told that has more than one level of meaning Literal level---an eagle is a bird Symbolic level---the eagle represents freedom

Irony When the opposite happens from what you think would happen (situational)

Types of Irony Verbal---using words Situational---events Dramatic---audience knows something character doesn’t

Flashback Tell something that happened earlier

Inference Using information to draw conclusions about a character or situation

Author’s Style past current

Word Choice Vocabulary Sentence Structure Use of special devices (foreshadowing, flashback, personification)

Surprise ending Author’s Style

Mood For example: peaceful, threatening, scary

Parable Simple, brief narrative that teaches a lesson by using characters and events to stand for abstract ideas Watch this parable

Allusion Reference to something historical, societal, artistic, or otherwise famous/well-known