Short Stories What you need to know…

Story Terms Plot Character Theme Mood Point of View

Plot The plot is what happens in a story and how it happens.

Parts of a Plot Exposition – gives rise to conflict; arouses reader’s interest Rising Action – complicate or intensify the central conflict Climax – highest point of interest and emotional involvement in the story Falling Action – events that lead to resolution Resolution – final outcome of story

Conflict A clash of opposing forces (protagonist vs. antagonist). 1.Person vs. Person (external) 2.Person vs. Self (internal) 3.Person vs. Nature (external)

Setting The time and place where the action occurs. Details that describe: Scenery Dialects Weather Time of day Time of year “The widow she cried over me, and called me a poor lost lamb, and she called me a lot of other names, too, but she never meant no harm by it. She put me in them new clothes again, and I couldn’t do nothing but sweat and sweat, and feel all cramped up.” - The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

Characters Round – complex or presented in detail Dynamic – developing during course of story Flat – characterized by 1 or 2 traits Static – unchanged from beg. to end. Stock - stereotypical

Point of View First Person – “I” is the central character Third Person – Omniscient: author knows all of what is done, said, felt, thought by all characters – Limited Omniscient: author only provides insight into one character – Objective: author provides no comments on any characters or their actions

Theme A central message, concern, or insight into life Can be expressed by a one or two sentence statement about human beings or about life May be stated directly or implied Often requires interpretation to uncover