SHORT STORY UNIT Lots of fun to come!

Element of a Short Story PlotCharacterSettingTheme Point of View

Plot Plot is like an old-fashion roller coaster.  The actual events that that occur within a story  This happened. Then, that happened. And, you would not believe what happened next. Exposition Rising Action Falling Action Climax Resolution

Plot Sometimes stories have subplots which involve conflicts of lesser importance.  The plot of the story includes:  exposition-background setting, characters, and conflicts  rising action-building suspense  climax-peak of suspense and turning point of the story  falling action- easing of tension  resolution-tying up of story’s loose ends.

Three order’s in which a story can be told:  Chronological ABCD  Flashback C happened which reminds me of AB then we come back to D  Overlapping AB happened to Character #1, AB happened to Character # 2, CD happened to Character # 1, CD happened to Character #2

Two Types of Conflict  man vs. self: if the character struggles with something inside himself, usually a moral issue.  man vs. nature, man vs. society, man vs. man : the character struggles with something outside himself- an outside force that does not have to be human. Internal ConflictExternal Conflict

Point of View (3 types)  First Person uses I or me; is a character within the story and is involved in the action. This is a biased point of view because you only get one character’s views and opinions.

Point of View  Third person limited (WATCHING OUTSIDE) uses he, she, they; is NOT a character within the story- not involved in the action; only has limited view of what happens (can’t get inside the character’s heads.) Example: If someone was standing outside our classroom and telling a story of what was going on inside.

Point of View  Third Person Omniscient (ALL KNOWING) uses he, she, they; is NOT a character within the story and is not involved in the action; almost like a psychic - the narrator can read the characters’ minds. The narrator does not have to read all of the characters minds, but at least 2 to be considered Omniscient.

 Is the underlying message about life or human nature that the writer shares with the reader.  Must be stated in a complete sentence. For example the theme of a story is not “love.” The theme could be… “Love will conquer all.” The theme can be either: Stated Theme: a message that is directly stated or immediately obvious to the reader Implied Theme: a message that is not stated and must be inferred (searched out) by the reader

Characters and Characterization  Who is in the story: could be people, animals, pencils that talk, ect… We learn about Characters TWO ways: 1.) Direct characterization: the narrator tells you about a character i.e.: She was beautiful but quite stupid.

Characterization  2) Indirect Characterization: you find out about the characters personality traits through what they say, what others say about them (dialogue), and through their actions. i.e: Jane said, “Look at the way the boys flirt with Ashley, just because she’s so good-looking. I don’t understand what they see in her, I mean, she can’t even add 2+2.”

Characters  Protagonist- is the character who struggles for something. The protagonist is the hero of the story  Antagonist- is the character who struggles against something, usually the protagonist.

Setting  when and where the story takes place Where does the story take place: England A castle When: 1998 Christmas 4:00 a.m.

Setting  Cultural Setting: religion, morals, customs, ect.  Historical Setting: if the story takes place during a significant event in history (i.e.: WWII)

Short Story Terms to Define  Foreshadowing  Irony  Mood  Suspense  Static character  Round character  Dynamic character  Flat character