1. Minds On Is it important to have an identity?
What are some ways in which people are “identified” in their lives?
Extension:
Are there any short story elements (e.g., keywords) that you’re unsure about? That you did not understand?

3. Elements of the Short Story A short story is a work of fiction that can be read in one sitting. Usually only deals with one issue, one set of characters.

4. How do authors use literary terms?
To know what literary terms are.
To understand the importance of literary terms when analyzing short stories.
To be able to practise using a literary elements in one’s analysis of a short story.

5. Minds-On2
Step 1 – Write your group member’s names on the sheet of paper in front of you.
Step 2 – Make a brainstorm of all of the literary terms that you can remember.
Step 3 – When the time is up pass your brainstorm to the next table beside you, and continue the brainstorm.
Each table will have 20-seconds to write as many literary terms as possible.

6. Key Elements for Analysis
Any aspect of a story, even the title, can be analyzed for meaning. The key areas of study are:
Plot: what is happening
Setting: when and where it is happening
Character: who it is happening to
Narrative Point of View: who is telling the story
Theme: what does the author want the audience to learn

7. Plot
The plot is the pattern of events that occur in a story. Their importance can be described on a Plot Graph, or they can be examined sequentially on a Time Line.

8. Elements of a Plot
1) Introduction: also called the exposition: the opening of a piece of writing - usually gives a brief description of the setting, and sets up the inciting force: the event or force that sets in motion the rising action of the story.
2) Rising Action: the complication of action: establishes the specific conflict(s) between characters; can occur often.
3) Climax: the most emotional moment, the turning-point.
4) Falling Action: when conflict begins to be resolved.
5) Resolution/Conclusion: also called the denouement: the outcome of the story.

9. Development of the plot can often incorporate a device called foreshadowing. This is when hints or clues are given about what is going to happen later in the story.
- What would happen, or what do we hear before this scene?

10. Setting
The setting is the background against which the action of the story takes place. The elements that make up the setting are: 1) the location (physical environment), and 2) the time (of day, season, etc.) or time-period (18th C).

11. Setting- atmosphere
The setting will give the reader a general understanding of the atmosphere of the story... eg. Eerie, evil, serene. Often described using imagery devices: simile, metaphor, personification, pathetic fallacy, etc.

12. Setting can be used to connect the external world to the internal world of the characters’ emotions. This technique is called Pathetic Fallacy.

13. Characters
The character is a brief descriptive sketch of a real or imaginary person in a story. Level of detail may vary dependant upon how important the character is. They may be primary, secondary, or even tertiary.

14. Types of characters:
Round characters: deep, many personality traits.
Flat characters: shallow, very few personality traits.
3) Dynamic characters: undergo changes through the story, show evidence of growth, of learning a lesson.
4) Static characters: do not change throughout the story.
5) Stereotypes: often used as stock characters.

15. Main characters
Protagonist: The main character in the work, and the most important person. Usually trying to achieve a goal. Not necessarily a Hero or the Good Guy.
Antagonist: The character directly opposed to the protagonist (a rival, opponent, or enemy of the protagonist). Usually engaged in preventing the protagonist from achieving his or her goal. Not necessarily a Villain or the Bad Guy.

16. Characterization How we learn about characters: Dialogue:
What a character says.
What others characters say to, or about a character.
Action:
What a character does – can suggest motivation and can reveal a character’s moral and beliefs.
How a character interacts with others.
Description:
What the author/narrator tells us about a character.

17. Conflict
Conflict is the struggle that grows out of the battle between two opposing forces.

18. Types of Conflict Internal Conflict
Character vs.: Self – inner struggle within a character; torn between needs/wants, desire/morals or beliefs
Fate – a struggle for choice; fighting against one’s supposed destiny (could also be influenced by external forces)
External Conflict
Character vs.: Character – between two (or more) characters
Nature – between characters and the elements, usually tied to the setting.
Supernatural – char. vs. ghosts/spirits/god(s)
Machine – characters and their creations
Society – between characters and the demands of society

19. Narrative Point of View
The vantage point or perspective from which an author presents a story as told by a narrator

20. First-person p.o.v.
The first-person storyteller will tell a tale that involves him/herself in it. The storyteller will use words like “I” and “me”, “we” and “us”, and is usually the protagonist.

21. Second-person p.o.v.
The second-person narrative is rare, as it creates a story that draws the reader into the story as the main character, using the “You” perspective.

22. Third-person p.o.v.
The third person storyteller will tell a story about others (He, She, They). The narrator often knows everything about the people in their story: Omniscient, but may be Limited: only knowing about one character in detail.

23. Theme
The theme of a story is the central idea, but not the general topic... a love story does not simply have a theme of Love. Instead, we must ask ourselves what is it about love that we are supposed to learn or understand?
Often revealed through: a story’s title, key phrases and statements about big ideas, the ways the characters change and the lessons they learn about life.

24. The theme usually relates to the moral of the story (what we are supposed to learn), and it is usually not stated outright. Instead, it is inferred, suggested, or hinted at; we must read-between-the-lines
Relates to the differences between:
Implicit versus Explicit
Connotation versus Denotation.

25. …when something unexpected happens; a weird twist.
Irony
…when something unexpected happens; a weird twist.
There are three types of irony:
Situational – when something happens that is not supposed to happen
Dramatic – when the audience knows something that the characters are unaware of
Verbal – when the speaker intends a meaning that is different than what is actually said

26. Symbolism
Symbolism is the use of one person, place, activity, or object to represent or suggest another. e.g. a crown symbolizes royalty or power, a rose means love, white is pure, youth represents innocence, rings are said to symbolize unity/continuity, and red can represent danger, or love.

27. What is tone?
Tone is:
The attitude that an author takes toward the audience, the subject, or the character
Conveyed through the author’s words and detail; to know the tone of a piece of writing requires you to make inferences.
Welcome class

28. Words that describe tone
POSITIVE
NEGATIVE
NEUTRAL
Optimistic
Formal
Humorous , witty
- Amused, Cheerful
Joyful, jubilant, jocular ,
Complimentary
Compassionate:
- Reverent; respectful
- Pessimistic
Informal
Sarcastic, Ironic -Critical
Threatening, Horror
Foreboding, Ominous
Nonchalant, Indifferent
- Disgruntled
- Detached, objective
- Authoritative:
- straightforward:
- matter-of-fact
- Candid
Disinterested/
impartial

29. What does objective mean? What does subjective mean?
When analyzing an essay, you should focus on whether the author is objective or subjective.
What does objective mean?
What does subjective mean?
Objective: (of a person or their judgment) not influenced by personal feelings or opinions in considering and representing facts; impartial; dispassionate.
Subjective is the opposite of objective, which refers to things that are more clear-cut. That Earth has one moon is objective — it's a fact. Whether the moon is pretty or not is subjective — not everyone will agree. Facts are objective, but opinions are subjective.

30. At Her Majesty’s Request p. 17
“The girl remembered little from the raid at Okeadan in which she had been captured. She knew her parents had been killed. She had no idea what had happened to her brothers and sisters. Much of what she had experienced had been so horrible that she had simply shut it out of her mind ”
At Her Majesty’s Request p. 17
Happy
Joyful
Sad
Angry

31. Because of Winn-Dixie p. 36
“ the next minute, Winn-Dixie looked like a furry bullet, shooting across the building, chasing that mouse. He was barking and his feet were skidding all over the polished Pick-It-Quick floor, and people were clapping and hollering and pointing. They really went wild when Winn-Dixie actually caught the mouse.”
Because of Winn-Dixie p. 36
Enthusiastic
Sad
Objective
Impartial

32. “By nightfall on Monday, the center of the storm had barely moved, and icy winds of hurricane force swept across an area from Virginia up to Nova Scotia, Canada. The wind was so powerful that in Liberty, New York, the local train station had its roof entirely ripped off …”
Blizzard p . 56
Enthusiastic
Sad
Objective
Subjective

33. Kind/Benevolent Hostile Humorous Sarcastic
“Dana grinned malevolently. His teeth were nubby and yellow, like an old barn dog’s. Kneeling on Roy’s chest, he hauled back to hit him again.” Hoot p. 184
Kind/Benevolent
Hostile
Humorous
Sarcastic

34. The end