1. Short Story Notes

2. Setting Check out the condition of the scene
Setting helps to establish the mood
Place and location
Look for specific details
Look for a season- they are symbolic
Spring- new life/relationship
Summer- height of life
Fall- dying/aging
Winter- death

3. Plot Exposition- setting, character, and conflict is revealed
Complication/Rising Action- conflict gets complicated
Climax- turning point of the story
Denouement/Resolution- conclusion/final outcome

4. Conflict- a problem External Internal A problem outside of self
Physical fight
Getting fired
Tornado
Internal
A struggle within the character’s mind
Self-esteem issues
Mental disease, depression

5. Four Kinds of Conflict Man vs. Nature- (external)
Man struggles against elements of nature
Shipwreck, tornado, global warming, survivalist
Man vs. Man- (external)
Two or more characters opposed against each other
Physical fight, campaign, competition
Man vs. Himself- (internal)
Character overcomes personal challenges
Battles depression, overcomes eating disorder, paranoia
Man vs. Society- (both)
A struggle against society's rules and habits
Civil rights, materialism

6. Character- a person in a work of fiction
Characteristics-
The way they look
Their personality
Revealed by
Actions, thoughts, and descriptions
Antagonist- the rival, bad guy, opposing force against the main character
Protagonist- the main character

7. Types of Characterization
Round- has many characteristics
Flat- very little description, stereotype
Dynamic- changes over the course of the story
Static- they stay the same

8. Point of View-perspective from which the story is told
1st person- told from the main character’s point of view
Uses I, we, me, my
3rd person- limited narrator, follow only 1 character
He, they, she
3rd person omniscient- a narrator that knows everything that is happening
God-like, even thoughts all the character’s thoughts

9. Theme The moral, or point of a story What is the story about?
What the author wants you to take away from it
General statement about life
NOT a summary sentence (include no story details)
What is the story about?
Pick a single word or phrase
What is the author saying about that aspect of life?
Subject + Claim + Explanation
Example- The family bond goes deeper than blood relations; they are the people there when everything falls apart.

10. Irony Situational- The outcome is the opposite of what is expected
Example- The prince arrives to safe the princess, but she has already freed herself.
Verbal- The character says something other than what they mean
Similar to sarcasm
Dramatic- The reader knows something the characters don’t
Creates tension/suspense within the reader

11. Foreshadowing
The author hints at what is going to happen.

12. Symbols Authors include objects that represent something else
Cross= Christianity
Black= death
Spring=rebirth