Short Story and Novel Terms and Devices!

PLOT:

*Antecedent Action: the actions taking place before a story begins. A story typically begins “in media res” which means “in the middle of things.” As readers, we often need to understand the action before the story takes place to derive deeper meaning from the text and understand character motivations.

1. Exposition: the presentation of background information on characters, establishing SETTING (time and place) 2. Inciting Incident: the establishing of CONFLICT in a story and is the event which sets the rising action in to motion 3. Rising Action: the series of events in a story leading to the climax 4. Climax: the highest point of action and the turning point of the story 5. Falling Action: the events that take place immediately after the climax leading to the resolution/denouement 6. Resolution: how the story in tied up and how the conflict is resolved

*Red Herring: a clue to deliberately mislead the reader

*Foreshadowing: a clue of hint as to what is to come later in the story

*Flashback: a plot device used to show past events to provide further detail about plot or character

*Suspense: the feeling of growing tension and excitement felt by the reader as the plot develops

Mood/Atmosphere: the feeling that the story give to the reader

Imagery: the use of descriptive language to appeal to the 5 senses

CHARACTER:

Protagonist: the main character in a story

Antagonist: the oppositional force in a story (not always a villain)

Types:

Flat: an undeveloped character with few traits

Round: a fully developed character whom we know much about

Static: a character that does not change over the course of the story

Dynamic: a character who changes in their thoughts and opinions over the course of the story

Stock: a stereotypical character who is well recognized by specific character traits

Foil: a character who is in contrast to another character (usually the protagonist) to enhance or emphasize character qualities

Anti-Hero: protagonist who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, and morality

Motivations: a character may be driven by “Hubris” (pride), which may lead to the inevitable downfall of the character due to their “Hamartia” (tragic character flaw). Characters often encounter a DILEMMA (problem) in their journey, in which they must make a critical choice. This may lead to an EPIPHANY (sudden realization).

Characterization: the method the writer uses to develop a character in a story

 Direct: what the author tells us directly about the character (physical attributes and character trait)  Indirect: when we infer character traits due to the speech and actions of the character, or how others treat that character.

NARRATIVE POINT OF VIEW:

First Person: when the narrative is told from the character’s point of view. (Ex. “I” or “Me”)

Third Person Omniscient (God-like-narrator): the narrator is telling the story from a third person perspective and can see the thoughts and feelings of all characters in the story (Ex. “he” and “she”)

Third Person Limited: similar the third person omniscient narrator BUT this POV focuses on one character

Objective: the narrator functions like a film camera, observing the people and environment in the story, simple revealing what is done and seen

Tone: the way the writer’s choice of words reveals his/her attitude toward the subject *when describing tone use an appropriate word ex. Pessimistic, enthusiastic, sarcastic

Colloquial (informal) Language vs. Formal Language

CONFLICT:

Internal: Person vs Self

External: Person vs Person Person vs Society

Person vs Nature/Environment

Person vs Supernatural

Person vs Technology

IRONY 1) Situational Irony: when the outcome of a situation is in contrast to our expectations

2) Verbal Irony: when a character says something that they do not mean

3) Dramatic Irony: when we know what is going on in the story, but the characters don’t

Symbolism: the use of an object (colour, or character) to represent or stand for an abstract thought or concept ex. Dove=peace, a heart = love

Metaphor: an indirect comparison that does not use like or as (ex. “He was a storm of anger that day”)

Allegory: is a form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the meanings that lie outside the narrative itself.

Motif: a recurrent idea, image, symbol, theme, etc. (ex. Light and dark imagery, the conch in LOTF)

Satire: is a genre of literature, and sometimes graphic and performing arts, in which vices, follies, abuses, and shortcomings are held up to ridicule, ideally with the intent of shaming individuals, corporations, government or society itself, into improvement.

 Parody/Caricature/Irony/Hyperbole/Incongruity

Allusion: a reference to a famous literary text, author, event in history, etc

THEME: the overall message that the author is attempting to convey through the story. This is generally a comment on human nature.

Common themes:

o Be careful what you wish for o Absolute power corrupts absolutely o People learn from their mistakes o Sacrifices bring rewards o Loss of innocence