Setting: the Time, Place, Physical Details, and Circumstances in Which a Situation Occurs

Name ______Short Story Terms

Setting: The time, place, physical details, and circumstances in which a situation occurs.

Character: People/animals/things that are responsible for the thoughts and actions within a story, poem, or other literature.

Plot: The series of events in a story.

Plot Diagram: Mapping of the plot - Does not account for sub plots and other story lines (simplified)

A B F B V Parts of Plot

A) Exposition – the presentation of essential information – it explains, sets the background information for the reader (setting).

B) Conflict – the struggle between opposing forces or characters. Also called the complication

1) External – The struggle is against forces outside a character a. Person vs. person Protagonist: The main character/hero of a work. b. Person vs. nature

c. Person vs. society Antagonist: The person/thing who/that works against the 2) Internal – The struggle takes place within the character’s mind. protagonist. a. Person vs. self

C) Rising Action – the majority of the action that builds up in the story – the events that lead to the turning point.

D) Climax – the turning point – the highest point of intensity in the story

E) Falling Action – the action that occurs after the climax - the winding down of the story.

F) Resolution – The point at which there is no more conflict – the conclusion of the falling action.

Point of View: The vantage point from which a narrative is told.

A) First Person: Narrator participates in action but sometimes has limited knowledge/vision. (I, me, we, ours, etc. are used) B) Third Person: Narrator does not describe his or her role in the action. Some third-person narrators describe the story from an omniscient (all-knowing) point of view. Omniscient narrators are able to relay things that could not have been known by the participants in the story (e.g., the thoughts of several characters). Objective/Limited/Omniscient

Theme: The main idea or message about human nature or life in a literary work.

Tone: The attitude a writer takes toward his or her subject, characters, and readers. Through tone, a writer can amuse, anger, or shock the reader. Tone is created through the choice of words and details.

Mood: Mood or atmosphere is the feeling that a literary work conveys to readers. Foreshadowing: Hints or clues about what action will come later in a literary work.

Characterization: The way(s) an author reveals a character Protagonist: The main character - A) Show the character acting and speaking the “hero” of the work.

B) Give a physical description of the character Antagonist: A character who C) Reveal the character’s thoughts deceives, frustrates, or works against the main D) Reveal what other characters think and say about the character. character.

E) Author tells you what the character is like

A, B, C, and D are ____indirect_____, while E is ______direct______.

Good writers use __indirect_ methods of characterization and use _direct_ methods rarely.

*Good writers __show_ rather than __tell_!*

Irony: A contrast between what is stated and what is really meant, or between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen - a difference between appearance and reality.

A) Situational Irony: Difference between what is expected to happen and what actually does happen.

B) Dramatic Irony: The reader knows or perceives something that the character doesn’t.

C) Verbal Irony: The speaker says one thing and means something completely different.

Tone: The attitude a writer takes toward his or her subject, characters, and readers. Through tone, a writer can amuse, anger, or shock the reader. Tone is created through the choice of words and details.

Mood: Mood or atmosphere is the feeling that a literary work conveys to readers.