Short Story Unit

Fiction – not true; based on imaginary people, places, and events Short Story - Brief work of fiction Fiction – not true; based on imaginary people, places, and events

8 Elements of the Short Story Plot Character Setting Point of View Theme Tone Symbol Irony

Plot Sequence of events Exposition – introduction, beginning Rising action – events between introduction and climax Climax – highest point in a selection Falling action – events between climax and resolution Resolution – outcome or conclusion (denouement)

Climax Rising Action Falling Action Plot Diagram Resolution Exposition

Plot Conflict – opposition between forces External conflict Man vs. Man Man vs. Society Internal conflict Man vs. Himself Suspense – uncertainty or anxiety about what’ll happen next Flashback – interrupts action to tell what happened earlier Foreshadowing – hints at what’ll occur later in the selection Dialect – regional variety of language Dialogue - conversation

Character Person or animal in a literary work Characterization – reveals character’s personality and physical traits Direct Characterization – author directly states a character’s traits Indirect Characterization – author provides clues about a character but the reader has to draw conclusions Motivation – reason that explains why a character thinks, feels, acts, or behaves in a certain way

Setting When and where the story takes place Atmosphere / Mood = reader’s feelings

Point of View Angle or perspective from which the story is told 1st person point of view – character in the story tells the story (I – Me) 3rd person point of view – a voice outside the story narrates (He – she – it – they) 3rd person limited – reveals thoughts and feelings of one character 3rd person omniscient – all-seeing, all-knowing Narrator – speaker or character who tells a story

Theme Central message or main idea Moral – lesson taught by a literary work, especially a fable

Tone Author’s attitude

Symbol Something that stands for or represents something else; has a larger meaning

Irony Difference between appearance and reality; something unexpected happens Types of Irony: Verbal Irony – words are used to suggest the opposite of what is meant Situational Irony – situations turn out opposite from expected Dramatic Irony – reader knows something that the characters on stage do not know

Short Story Quiz http://www.quia.com/quiz/270936.html

North Carolina Prentice Hall Literature: Penguin Edition North Carolina Prentice Hall Literature: Penguin Edition. Boston: Pearson Education, Inc., 2007.