Unit 1: Short Story Fiction

Literary Terms for Fiction fiction: prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events prose: ordinary form of written language (NOT poetry) short story: a brief work of fiction; one main character faces a conflict that is resolved novel: a fictitious prose narrative of book length; longer and more complex; deals with human experience

5. plot - a sequence of events in a literary work diagram: a. exposition: introduces the characters, setting, and basic situation b. conflict: a struggle between opposing forces - internal: A struggle WITHIN a character (human vs. him/herself) - external: a struggle between two characters or between a character and an element of nature (human vs. human, human vs. nature, human vs. society) c. rising action: series of events after the conflict is revealed—leads up to the climax d. climax: the turning point of the story; the highest point of interest or suspense e. falling action: a series of events that occur following the climax— leading to the resolution f. resolution: the part of the plot that shows how the central conflict is resolved.

9. point of view: the voice from which a story is being told 6. theme: the author’s central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work 7. irony: literary technique that portray a difference between appearances and reality, expectation and result, or meaning and intention. (Play song: "Ironic“) 8. suspense: a feeling of curiosity or uncertainty about the outcome of events 9. point of view: the voice from which a story is being told -third-person narration: a voice outside the story narrates; use of pronouns he/she, they (omniscient: all knowing, or limited: POV of outside voice reflects only main character’s perspective) -first-person narration: a character IN the story tells the story; use of the pronouns I and me. (The reader sees and hears only what this character sees and hears.)

10. characterization: the act of creating and developing a character - direct characterization: the writer directly states the character’s personality traits - indirect characterization: the writer develops a character through his/her actions, words, physical description, and other characters’ reactions to him or her. (It is up to the reader to draw conclusions about a character and his or her personality based on this INDIRECT information.)

11. character: a person or animal that takes part in the action of a literary work minor characters: minor characters are generally flat, stereotypical, and not of central importance to the plot major characters: characters that will have the greatest effect on the plot or are the most affected by what happens in the story. protagonist: the main character in a literary work (reader roots for) antagonist: a character or force in conflict with a main character, or protagonist

flat character: shows only a single trait; one- dimensional TYPES OF CHARACTERS dynamic character: a character that develops and grows throughout the course of the story. (CHANGES) static character: a character that does NOT change throughout the course of the story. (static = stays the same) round character: shows many personality traits (3D); reveals faults as well as virtues flat character: shows only a single trait; one- dimensional

12. mood: the feeling created in the reader through a literary work 13 12. mood: the feeling created in the reader through a literary work 13. tone: the writer’s attitude toward his/her subject (toward the characters and what happens) 14. symbol: anything (AN OBJECT) that stands for or represents something else—something concrete that represents something abstract. 15. foreshadowing: the use of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur (author gives hints about something that is going to happen) 16. setting: the time and place (When and where the action of the story takes place).