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

4. 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.

8. point of view: the voice from which a story is being told 5. theme: the author’s central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work 6. irony: literary techniques that portray a difference between appearances and reality, expectation and result, or meaning and intention. 7. suspense: a feeling of curiosity or uncertainty about the outcome of events 8. point of view: the voice from which a story is being told -third-person narration: a voice outside the story narrates (omniscient or limited) -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.) 9. character: a person or animal that takes part in the action of a literary work 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 flat character: shows only one trait

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 or 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. mood: the feeling created in the reader through a literary work 12 11. mood: the feeling created in the reader through a literary work 12. tone: the writer’s attitude toward his/her subject (toward the characters and what happens) 13. symbol: anything that stands for or represents something else—something concrete that represents something abstract. 14. foreshadowing: the use of clues that suggest events that have yet to occur (author gives hints about something that is going to happen)