1. Elements of Literature in Short Stories

2. What is a short story?
The short story is a work of fiction that is shorter and more limited than the novel.
It usually focuses on one important event in the lives of a small number of central characters.
Short stories vary in length but are usually short enough to be able to be read in one sitting.

3. Plot
Series of related events that make-up the story

4. Elements of Plot Exposition: The actions that help the story begin
Turning Point: the initial problem which begins the story’s plot
Rising Action: story becomes more complicated (more problems/conflicts)
Conflict: struggle between two opposing forces
Climax: high point of the story
Falling Action: events that lead to a solution
Resolution: the outcome of the problem

5. Flashback
When the author inserts an earlier event

6. Foreshadowing
An author’s use of hints or clues to suggest events that will occur later in the story. Not all foreshadowing is obvious. Frequently, future events are merely hinted at through dialogue, description, or the attitudes and reactions of the characters.

7. Conflict
Struggle between two opposing forces

8. Man vs. Himself
Internal struggle concerning emotion and decision

9. Man vs. Man
An external struggle between two or more individuals

10. Man vs. Nature
External struggle between man and an element of nature

11. Man vs. Machine
External conflict between man and a machine

12. Setting
When and where the story takes place

13. Protagonist: The main character in a story, the one with whom the reader is meant to identify.

14. Antagonist
Counterpart to the main character and source of a story’s main conflict.

15. Point of View Who is speaking; who is telling the story
Four major point of views

16. Mood
The climate of  feeling in a literary work. The choice of setting, objects, details, images, and words all contribute towards creating a specific mood. For example, an author may create a mood of mystery around a character or setting but may treat that character or setting in an ironic, serious, or humorous tone

17. Suspense
The uncertainty or anxiety we feel about what is going to happen next

18. Irony
A situation in a story that turns out to be the opposite of what we expected.
Types of irony:
Verbal- what is said is the opposite from what is meant
Situational- what happens is very different from what is expected
Dramatic- what the reader knows to be true is different from what the character knows