ELEMENTS OF SHORT STORIES

1. ELEMENTS OF SHORT STORIES

2. Every author makes choices about how they want to write, what they want to write, and why they want to write… evil Oh my gawd I love him sooooo much…. movies miasma My grandfather was a nice man. My life famine, war, poverty short growing up Short simple sentences with no flowery words Zombies! FEAR What does my dog think? We had a huge fight last night

3. ALL STORIES HAVE: • Plot • Character • Setting • Conflict • Point of View • Theme

4. Mnemonic Device* a memory trick for remembering complex information • Please, can she copy this important paper? • (plot, conflict, setting, character, theme, irony, point of view) • Parasites Chew Sour Candy Tamales • (plot character setting conflict theme) • 1T 2C 2P S3 F3 • (1= theme, 2= character, conflict, 2= plot, point of view, 3= setting, symbolism, style, 3= foreshadowing, flashback, foil) • Anything with a narrative format will use these elements (story, novel, play, etc.) so memorize, know, apply, and use all these terms.

5. Irony Satire Flashback Foreshadowing Dialogue Suspense Imagery Allusion Symbolism Or other literary devices that develop their style of writing SOME AUTHORS MAY USE: “Seasoning on the meal”

6. Plot is WHAT happens. Plot is the basic series of events in any story, novel, movie, etc. Stories are simplified, focus on one main idea, and don’t use under-plots or complicated structures PLOT

7. THEBASIC PLOT DIAGRAM

8. DIFFERENT TYPES OF STORIES WILL HAVE DIFFERENT PLOT DIAGRAMS:the amount of action, suspense, exposition, and conflict will change the way the plot diagram looks

9. A pause in the action so a scene can be added from the past. The way back machine. Fills in context, details, background information necessary for the story. Flashback

10. Hints about what will happen next A technique used to build suspense, keep the reader interested, and move the plot forward. Foreshadowing

11. Conflict is the struggle which must be overcome in the course of the story. Conflict moves the plot. Conflict can add excitement and suspense. All stories need friction and opposition to move events- that’s conflict. Conflict can be external or internal and comes in many forms. Conflict

12. Character vs. him / herself • A type of internal conflict; the dark night of the soul. • Characters can struggle with themselves regarding morals, psychology, motivation, reactions, maturity, or any aspect of their personality. • Growing up stories are typically about internal conflict. • Joe is failing math.

13. Character vs. Character • The wants or needs of two characters are in opposition; • can be physical fights, arguments, differences of opinions, jealousy, car accidents, divorce, parenting, etc. • Joe wants candy. Sam has candy. Joe steals Sam’s candy. Sam hits Joe.

14. Character vs. environment • Can be a struggle against anything outside of the protagonist; • Includes: nature, technology, society, machines, animals, weather, destiny, etc. • Joe is hiking when a storm forces him to hide in a cave, and then he sees the bear!

15. What types of conflict are shown?

19. Characters are WHO does the acting in a story. There is usually one main character in a short story called a protagonist. Authors can use a wide range of different types of characters to serves their purposes. CHARACTERS

20. How an author builds character Physical description appearance Name analysis Relationships Dialogue Thoughts & feelings (internal monologue) Reactions with others Challenges / conflict Characterization can be direct or indirect Characterization

21. Protagonist • This is the main character. • This can be the hero of the story or it can be a horrible nasty person. • The protagonist can be unreliable and deceptive. • The antagonist is the character who works against the protagonist.

22. Character Foil • Authors use sharp contrast to show us differences between the protagonist and another character. • These can be physical or personality traits. • Sometimes the antagonist is the foil.

23. Flat / Round characters • Characters who are flat, or undeveloped, have little description, usually when they are minor characters. • Characters who are round, or developed, have more realistic description and feel like real people, usually because they are the protagonist or antagonist.

24. Static / Dynamic character • Static characters do not charge during the course of the story. This is usually the minor or stock character. • Dynamic characters change during the course of the story. This is usually the protagonist or antagonist.

25. Stock or stereotypical characters • These are character types we see often in literature, movies, and novels. • These are short-hand quick formula characters that usually have a minor role in the story. Stock characters are flat and undeveloped.

26. Characters speaking to each other. The words that are spoken aloud are inside quotation marks, on distinct lines, and often include the “he said” or some variation. Dialogue is one of the main ways authors create characterization. “John, I was thinking that we need to talk,” Mary mumbled quietly. “Naw,” John replied, “we don’t need to talk at all.” Dialogue

27. Setting is the time and place of a story or novel. This can be the historical era, century, or continent, house, room, or town. Settings can change in the course of a story. Settings can enhance the mood and atmosphere. Settings are imaginative and descriptive. Setting

28. Consider these two rooms- both have seating, but have a very different feel to them and we can imagine different kinds of people living there.

29. P.O.V. is the perspective from which the narrator tells the story. The narrator is the character who tells the story.The author make a deliberate choice about who tells the story and how. The “innocent eye” is a story told from a child’s point of view. Think about how children see the world differently than adults. A “stream of consciousness” style of writing puts you in the action as it’s happening as though you were the main character. Point of View

30. A worm eye view and a bird’s eye view show us different perspectives on people and make people look different.

31. Omniscient:the all- knowing, all-seeing narrator who lets us look inside the brains of more than one character. Types of Point of View Objective: the narrator simply records events; we never get to look inside the character’s brains or hearts.

32. First person point of view is when a character tells his / her own story using the pronoun “I” I was on my way to the store, when I hurt my foot. I felt like a fool. You were just walking to the store when you hurt your foot. You felt like a fool. Second person is the narrator telling us what we do using the pronoun “you” He was just walking to the store when he hurt his foot. He felt like a fool. Third person is the narrator telling what one character does, thinks, or feels.

33. An unusual twist. The opposite of what is expected. When characters in a story or play don’t all have the same information. Verbal irony (tone contradicts meaning). Sarcasm is an angry form of irony. Dramatic or situational irony (reversal of fortunes) Shows the foibles of people, lack of insight. Irony

34. Ridiculing a subject, idea, or institution by using irony, humor, exaggeration (hyperbole) with a mock serious tone. Making fun by making it more serious or foolish. Using a familiar subject and making it seem ridiculous. Parody- keeps the form but changes the content (SNL). The ultimate goal of satire is to change ideas and beliefs. Satire

35. A concrete, tangible object that represents something else in literature, usually an emotion, character association, abstract idea or quality. Symbols draw on our collective memories and cultural awareness. Can be private symbols use din only one work of literature or public symbols that we all commonly understand (a dove with an olive branch representing peace). Symbolism

36. What might these symbols mean?

37. Theme is the central insight, main idea, or truth about human nature that is revealed in the story. Theme involves universal human truths about big ideas. Titles hint at themes. Theme can be stated in a full sentence. Theme CAN NOT be phrased as a cliché, trite saying, or generalization. (although it can help as a starting point). Everything in the story must prove the theme- no contradictions. Theme

38. Any opposing issue makes for a good conflict. The author’s opinion on the conflict will be the theme. Chaos vs. order, good vs. evil, faith vs. doubt, or peace vs. war. EXAMPLE: change vs. tradition as the conflict could be “Most people do not handle change well” as a theme. Theme Some themes common in literature: Growing up is about building character and learning responsibility. The loss of innocence is the first sign of maturity. Good will always triumph over evil. We must face the inevitability of death. Families can be both a blessing and curse. Humans are horrible to each other. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. People must balance their individuality with the common good of society. Patriotism is a complicated moral position. Technology has a way of taking over our lives. War always ends in tragedy and triumph.

39. Once you peel through the layers of plot, character, conflict, and setting, the theme is the point the author is trying to make to you about people and life. Theme can be one of the most difficult elements of literature to identify because it it open to interpretation but based in the facts of the story.

40. plot character setting conflict theme point of view satire irony symbolism irony dialogue flashback foreshadowing Elements of Short Stories & Literary Terms

41. Identify each term in any story you read. Use the terms in your written answers. Be able to explain why the “term” is important. Put everything in context and make sure you can explain how it relates to THEME. It’s always about theme or character (but character is really about them) Literary Analysis