Short Story Literary Elements. What is a short story? A short story is a brief work of fiction.
Parts of the short story pp
Transcript of Parts of the short story pp
Parts of the Short StoryParts of the Short Story
English 9English 9
Fall 2006Fall 2006
The SettingThe Setting
• The setting is where and when the story takes place– General Setting – Time period, geographic
area, level of realism– Specific Setting – An office, an apartment, a
spaceship
CharactersCharacters
• Characters are the people, animals, or things that the story is about– Main Character – the primary and most
important characters in the movie; these characters are affected by the story
– Supporting characters – characters that have smaller parts; these characters affect the story
Characters, continuedCharacters, continued
– Protagonist – The “good guy,” the hero, the main character
– Antagonist – The “bad guy,” the person who stands in the way of the protagonist
Character TypesCharacter Types
– Round – A character who resembles a real person; a character who changes and acts as a real person would
– Flat – A character who does not change or experience emotional growth
– Stock – A cliched character; a type of character you have seen before
• Example – McDonald’s worker, cab driver, storm trooper
CharacterizationCharacterization
• Direct Characterization – How the author describes the character
• Indirect Characterization – What other characters say about the character, what you learn through action and dialogue
• Dialogue – Two characters speaking to each other
Point of ViewPoint of View• From what perspective is the story told?
– First person – POV of the main character, uses “I”
– Second person – POV of the reader, uses “you”
– Third person – POV of an outside observer, uses “he” & “she”
• Limited – the observer can only “see” what happens
• Omniscient – the observer knows the characters’ thoughts, can “see” inside their heads
PlotPlot
• The plot of the story is what happens in the story
• Almost every plot is based on a conflict– Person vs. Person– Person vs. Self– Person vs. Nature– Person vs. Society
The Plot CurveThe Plot Curve
• Exposition – Beginning of the story; characters are introduced, setting is established, tone and mood are set
• Rising Action – The conflict begins; the protagonist works towards settling the conflict
• Climax – The pinnacle of the story; the protagonist solves the conflict (or doesn’t)
Plot Curve, continuedPlot Curve, continued
• Falling Action – The specifics of the climax play out; what happens as a result of the climax
• Resolution (Denouement) – Loose ends are wrapped up; the reader sees the new and changed protagonist; life goes on
Tone, Mood, ThemeTone, Mood, Theme
• Tone – The attitude of the author toward the story – sarcastic, anger, affection, approval, disapproval
• Mood – The emotion of the story – happy, sad, depressing, tragic
• Theme – The “moral” of the story – what message does the story send?