Short StoriesShort StoriesEnglish 9English 9

Mrs. K PrescottMrs. K Prescott

Short StoriesShort StoriesEnglish 9English 9

Mrs. K PrescottMrs. K Prescott

A true short-story is something other and something more than a mere story which is short. A true short-story differs from the novel chiefly in its essential unity of impression. . .a short-story has unity as a novel cannot have it.... A short-story deals with a single character, a single event, a single emotion, or the series of emotions called forth by a single situation.--Brander Matthews, The Philosophy of the Short-Story.

• Characters (flat, stock, round)– Static or dynamic– Antagonist, Protagonist, Primary,

Secondary

• Setting• Plot - exposition statement - rising action - conflict - climax - falling action - resolution• Conflict• Theme

PLOT DIAGRAM

Ris

ing

Act

ion

Fallin

g A

ction

(Denouem

ent)

Resolution

Climax

Exposition

Conflict

Types of Conflict

• Character vs. Character• Character vs. Nature/Society• Character vs. Self

ThemeThe theme is the central idea,

belief, or message the written work.

Telling the Story: Points of View

• Who tells the story?• How much does he know?• To what extent does the author

look inside his characters and report their thoughts and feelings?

The four basic points of view are:

1. Omniscient Narrator: The author sees all and knows all. He knows the past, present and future of all characters and many take the reader into their minds to tell what they are thinking. The story is written in the third person.

2. Limited Omniscient Narrator – The author limits his omniscience to only one character. We know the thoughts and feelings of only that person. The story is written in the third person.

3. First Person Narrator – The author becomes a character in the story. He know all about the character’s past and what is happening to him at present, but he cannot predict the future. The story is written in the first person.

4. Objective Narrator – The author tells the story as though he were a combination video camera/tape recorder. He tells only what he sees and hears. We have no access to the thoughts of the characters. The story is written in the third person. (like a fly-on-the-wall)

Literary Terms• Allusion• Anecdote• Atmosphere• Crisis• Direct Title/Indirect Title• Epiphany• Flashback

• Foreshadowing• Genre• Humor• Irony

– Situational Irony– Dramatic Irony– Verbal Irony

• Literal Meaning• Motivating Incident • Mystery• Suspense