8th Short Story Terms

Short Story Terms

What is a Short Story?

• A short story is : a

brief work of fiction
where, usually, the
main character faces a
conflict that is worked
out in the plot of the
story

Character

• Character – a person in a story, poem or

play.

• Types of Characters:

– Round – fully developed, has many different

character traits

– Flat – stereotyped, one-dimensional, few traits
– Static – does not change
– Dynamic – changes as a result of the story's events

Match

Match the following

• Round

• Flat

• Dynamic

• Static

fully developed, has many characteristics

stereotyped, one-dimensional

changes as a result of the events in the story

does not change

• fully developed, has many characteristics

• stereotyped, one-dimensional

• changes as a result of the events in the story

• does not change

Characterization

• How the author develops the characters,

especially the main character.

• This is done through 3 things:

– what the character does or says
– what others say of and to the character
– author’s word choice in descriptive passages

Characterization

• Direct characterization

– The author directly states what the character’s

personality is like. Example: cruel, kind

• Indirect characterization

– Showing a character’s personality through

his/her actions, thoughts, feelings, words,
appearance or other character’s observations
or reactions

Multiple Choice

Is the following example direct or indirect characterization?

Jane is a cruel person.

• Direct

• Indirect

Multiple Choice

Is the following example direct or indirect characterization?

Because Joe was an honest guy, he decided to return the chocolate bar he did not pay for.

• direct

• indirect

Multiple Choice

 

Is the following example direct or indirect characterization?

Peter wasn't interested in the TV show that was playing, but the remote control was all the way across the room, so he just watched it anyway. Jan would be home soon, and she could fetch it for him then.

• Direct

• Indirect

Multiple Select

Which types of indirect characterization are at play in the passage below? (Hint: there are 2 correct answers!)

Amanda arrived early to the meeting with her hair in a pristine ballerina bun and a Montblanc pen tucked behind her ear. Before she sat down, she smoothed out her pinstriped pencil skirt.

• Speech

• Looks

• Actions

• Effect on Others

• Thoughts

Protagonist

• Main character of the story that changes

– (death is not a change)
– the most important character
– changes and grows because of experiences in

the story

Antagonist

• A major character who opposes the

protagonist
– the antagonist does not change

• Types of antagonists:

– people
– nature
– society

Conflict

• A struggle between two opposing forces
• 2 Categories, 6 Types

– Internal – takes place in a character’s own mind

• Man vs. Him(Her)self

– External – a character struggles against an outside

force

• Man vs. Man
• Man vs. Nature
• Man vs. Technology
• Man vs. Society
• Man vs. Unknown

Match

Match the following:

• The main character resists forces that are not part of this world.

• The main character clashes with another character.

• The main character challenges a law, tradition, or institution.

• The main character fights to endure or overcome forces of nature.

• The main character resists technological forces.

Man vs. Unknown

Man vs. Man

Man vs. Society

Man vs. Nature

Man vs. Technology

• Man vs. Unknown

• Man vs. Man

• Man vs. Society

• Man vs. Nature

• Man vs. Technology

Setting

• The time and place of the story’s action

What is the Plot?

• Plot: Series of related events that make up

a story.

Exposition

• Section that introduces characters, the

setting, and conflicts.

Rising Action

• Consists of a series of complications.
• These occur when the main characters take

action to resolve their problems and are
met with further problems:
– Fear
– Hostility
– Threatening situation

Climax

• The turning point in the story: the high

point of interest and suspense

Rising Action or
Complications

Falling Action

Climax

Falling Action

• All events following the climax or turning

point in the story. These events are a result
of the action taken at the climax.

Resolution

• The end of the central conflict: it shows

how the situation turns out and ties up
loose ends

Labelling

Label the parts of the plot structure.

Drag labels to their correct position on the image

Falling Action

Resolution

Climax

Exposition

Rising Action

Point of View

• Vantage point from which the writer tells

the story.
– First person- One of the characters is actually

telling the story using the pronoun “I”

– Second person- “You” are the center of the

story

– Third person- Centers on one character’s

thoughts and actions.

– Omniscient- All knowing narrator. Can center

on the thoughts any actions of any and all
characters.

Match

Match the following:

• 1st person

• 2nd person

• 3rd person

I was nervous when it was my turn in the spelling bee.

You have to be very quiet so you don't scare away the rabbit.

Mike took his book to the library to renew it for one more week.

• I was nervous when it was my turn in the spelling bee.

• You have to be very quiet so you don't scare away the rabbit.

• Mike took his book to the library to renew it for one more week.

Theme

• The central message or insight into life

revealed through a literary work.

• The “main idea” of the story

Flashback

• The present scene in the story is interrupted

to flash backward and tell what happened
in an earlier time.

Foreshadowing

• Clues the writer puts in the story to give

the reader a hint of what is to come.

Symbol

• An object, person, or event that functions

as itself, but also stands for something
more than itself.
– Example: A scale’s function is to weigh things,

but they are also a symbol
of our justice system.

Figurative Language

• Involves some imaginative comparison

between two unlike things.
– Simile – comparing two unlike things using

like or as.

• “I wandered lonely as a cloud”

– Metaphor – comparing two unlike things (not

using like or as)

• Life is a roller coaster, it has lots of ups and downs.

Figurative Language

• Personification – Giving human qualities to

non-human things.
– “The wind howled.”

Multiple Choice

What type of figurative language is used in the sentence?

The owl laughed into the darkness.

• metaphor

• simile

• personification

Multiple Choice

What type of figurative language is used in the sentence?

After Dan climbed the steep hill, his legs were rubber.

• metaphor

• simile

• personification

Multiple Choice

What type of figurative language is used in the sentence?

The scent of the laundry detergent was like a field of lavender.

• metaphor

• simile

• personification

Irony

• A contrast between expectation and reality

Irony

• Verbal Irony – saying one thing but meaning

something completely different.
– Calling a clumsy basketball player “Michael Jordan”

• Situational Irony – A contradiction between what

we expect to happen and what really does happen

• Dramatic Irony – occurs when the reader knows

something important that the characters in the
story do not know.

Multiple Choice

What type of irony is this?

Looking at her son's messy room, Mom says, "Wow, you could win an award for cleanliness!"

• dramatic

• situational

• verbal

Multiple Choice

What type of irony is this?

• verbal

• situational

• dramatic

Multiple Choice

What type of irony is this?

The reader knew the stalker was in the bedroom closet. The girl went in to take a nap.

• dramatic

• situational

• verbal

Allusion

• Reference to a statement, person, a place,

or events from:
– Literature
– History
– Religion
– Mythology
– Politics
– Sports

Suspense

• Uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels

about what is going to happen next in a
story.

Imagery

• Language that appeals to the senses.

– Touch
– Taste
– Sight
– Sound
– Smell

Multiple Choice

To which of your five senses does this example of imagery appeal?

The thunder clapped loudly shaking the house.

• Sight

• Sound

• Touch 

• Taste

Multiple Choice

To which of your five senses does this example of imagery appeal?

The tiny red ant climbed up the broken limb.

• Sight

• Sound

• Smell

• Hear