Short Stories

The long, and SHORT of it!

Setting

• Can be used to set the atmosphere for the story:– “During the hole of a dull, dark, and soundless day

in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country.”

“The Fall of the House of Usher” Edgar Allan Poe

Plot

• Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows an arrangement of events and actions within a story.

Plot Diagram

Exposition

Rising Action

Climax

Falling Action

Resolution

Exposition

• The start of the story, the situation before the actions starts.–Most but not all of the setting is

included in this part.

Rising Action

• This is the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax of the story.

Climax

• This is the turning point, the most intense moment, either mentally or in actions.

Falling Action

• This is the events that follow the Climax and bring about a closure to preceding events. It ties up most loose ends.

Resolution

• The close of the story, or the conclusion. All loose ends are tied and all events are brought to a close.

Characters

• Protagonist:– The main character in a literary work• Ex: Harry Potter, Bella Swan, or Cinderella

• Antagonist:– The character who opposes the protagonist• Ex: Voldemort, Victoria/Volturi, or the Wicked

Stepmother

Point of View

• The perspective from which the story is told.– Who is telling the story?– How do we know what is happening?

First Person

• The story is told from the viewpoint of one of the characters, using the first person pronoun “I.”– “The thousands of injuries of Fortunato I had borne

as I best could, but when he ventured upon insult I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I give utterance to a threat.”

“The Cask of Amontillado”Edgar Allan Poe

Third Person Omniscient

• The story is told from the viewpoint of the author directly. You know everything that everyone else knows.

Third Person Limited

• Third person limited point of view is a method of storytelling in which the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single character, while other characters are presented only externally. Third person limited grants a writer more freedom than first person, but less than third person omniscient.

Mood

• The climate of feeling in a literary work. The choice of setting, objects, details, images, and words all contribute toward creating a specific mood.

Tone

• The authors attitude, stated or implied, toward a subject.– Ex:• Optimism • Humorous• Seriousness• Bitterness

Theme

• The central idea or central message of the story. It usually contains some insight into the human condition—telling something about humans and life

• The theme can be stated directly or implied by the events and actions in the story.

Conflict

• The dramatic struggle between two forces in story. Without conflict, there is no plot.– Types of Conflict

– Interpersonal » Human vs Human» Human vs Nature» Human vs Society

– Internal• Human vs Self

Symbol

• Something that represents an idea, quality, or concept larger than itself.– Ex:• Lion symbolizes courage• A red rose symbolizes love