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Reviewing Short Story Elements

CHARACTER -- There are two meanings for the word character: 
1) The person in a work of fiction.
2) The characteristics of a person.

Persons in a work of fiction - Antagonist and Protagonist 
Short stories use few characters. One
character is clearly central to the story with all major events having some importance to this character -
he/she is the PROTAGONIST. The opposer of the main character is called the ANTAGONIST.

The Characteristics of a Person - 
In order for a story to seem real to the reader its characters must
seem real. Characterization is the information the author gives the reader about the characters
themselves. The author may reveal a character in several ways: 
a) his/her physical appearance

b) what he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams 
c) what he/she does or does not do 
d) what others
say about him/her and how others react to him/her

Other ways to describe characters are using the following terms. Please define:

a) Round
b) Flat
c) Static
d) Dynamic
e) Stock

SETTING -- The time and location in which a story takes place is called the setting. For some stories the
setting is very important, while for others it is not. 


a) __________ - geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place?
b) __________ - When is the story taking place? (historical period, time of day, year, etc)
c) __________ - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc.? Are there any buildings?
d) __________ - What is the general atmosphere?

PLOT -- The plot is how the author arranges events to develop his/her basic idea; it is the sequence of
events in a story or play. The plot is a planned, logical series of events having a beginning, middle, and
end. The short story usually has one plot so it can be read in one sitting. Basically plot is what happens
in the story. There are six essential parts of plot. Please explain.

a) Introduction or Exposition –

b) Inciting Incident/Conflict

c) Rising Action –

d) Climax –

e) Falling action –

f) Resolution -
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CONFLICT-- Conflict is essential to plot. Without conflict there is no plot. It is the opposition of forces
which ties one incident to another and makes the plot move.

There are two types of conflict:

1) External - A struggle with a force outside one's self.
2) Internal - A struggle within one's self; a person must make some decision, overcome pain, quiet their
temper, resist an urge, etc.

Describe:

What are the kinds of conflicts?

A)

B)

C)

D)

E)

F)

G)

H)

Give 2 examples of internal conflicts.

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POINT OF VIEW
Point of view, or P.O.V., is defined as the angle from which the story is told. Which character is telling
the story?

What is the word for this person? 

Types of POV

1. _________________________- The story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters who
interacts closely with the protagonist or other characters (using pronouns I, me, we, etc). The reader
sees the story through this person's eyes as he/she experiences it and only knows what he/she knows or
feels.
2. __________________________________________- The author tells the story in third person (using
pronouns they, she, he, it, etc). It is not a character in the story. The narrator can move from character
to character, event to event, having free access to the thoughts and feelings.
3. _________________________________________- The author tells the story in third person (using
pronouns they, she, he, it, etc). We know only what 1 character knows and what the author allows
him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts and feelings of 1 character.
4. ___________________________________________– The author tells the story in the third person
(using pronouns they, she, he, it, etc). It appears as though a camera is following the characters, going
anywhere, and recording only what is seen and heard. There is no comment on the characters or their
thoughts.

SYMBOLISM - Symbolism is the practice or art of using an object or a word to represent an abstract
idea. An action, person, place, word, or object can all have a symbolic meaning.

Here are some examples of symbols that can represent different ideas in literature. Please write down
the meaning:

Black: ______________________________________

Butterfly: ____________________________________

Fog: ________________________________________

THEME - The theme in a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight. It is the author's
underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to convey. The theme may be the author's thoughts
about a topic or view of human nature.

Some simple examples of common themes from literature, TV, and film are:
- Things are not always as they appear to be 

- Love is blind
- Believe in yourself 


Give one example of theme that is not listed above.

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Questions from the stories/tv show:

Nancy Drew

Where was Nancy and who was with her at the start of the trip?

Who was Nancy suspicious of at first?

Why was Adriane doing the things she did? For example: have the tape recorder play the
mysterious voice.

How did Nancy figure out Adriane was trying to kill Mr. Addams?

What happened to Adriane’s father?

Edgar Allan Poe

How did Edgar’s parents die?

Why is his last name Allan Poe?

Why did he drop out of college?

Who did he marry and how old was she?

Who did he reconnect with after his wife die?

How did Edgar die?

The Murders in the Rue Morgue

How did the narrator meet Dupin?

What are some characteristics of August Dupin? Why did the narrator say there were 2 Dupins?

Why was the narrator astonished by Dupin?

What was the evidence that was found in the room of the murders?

How were the 2 women murdered?

Why did Dupin say it was strange that the foreigners didn’t understand the 2 nd voice?
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Why did the first window stay closed but the 2nd one opened?

How did Dupin say the killer climbed into the window?

When Dupin was talking about how he solved the murders how did the narrator describe him?

What did he do to get the person who knew about the murder to meet them?

Who was the murderer in the end?

Further things on the test:

Please review vocabulary and the power point. Questions about detective fiction will be on the
test.

Phrasal verbs:

Review the verbs from the worksheet but also here are some new ones

Break in:

Drop in:

Get across:

Go after:

Here are examples of the 6 techniques we talked about in class. Please identify them:

The falling snowflakes are dancers.

Her voice floating over the crowd, Maria awed everyone with her natural singing ability.

He strolled over to the terrace and lounged on the chair.

The insect, a cockroach, was crawling across the kitchen table.

He is as cunning as a fox.

The broken window needed to get repaired quickly.