English 9

Short Story
Notes
A review of all the terminology
from the last two years...you
remember, don’t you?
How to Properly Write/Type Titles
 “ShortStories”
 “Magazine Articles” <- The following titles
are placed in quotation
 “Newspaper Articles” marks.
 “Poems”
 “Songs”
 “Essays”
 “Chapters in Books”
When writing the following underline:
When typing the following italicize:
Novels
Plays
Magazines
Movies
Television Shows
Structural Elements
 Plot: series of related events that make up a story.

Inciting Incident
Plotline
 Exposition: Introduces the reader to the
characters, places, and situations of the story.
 Inciting Incident (Narrative Hook): The place
where the author catches the reader’s attention;
establishes conflict.
 Rising Action: Increase in action/suspense,
consists of the conflicts in the story.
Plotline continued...
 Climax: Highest point of interest, the point of no
return, the plot must move forward.

 Denouement (Falling Action): Relates the events

that are a result of the climax.

 Resolution: The outcome of the story: how the

conflicts are resolved or not resolved.
Conflict:
 Struggle or clash between opposing characters,
forces, or emotions.
Types of Conflicts
External Conflict Internal Conflict
 A character struggles  A character struggles
against an outside with forces from within
force (emotions, desires,
needs)
 Types of Conflict:

External Internal
 A character struggles  A character struggles
against an outside with forces from within
force. (emotions, desires,
needs).
Examples of Conflict
 Man vs. Man: Two (2) opposing human forces.

 E.g. – Two people boxing

Examples of Conflict:
 Man vs. Nature: Man opposing any force other
than human.

 E.g. – A person climbing a mountain.

Examples of Conflict
 Man vs. Himself: Inner conflict; struggle with
conscience.

 E.g.
– Someone who feels guilty because he stole
money.
Examples of Conflict
 Man vs. Society: Man vs. Laws, Customs, Beliefs.

 E.g. – People protesting city hall.

Examples of Conflict
 Man vs. Fate: Man vs. His Destiny.

 E.g.– Someone who, in normal circumstances

would be dead, survives or overcomes an obstacle
regardless of what happens to him.
Examples of Conflict
 Man vs. Machine/Technology: Man vs. something
mechanical.

 E.g. – Someone who battles a robot.

Setting: time and place of the story
 Time: time of day, day of the week, month, year,
season, future, past, present.

 Place: town, city, state, country, planet; particular

area, house or room.
Narrator: who is telling the story.
Pointof View: Vantage point from
which a writer tells a story.
First Person:
 Themain character is telling the story; only his
thoughts are known; uses “I”
Second Person:
 The story tells someone else what they are doing;
uses “you”

 E.g.– Choose Your Own

 Adventure Novels
Omniscient (“All-Knowing”):
 The narrator plays no part in the story (third
person) but can tell the reader what ALL the
characters are thinking and feeling as well as what
is happening in other places.
Limited Omniscient:
 Told in third person by someone in the story; only
his thoughts are revealed.

Objective:
 Told in third person; none of the characters have
their thoughts revealed; reader analyzes characters
from actions and words only.
Characterization
 Method through which the author reveals facts
about the characters.

Direct Indirect
Shows what a character
is like:
Tells the reader
what the Speech
Thoughts
personality of the Effect on others
character is Actions
Looks
Characterization Continued...
Dynamic Static
 A character that  A character that stays
changes in some way the same
Characterization Continued...
Protagonist Antagonist
 The leading character  Theone opposed to the
or “hero” of a literary protagonist; opponent;
work. Moves the plot adversary
forward.
Examples
Protagonists Antagonists
 Melinda Sordino  Andy Evans
 Harry Potter  Lord Voldermort
 Bella Swan  Vampire James
 Percy Jackson  The Gods
 Literary Devices
What’s the difference?

Elements Techniques
 Always found in a story  Sometimes found in
 Characters story
 Setting  Foreshadowing
 Point of view  Irony
 Conflict  Flashback
 Plot  Allusions
 Theme  Symbolism
Theme
 What the author wants you to remember; the
moral of the story; what we were to learn.
 Theme is usually expressed in a complete
sentence.
 Tone
 The author’s attitude or feeling toward the writing.

Mood
 The feeling the reader gets from a piece of
literature.
Situational Irony
 The character believes something will happen and
the opposite occurs.

 E.g. – The bank robbers were about to cross the

state line when their car was hit by a train and
killed them.
Verbal Irony
 The character makes a statement but the opposite
is meant; sarcasm.

 E.g. – “I love doing homework!”

Dramatic Irony
 When the audience has important information
that the characters do NOT have.

 E.g. – We know the killer is behind the door; the

lady about to open the door does not.
The End!