Patricia Gray

Graves County High School Language Arts Department 9th Grade

Elements of a Short Story

A short story is a work of fiction that can be read in one sitting.

Plot

The chain of related events that take place in a story.

Built around conflict, which is a struggle between opposing forces.

Plot at a Glance
climax

falling action
rising action resolution exposition

Expositiongives the background of the story Rising Actionintroduces complications; builds suspense Climaxthe turning point of the story suspense reaches its peak Falling Action and Resolution

resolves the conflict

usually ties up loose ends

The plot of a short story centers around conflict. Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces.

Complications build the readers excitement.

Types of Conflict
External

-Man v Man
-Man v Nature

-Man v Obstacle or Society

Internal -Man v Himself

Methods of Characterization
Creating Believable Characters

Indirect
physical appearance

Direct
the narrators direct comments about a character

speech, thoughts, feelings, or actions of the character speech, thoughts, feelings, or actions of other characters

Types of Characters Main or Minor Protagonist or Antagonist

Round or Flat
Dynamic or Static

*Stereotypes=Stock Characters*

Setting= time and place

-puts the reader in the story by giving the reader the feeling of being in the situation.

-creates atmosphere by the positive or negative feelings

associated with the place.

Point of View or . . .

(Whos telling this story anyway?)

-the vantage point from which the story is told. -determines how much we, the readers, know about the characters.

1st Person
Narrator is a character in the story. Narrator uses first-person pronouns, I, me, my, we, us, our to refer to himself or herself. Narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of one character and speaks directly to reader.

3rd Person Limited

Narrator does not participate in action of story.
Narrator does not refer to himself or herself. Narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of one character, but readers are able to maintain some emotional distance from the character.

3rd Person Omniscient

Narrator does not participate in action of story.
Narrator does not refer to himself or herself. Narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all characters; readers get insight into several characters.

What is a symbol?

A symbol is a person, a place, an activity, or an object that stands for something beyond itself.

Theme
In literature, theme is a perception about life or human nature that the writer wants to share with the reader. In most cases, the theme is not stated directly but must be inferred. Themes can be revealed by - a storys title

- key phrases and statements about big ideas

- the ways the characters change and the lessons they learn about life.

The End