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short story terms
Question | Answer |
---|---|
Setting | Where a story takes place; includes time of day, year in history, time of year. |
Mood | Atmosphere of the story; the mood of a story is created by the setting. |
Theme | Author's message or lesson, what do you learn from the story? |
Conflict | Problem in a story. |
Internal Conflict | When a character is forced to make a difficult decision. |
Person Vs. Self | Same as an internal conflict. |
External Conflict | Problem or conflict is created by an outside force. |
Man Vs. Man | Person Vs. Person two people are in conflict arguing or fighting. |
Man Vs. Fate | A person who cannot control his/her destiny/future. |
Man Vs. Society | A person whose values and beliefs are different from society's values and beliefs. |
Man Vs. Nature | Conflict is created by a force of nature. This includes weather, animals, ocean. |
Plot | Sequence of events in a short story. |
Exposition | All background information is given to the reader, the characters are introduced and the setting is given. |
Narrative Hook | Main conflict is introduced. |
Rising Action | Events in a story that lead to the climax; most of the story will take place here. |
Climax | The most exciting part of a story: turning point the protagonist must make a decision. |
Falling Action | Events leading to the conclusion of a short story. |
Conclusion | Resolution or end of a short story. |
Narrator | Person Telling the story, the narrator is not the same as author. |
Tone | Narrator's attitude about the short story. Attitude is created by the narrator. |
Point Of View | How the story is told. |
1st Person | The narrator is part of the story the narrator uses "I me my our" in the story. |
3rd Limited | The narrator tells the story through the eyes of one character. The one character is in every part of the story. The narrator limits what the reader sees. |
3rd Omniscent | Omni=All Scient=Knowing the narrator can tell you what everyone is the story thinks can tell you about the past, present, and future. |
Characters | People or animals in the short story. |
Major | Most important characters in a short story. |
Protagonist | The main character or the good guy. |
Antagonist | The character who creates problems for the protagonist or the bad guy. |
Minor | Additional characters needed to tell the story. |
Point Of View | How the story is told. |
1st Person | The narrator is part of the story the narrator uses "I me my our" in the story. |
3rd Limited | The narrator tells the story through the eyes of one character. The one character is in every part of the story. The narrator limits what the reader sees. |
Point Of View | How the story is told. |
Symbol | something represents a thought, attitude emotion or someting else. |
Characters | People or animals in the short story. |
Major | Most important characters in a short story. |
1st Person | The narrator is part of the story the narrator uses "I me my our" in the story. |
3rd Limited | The narrator tells the story through the eyes of one character. The one character is in every part of the story. The narrator limits what the reader sees. |
3rd Omniscent | Omni=All Scient=Knowing the narrator can tell you what everyone is the story thinks can tell you about the past, present, and future. |
Characters | People or animals in the short story. |
Major | Most important characters in a short story. |
Protagonist | The main character or the good guy. |
Antagonist | The character who creates problems for the protagonist or the bad guy. |
Minor | Additional characters needed to tell the story. |
Dynamic Character | A character whose values or beliefs change in a short story. |
Static Character | A character whose values or beliefs dont change in a short story. |
Indirect characterization | the reader learns about a character through his/her thoughts, words, and/or actions. |
Direct Characterization | The reader learns about a character through what other characters or the narrator tells the reader. |
Symbol | something represents a thought, attitude emotion or some thing else. |
Irony | The difference between appearance and reality when what is expected to happen doesn't |
Foreshadowing | hints about what will happen later in the story foreshadowing helps you predict what will happen next. |
Flat Character | A character with one main personality trait. |
Round Character | A character with many personality traits. |