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Short Story Vocab
Term | Definition |
---|---|
setting | The time and place of a story. It could be the country, city, building, or room in which the story takes place; it can also relate to the time period (i.e. 1620 - past or 3014 - future) |
characters | the people within the story |
characterization | personality; how a character is described |
direct characterization | A character’s traits are described directly by the author. |
indirect characterization | he character’s personality is revealed through speech, actions, or other characters |
internal conflict | a struggle within a person; self vs. self |
external conflict | a struggle between at least two separate forces |
1st person | point of view from a character involved in the story |
3rd person | point of view from someone outside of the story |
suspense | wanting to know what happens next in the story |
dialogue | conversation between two or more people |
mood | the story’s atmosphere (scary or happy, etc.) |
theme | Message or insight into life as decided by the author. Different from the subject. Seldom stated directly. Conflict, resolution, characterization, setting, and symbolism help determine theme. |
flashback | action that already happened and is being re-told |
symbol | an object that represents something more than itself |
imagery | language that affects the senses, allows the reader to create a picture or smell a smell, etc. |
plot | a series of events that make up a story |
tone | The attitude a writer takes toward his subject. It may be angry, amused, serious, sad, etc. The choice of words (diction) plays heavily into tone. |
irony | the contrast between what is expected and what actually is. |
verbal irony | occurs in a story when the writer or a character says one thing but means something else |
dramatic irony | reader has information or an understanding of events that a character doesn’t have |
situational irony | what happens is not what is expected to happen |