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Short Story Terms
literary terms definitions
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Setting | Where the story takes place. |
| Mood | Atmosphere, determined by the setting. |
| Theme | Lesson or message of the story, controlling idea, or central insight. |
| Conflict | A problem in the story. |
| *Internal conflict | A struggle with one self. |
| -person vs. person | A Character must make a difficult decision. |
| *External conflict | A struggle with an outside force. |
| -man vs. man | A problem between two people or groups. |
| -man vs. fate | A person with a problem with one selfs fate. |
| -man vs. society | 1 person is in a conflict with a group. |
| -man vs. nature | Struggling against any force of nature. |
| Plot | Sequence of events |
| *Exposition | All background info is given. |
| *Narrative hook | The conflict is revealed. |
| *Rising action | All events leading to the climax. |
| *Climax | Most exciting part of the story/ the turning point. |
| *Falling action | All events leading to the ending of the story. |
| *Conclusion | Ending of the story. |
| Narrator | The person telling the story. |
| *Tone | Narrators/ authors attitude toward the story. |
| *Point of view | How the story is told. |
| -1st person | The narrator uses "I, me,our, my,us..." |
| -3rd person limited | The narrator is not part of the story, " he, she..." One character. |
| -3rd person omnicient | Many characters. " he, she, they,them..." |
| Characters | People or animals in the story |
| *Major | The most important characters in the story. |
| -Protagonist | "good guy" who the story is mainly about. |
| -Antagonist | "bad guy" |
| *Minor | Unsupporting extra characters |
| *Dynamic character | Whose thoughts/ attitudes change |
| *Static characters | Whose thoughts do not change |
| *Flat characters | One personality trait |
| *Round characters | Many personality traits |
| *Indirect characterization | Personality of the characters revealed through thoughts, comments, and actions |
| *Direct characterization | Narrator tells the personality. |
| Symbol | something that stands for something else. |
| Irony | The difference between appearance and reality. |
| Foreshadowing | Hints to what will happen in the future. |
| Suspense | The quality of a story that keeps you interested. |