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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. |