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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 you LEARN from the story. |
| Conflict | Problem in a story. |
| Internal conflict | When a character is forced to make a diffucult decision. |
| Person vs. self | Same as internal conflict~ a character is forced to make a difficult decision. |
| External conflict | Problem or conflict is created by an outside force. |
| Person vs. person | Two people are in conflict arguing or fighting. |
| Person vs. fate | A person who cannot control his/her destiny/future. |
| Person vs. society | A person whose value and belief are different from society's values and beliefs; racism is an example of person vs. society. |
| Person vs. nature | Conflict is created by a force of nature this includes weather, animals, and ocean. |
| Plot | Sequence of events in a short story. |
| Exposition | All background info is given to the reader. The characters are introduced and the setting is given. |
| Narrative hook | Main conflict is introduced. |
| Rising action | Event in a story that leads 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 the 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 1 character. The 1 character is in every part of the story. The narrator limits what you see. |
| 3rd Omniscient | Omni~All; Scient~knowing~the narrator can tell you what everyone in the story thinks, Can tell you about the past, present, and feature. |
| Characters | People or animals in a short story. |
| Major | Most important character in the short story. |
| Protagonist | The main character; the good guy. |
| Antagonist | The character who creates problems for the protagonist; bad guy. |
| Minor | Additional characters needed to tell the story. |
| Dynamic character | A character whose values, beliefs, or thoughts change in a short story. |
| Static character | A character whose values, beliefs, of thoughts DO NOT 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 something else. |
| Irony | The difference between apprence and reality; when what is expected to happen doesn't. |
| Foreshadowing | Hints about what will happen later in the story; forshadowing helps you predict what will happen. |