English

• Plot: the sequence of events in the story (the story line), driven by the conflict. The plot of a short story can usually be expressed in one sentence. A short story may not have all elements of the plot (ex. Begins with initiating event or end at climax). Complex literature may have a plot and sub-plot with its own conflict. Plot typically follows: Introduction, initiating event, rising action, climax, falling action, (denouement)
• Introduction: will introduce us to the setting and the protagonist(s)
• Initiating event: “kicks off” the conflict and, hence, starts the rising action. May be known by other terms such as activating circumstance.
• Rising action: intensifies the conflict and reveals the personalities of the characters which allows readers to feel something for them. When readers feel something for characters, they care about what is going to happen to them and want to read on. Foreshadowing is used, suspense is created, several events will consitute the rising action.
• Climax: the moment at which the reader learns how the protagonist‘s conflict is resolved.
• Denouement: unanswered questions are answered after the climax
• Theme: a truth about life the author wants to reveal or teach. It is implicit (implied) vs explicit (stated). We derive theme by reading between the lines by asking what happened to the protagonist at the climax into a sentence form (not a cliche). A theme is revealed by the evidence in the story. Because theme is relevant to people in general, it is not the topic of a piece of writing, but a comment on the topic (universal and therefore broadly applicable).
• Point of view: the narrator’s relationship to the story. The author uses a specific narrator to tell the story.
• First person: events in the story are happening directly to the narrator. “I” or “we” are used. The character may be major (protagonist) or a minor character
• Omniscient: the narrator is “all knowing”. The narrator can know thoughts and feelings of any character, can make inferences, can relate past events, can move from location to location. The omniscient narrator is not “tied” to one character.
• Limited omniscient: the narrator is limited to being “all knowing” with regard to usually one character. The story is told through the character as opposed to by the character. The limited omniscient narrator may know more about the character than they do themselves. The story may be told through either a major or minor character.
• Objective: is the “eye of the camera” point of view. The narrator only relays what is seen and heard (external, observable actions). It often relies heaviliy on dialogue and is therefore also called the ”dramatic point of view”.
• Tone: the attitude adopted by the narrator (ex. Clinical, condescending, unsure, confused, confident, sympathetic, etc.) Tone originates, therefore, with a ‘person’ (narrator) where mood grows out of non-human elements.
• Mood: the emotional backgroup of the story. It is an overall feeling you get and is often conveyed through establishing the setting (often the weather); through presenting the thoughts, words, and actions of the characters; through specific use of devices such as imagery, metaphors; through the diction, etc. Also referred to as atmosphere. Sometimes differentiated where atmosphere is created in the story and mood is the effect that the atmosphere has on the reader, the emotion that is evoked.
• Style: the way the author chooses to convey the story. This may include choosing specific syntax, diction, imagery, figures of speech, point of view, figurative language, paragraphs, etc.
• Artistic unity: a story achieves artistic unity when nothing can be added to it nor taken away from it to make it a stronger narrative.
• dilemma: a protagonist has a dilemma when they have to choose between two undesirable options.
• dramatic irony: when the audience knows more than the characters about the situation, and the characters are unaware of this
• foreshadowing: the deliberate passing of clues or hints to the reader about what might happen next. provides a trail of clues that lead the reader to a satisfying climax. Creates suspense by causing the reader to guess what might happen next. The reader then feels compelled to read further to see if the prediction comes true or not.
• mystery: the quality in a story makes the reader ask why is this happening
• situational irony: when things do not turn out as they should have you expect them to (the opposite of what is expected)
• suspense: this is the quality of a story that makes the reader wonder what is going to happen next. mystery and dilemma are two ways of creating suspense.
• symbolism: using an event, an object, a person, etc. to represent something else. The symbol saves the author's explanation because the reader knows the story that goes with the symbol.
• verbal irony: occurs when a speaker says the opposite of what they mean.
• Falling action: the events after the climax. Some short stories may end at the climax and not have Any falling action.
• setting: the time, place, circumstance of the story. Some stories have specific settings and some have vague, general settings. Circumstances create the social or environmental backdrop for the story. Conflict grows out of the circumstances
• Protagonist: the character with whom we identify most, the person who has the conflict, and whose conflict is resolved at the climax. (Aka the main character)
• antagonist: the person, thing, or force working against the protagonist
• Flat character: an underdeveloped, one-dimensional character
• round character: a well-developed character. many aspects of their personality and experiences are revealed.
• Static character: a character whose personality/situation does not change during the story.
• dynamic character: a character who changes as a result of the events of the story. sometimes referred to as a “developing character”
• stock character: a stereotypical character who is easily recognized
• character foil: a character whose traits contrast with another character, usually the protagonist.
• Conflict: the struggle between the protagonist and the antagonist which begins with the initating event, intensifies with the rising action, and is resolved at the climax. Types: person vs self, person vs person, person vs environmental; society; fate