Short Story Literary Terms & Definitions 2011

Short Story Unit Literary Terms & Definitions By Erin Salona

Parts of Plot
Plot: The sequence of events in a story.
Exposition: The basic situation of a story—this is where the reader learns the background information necessary to understand the story.

Exposition Example
The reader learns Liz lives in an apartment by herself.
Liz is 25-years-old.
Liz is tired from a long day at work as a nurse.
Liz is talking on her cell-phone to her best friend Julie as she walks to the door of her own home.

Parts of Plot
Rising Action: The part of the story which occurs between the exposition and climax. Here is where conflicts occur which build up the story and make it interesting.

Rising Action Example
Liz hears some strange thumping sounds coming from the inside of her apartment as she is about to put her key in the door.
Liz tells Julie she hears something.
Julie suggests she calls the police.
Liz tells Julie that she was probably imagining the sounds but still hears them.

Parts of Plot
Climax: The turning point or highest point of action in a story. The main conflict is typically resolved after this place.
At the climax the protagonist realizes what has to be done to fix the major conflict of the story and then acts on this decision.

Climax Example
Liz opens the door to her apartment and sets her bag by the door.
Her heart jumps when she sees a pair of black shoes peeking out from under her living room curtains.
The curtain moves slightly.

Climax Example
Liz bravely walks up to the curtain and picks up a heavy candlestick on the way.
She strikes the candlestick against the curtain, and at the same time, something grabs her hand from behind the curtain.
Liz drops the candlestick, and a tall man with a black mask emerges from behind the curtain.
Suddenly, her front door is flung open.

Parts of Plot
Falling Action: The part of the story which occurs after the climax and before the resolution. Here is where loose ends are tied up toward the end of the story.

Falling Action Example
The police emerge, and the masked man releases Liz from his grasp.
He quickly exits her home through the open window, but is met with the gun from a policeman.
Julie had called the police for Liz.
Liz realizes many of her possessions are knocked over or broken.

Parts of Plot
Resolution: The final outcome of the story.

Resolution Example
The police try to comfort Liz while taking her statement.
Liz packs some possessions to take to Julie’s house for the night.
She decides to invest in a second lock for her door in the morning and to install a burglar system. She knows it will be difficult to continue living in her home.

Parts of Plot Basic Situation or Exposition Rising Action Climax Falling Action Resolution

Plot Curve Exposition Rising Action Falling Action Resolution

Flashback
interrupting the sequence of events to include information about an event that happened in the past
What happened before the car crash = a flashback .
“ Before I rear-ended the car, I was only applying make-up, texting and looking for a song on my I-pod,” explained the sobbing teenager to the police officer.

Flashback “ When I was a young boy growing up on a farm, I had an experience I will never forget. . .”

Conflict
Internal Conflict: A conflict that occurs within a character’s mind. (man vs. himself)

Conflict
External Conflict: A conflict that occurs between a character and an outside force. Man vs. man, man vs. nature, for example.

Characterization
Major Characters : The most important characters in a story.
The story revolves around these characters’ lives.

Characterization
Minor Characters: they interact with the main characters, but the plot does not revolve around them

Characterization
Round Character: A character with many qualities and personality traits.
They sometimes experience a conflict and change as a result.
They seem like real people.

Characterization
Flat Character:
A character with only a couple characteristics/
His or her main purpose is to reveal things about other characters or move the plot along.
For example : a patient on a hospital TV show

Characterization
Dynamic Character: A character who changes throughout the story. They are typically major, round characters.

Characterization
Static Character: A character who does NOT change throughout the story.
The Ghost of Christmas Future

Characterization
Protagonist: The main character of a story—often considered to be the hero of the story.

Characterization
Antagonist: The character or outside force who frustrates, deceives, or works against the main character.

Character Traits
the characteristics of a character that emerge through narration and dialogue

Methods of Characterization
Direct Characterization:
The narrator makes direct comments about the character. i.e. “She adores kittens.” (TELLS)

Indirect Characterization
We learn about the character through his or her speech, thoughts, feelings, actions, physical appearance and through other characters’ thoughts, feelings, and speech about her. (SHOWS)
All dialogue is indirect

Irony
Situational Irony: When there is a contrast between what a reader or character expects and what actually exists or happens.

Situational Irony

Situational Irony Example
When John Hinckley attempted to assassinate President Ronald Reagan , all of his shots initially missed the President; however a bullet ricocheted off the bullet-proof windows of the Presidential limousine and struck Reagan in the chest. Thus, the windows made to protect the President from gunfire were partially responsible for his being shot.

In 1974 the Consumer Product Safety Commission had to recall 80,000 of its own lapel buttons promoting "toy safety", because the buttons had sharp edges, used lead paint, and had small clips that could be broken off and subsequently swallowed.

Jim Fixx , who did much to popularize jogging as a form of healthy exercise in his 1977 book The Complete Book of Running, died at the age of 52 of a heart attack (a death associated with sedentary, unhealthy lifestyles) while out jogging.

Alfred Nobel invented the relatively stable explosive dynamite essentially to prevent deaths (such as in mining work which relied on the unstable explosives gunpowder and nitroglycerin ), but his invention was soon taken up as a weapon in the Franco-Prussian War , among others, causing many deaths.

Irony
Verbal Irony: Saying one thing, but meaning something else. . . knowingly exaggerating. (sarcasm)
Example: Teacher: “I can see from the ‘F’ on your paper that you put a lot of effort into your assignment.”

Verbal Irony Example “ It looks like you put a lot of thought into your outfit. Thanks for dressing up.”

Verbal Irony Example “ Thanks so much!” said the man to the driver of the car.

Verbal Irony Example

Irony
Dramatic Irony : The audience or reader knows something another character does not know.
Dramatic Irony Example : We, the audience, know that there is a surprise party for Carlos; however, Carlos does not know and is surprised to find a room full of friends when he arrives home.

Dramatic Irony Example Although we, the audience, know Bob is in danger of being shot by Steve, poor Bob does not know Steve is around the corner. BOB STEVE

Dramatic Irony Example We, the audience, know the identity of Hannah Montana; yet other characters do not know that Miley Stewart is actually Hannah Montana.

Dramatic Irony Example For some reason, nobody could tell that Clark Kent and Superman are the same person. The cape and no glasses change his identity.

Dramatic Irony Example
In Titanic , we know that the ocean liner is going to hit an iceberg and sink but the passengers and crew cannot know this. Although we know this from historical fact, it is not made explicit to the audience in the story itself.

Dramatic Irony Example
When watching a talk show like Jerry Springer , the audience knows why a person has been brought on the show. However, the person sitting in the chair does not know that he is going to be reunited with a former lover.

Narrator
Character who tells the story to the audience
He or she can be a character in the story

Unreliable Narrator
a narrator who is difficult to trust or believe
usually a narrator who is discovered to lie, is delusional, or is mentally ill.
He provides the reader with inaccurate or incomplete information
"It is impossible to say how first the idea entered my brain; but once conceived, it haunted me day and night. . . I think it was his eye! yes, it was this! One of his eyes resembled that of a vulture--a pale blue eye, with a film over it. Whenever it fell upon me, my blood ran cold; and so by degrees--very gradually--I made up my mind to take the life of the old man, and thus rid myself of the eye for ever."
-Edgar Allan Poe, "The Tell-Tale Heart"

Point of View
Who is telling the story?
1 st Person POV: The narrator is a character in the story and uses “I” or “me” when telling the story.
2 nd Person POV: The narrator brings “you”, the reader, into the story when telling the story.

Point of View
3 rd Person Limited POV: The narrator tells only what one character thinks, feels, and observes, and uses “he,” “they,” “she,” etc.
3 rd Person Omniscient POV: The narrator sees into the minds of more than one character when telling the story– uses “he,” “she,” “they,” etc.

Point of View
3 rd Person Objective Point of View:
the unbiased narrator tells what happens while only revealing the story's action and dialogue.
The narrator never tells us what the characters think or feel, remaining a detached observer.
3 rd person pronouns are used (he, she, etc.)

Point of View
How can the point of view from which the story is told affect the credibility (believability) of the story?
Consider: “The Necklace” is told in 3 rd person limited, following Madame Loisel’s perspective. What if the story was told from Monsieur Loisel’s perspective? What would change?

Setting
Setting: Where and when the story takes place.
Place - geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place?
Time - When is the story taking place? (historical period, time of day, year, etc)
Weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc?

Describe the Setting

Historical Context
the way in which a work of literature is related to the themes and issues of its historical period
Examples:
a story written in the 1880’s will reflect fewer women’s rights
a story set in the early to mid 1800’s may exhibit the horrors of slavery

Imagery
Mental pictures or images created by the author for the reader to show rather than tell the events of the story
Figurative language is often used
Imagery relies on the five senses:
Smell
Taste
Touch
Hear
See

Imagery: SIGHT
The cars crept along like marching ants
Green willows
Wilted roses
The sky looked like the untouched canvas of an artist.
Silver hue of night
Eyes the color of Heaven

Imagery: SMELL
Sweaty clothes
Pungent skin
Dusty odor of dry earth
Aroma of baking apple bread
Rotting leaves
Salty beach air

Imagery: TASTE
Ice-cold strawberries
Tall, frosted glass of lemonade
Pink sweetness of watermelon
Salty chips
The taste of that first defeat was bitter indeed.
Juicy and tart gum

Imagery: TOUCH
Hot, July sun
Soft sand
Sharp briars pulling my hair
Face hot from embarrassment
The lake was left shivering by the touch of morning wind.

Imagery: SOUND
Crackling branches
The eerie silence was shattered by her scream.
Strum of the guitar
He could hear the footsteps of doom nearing.
Ear-piercing sirens

Foreshadowing
The use of hints or clues to indicate events and situations that will occur later in the plot.
Spooky music
Thunder and lightening
A new suspicious character introduced (purpose unknown at the time)

Foreshadowing Example
The general smiled the quiet smile of one who has faced an obstacle and surmounted it with success. “I had to invent a new animal to hunt.”
From “The Most Dangerous Game”

Suspense
The excitement or tension a reader feels when reading.
I wonder what will happen next?

Suspense Example
Rainsford expressed his surprise. “Is there big game on this island?”
The general nodded. “The biggest.”
“ Oh, it isn’t here naturally, of course. I have to stock the island.”
From “The Most Dangerous Game”

Mood
Mood is the emotions that you feel while you are reading. Some literature makes you feel sad , others joyful , still others, angry .
The general atmosphere created by the author’s words and imagery.
Types of mood: scary , romantic ,
violent , hopeful , mysterious , joyful. . .

Describe the MOOD

Tone
the manner in which written words might be said. For example: sarcastic, hateful, witty, angry
Tone is different from mood in that a story typically has one mood; whereas, tone can change a lot throughout a story.

Words That Describe Tone
Amused
Humorous
Pessimistic
Angry
Informal
Playful
Cheerful
Ironic
Witty
Horrifying
Light
Sad
Matter-of-fact
Serious
Formal
Suspicious
Gloomy
Optimistic

Examples of Tone
Sincere: She rose from her chair when I came in and exclaimed with a smile: "Wow! Nice outfit!"
Sarcastic: She gave me one look and said, with a short laugh, "Yeah, right! Nice outfit!"

Examples of Tone
Envious: She glanced at me quickly and muttered reluctantly, "Um, yeah . . . nice outfit."
Insulting: She looked at me incredulously and said, "Eww! Nice outfit!"

Diction
The word choice used in a piece of literature.
There are typically recognized to be four levels of diction: formal, informal, colloquial, and slang.
Authors have distinctive diction.
Some use very descriptive diction.
Others use basic, straight-forward diction.

Diction Examples
How would you describe the diction from this excerpt?:
“ ‘ She claimed he was obsessed with me. I was like, ‘Hello, we’re friends.’ Females can be so jealous sometimes, it drives me nuts.’”
From Crunch Time by Mariah Fredericks

Diction Examples
How would you describe the diction from this excerpt?
THE "Red Death" had long devastated the country. No pestilence had ever been so fatal, or so hideous. Blood was its Avatar and its seal -- the redness and the horror of blood. There were sharp pains, and sudden dizziness, and then profuse bleeding at the pores, with dissolution.
From “Masque of the Red Death” by Edgar Allen Poe

Dialect
the vocabulary, grammar, and pronunciation used by people in different regions

Dialect Example
How would you describe the dialect in the excerpts below?:
"ahm agonna gichew ifn yew don't quit bothern my dawg!"
Y’all come ahere; I got sumpn a show yuh.
"What is that air thang you got air in yore han', Lela May?"
I stopped at d'fillin station to air up my tars.

Dialect Example
How would you describe the dialect in the excerpt below?:
Why do I still fancy Daniel so much?
“ Mum, I’ve told you. I don’t need to be fixed up with some strange bloke.”
“ I don’t give a toss. You need a bloke.”

Theme
An observation about life that the writer conveys to the reader.
A theme must be written in a complete sentence and must apply to the story as well as to life in general.
A good way to find the theme is to ask yourself the question, what does the main character learn in the course of the story?
Theme and subject are not the same.

Theme
Sometimes we must sacrifice something we value in order to save someone we love.
Money does not guarantee happiness.
Love is the worthiest of pursuits.

Universal Theme
Recurring themes that appear frequently across traditional and contemporary works
Good versus evil
Society versus the individual
Overcoming adversity

Symbol
A person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself and for something beyond itself as well.
Examples : the American flag symbolizes freedom, liberty, and love for America.
A wedding band symbolizes_______.
A white flag symbolizes__________.

Symbols in Literature
Dove =
Peace
Eagle =
freedom, liberty, strength
Spring =
youth, re-birth, birth, life
Autumn =
middle age, maturity
Winter =
death, dying, old age
Water =
birth, re-birth, renewal, purification

Rose =
love, beauty
Sunrise =
new start, beginning
Full moon =
danger, bizarre behavior
Sleep =
death
Skull =
death
Forest =
place of testing or challenge
Light =
good, hope, freedom

Darkness =
evil, magic, fear, unknown
Red =
anger, passion
Blue = happiness, peacefulness, sadness, intellect
Green =
jealousy, wealth, growth
Black =
death, evil, sin, holiness
White =
purity, innocence

Genres of Literature
Different types of writing
Each genre shapes a theme or topic differently. Genres include…
Fiction
Non-fiction
Poetry
Drama

Sub-genres of literature
Narrowed categories of literature
Classic literature
Contemporary lit.
Historical fiction
Fantasy
Science fiction
Teen fiction
Mystery
Romance

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Short Story Literary Terms & Definitions 2011

by Carmel High School; Carmel, Indiana

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