THE SHORT STORY: ELEMENTS OF FICTION - WikispacesShort+Story-+elements+of... · the short story:...
Transcript of THE SHORT STORY: ELEMENTS OF FICTION - WikispacesShort+Story-+elements+of... · the short story:...
THE SHORT STORY: ELEMENTS OF
FICTION
LITERARY TERMINOLOGY
• Theme
• Plot
• Characters & characterization
• Point of view
• Conflict
• Mood
• Setting
• Irony
• Symbols
WHAT ARE THE KEY PARTS OF A PLOT DIAGRAM?
•Exposition
•Inciting incident
•Rising action
•Climax
•Falling action
•Dénouement / Resolution
WHAT IS THE PURPOSE OF THE EXPOSITION?
✓ Introductory material in a work of fiction ✓Creates tone✓Gives setting✓ Introduces characters and often conflict✓ Supplies other facts necessary to
understanding✓Usually at beginning of the work
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE INCITING INCIDENT
AND THE RISING ACTION?
•Inciting incident–Event or force that gets the action
in motion•Rising action–Consists of development and
complications–Part of plot between inciting
incident and climax
DEFINE THE TERM CLIMAX
• Moment of greatest emotional intensity in drama
• In fiction, may occur at same time as crisis but doesn’t have to
EXPLAIN WHAT YOU WOULD FIND IN THE FALLING ACTION
(AND HOW IS IT DIFFERENT FROM THE DÉNOUEMENT?)
The falling action is the events that follow the climax whereas the dénouement or resolution is the final unraveling of the plot (solution of a mystery, etc.)
WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT TYPES OF CONFLICT?
• External –Character vs. character–Character vs. nature–Character vs. society
• Internal –Character vs. self–Also Character vs. fate
HOW DO WRITERS MAKE A STORY MORE INTERESTING? (SUSPENSE)
Suspense—feeling of growing curiosity or anxiety about the outcome of events in a literary work; it is what keeps you turning the pages
Two types:• One is when the outcome is uncertain and the
suspense is in the question of who or what or how
• The other is when the outcome is already known and the suspense is in how the story gets there
LOOKING BACK & LOOKING AHEAD: FORESHADOWING AND FLASHBACKS
• Foreshadowing—use of clues about the events to come
• Flashback—a section of a literary work that interrupts the chronological sequence of events to relate an event from an earlier time
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A FLAT AND A
ROUND CHARACTER?• Flat characters— two-dimensional or wooden
characters– Characters that are not well developed, that are
given only one or two characteristics
• Round characters— developed or three-dimensional characters
– Characters that are complicated and exhibit so many traits that they seem like real people
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN A STATIC AND A
DYNAMIC CHARACTER?• Static character—a character who
remains basically the same inside throughout the story–Things happen to such a character
without things happening within them• Dynamic character—a character who
changes inside in some significant way–Action shows the character changing in
response to the action
EXPLAIN THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE PROTAGONIST AND
THE ANTAGONIST.
• Protagonist—the main character in a work
• Antagonist—the character or force which creates the conflict for the main character
WHAT IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DIRECT AND INDIRECT
CHARACTERIZATION?• Direct characterization —the author tells the
reader directly about a character• (e.g. “Even though she was the youngest, Sarah
was the smartest of all her sisters.”)• Indirect characterization —the author presents
the character through action and speech, with little or no explicit exposition by the author, and allows the reader to make up own mind about character
• (e.g. “At report time Sarah was the only daughter in the Thompson family who always brought home straight As.”)
WHAT DOES POINT OF VIEW MEAN?
The perspective or vantage point from which a story is told
WHAT ARE THE THREE MAIN POINTS OF VIEW?
1. First person—always limited. Told from the perspective of a character in the story using pronoun “I”
2. Third person limited—told by an outside narrator who doesn’t know everything
3. Third person omniscient—told by an outside narrator who does know everything (all-seeing, all-knowing)– “Omni”—Greek for “all”– “Scient”—Greek for “knowing”
WHAT ELEMENTS DO YOU LOOK FOR WHEN DISCUSSING SETTING?
Four elements:1. the geographical location2. the occupations and daily lifestyle of the characters3. the time or period in which the action takes place (e.g.
the era in history or the season of the year)4. the general environment of the characters, such as
religious, mental, moral, social, and emotional conditions
• Setting may help create a particular atmosphere or mood
• Sometimes the central conflict is a struggle against some element of the setting (like an earthquake or volcano)
WHAT IS A SYMBOL?
Something that stands for itself and also for something else. Examples:–flag = colored cloth and stands for a
country– traffic sign = piece of metal attached
to a pole and stands for a traffic law
WHAT ARE DIFFERENT KINDS OF SYMBOLS?
Universal symbol
• Widely known and accepted symbols– Examples: a voyage symbolizing a life, flowing
water representing time passing, a skull for deathPersonal symbol • Created by the author for a particular work
• Only applies in that one literary work– Examples: Moby Dick, Harry Potter’s scar
WHAT ARE THE THREE TYPES OF IRONY?
• Verbal irony– Words that suggest the opposite of their usual
meanings• Dramatic irony
– Contradiction between what a character thinks and what the reader or audience knows to be true
• Situational irony– An event occurs that directly contradicts the
expectations of the reader or audience (surprise or twist endings)
WHAT IS MEANT BY THE THEME OF A SHORT STORY?
Theme—the main idea or truth about life an author tries to present
Examples:
• Things are not always as they seem
• Money changes people