THE SHORT STORY: ELEMENTS OF FICTION - WikispacesShort+Story-+elements+of... · the short story:...

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THE SHORT STORY: ELEMENTS OF FICTION

Transcript of THE SHORT STORY: ELEMENTS OF FICTION - WikispacesShort+Story-+elements+of... · the short story:...

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THE SHORT STORY: ELEMENTS OF

FICTION

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LITERARY TERMINOLOGY

• Theme

• Plot

• Characters & characterization

• Point of view

• Conflict

• Mood

• Setting

• Irony

• Symbols

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WHAT ARE THE KEY PARTS OF A PLOT DIAGRAM?

•Exposition

•Inciting incident

•Rising action

•Climax

•Falling action

•Dénouement / Resolution

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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

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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

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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

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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.)

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.”)

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WHAT DOES POINT OF VIEW MEAN?

The perspective or vantage point from which a story is told

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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”

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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)

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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

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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

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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)

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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