English: Short Story Narrative Terms

Question 1

Antagonist

Answer 1

The person or thing in a story or play that’s in conflict or opposition to the protagonist.

Question 2

Artistic Unity

Answer 2

A term used to describe a work in which everything contributes to its central purpose. In an artistically unified work, nothing is included that is irrelevant to the central purpose and nothing is omitted that is essential to it.

Question 3

Climax

Answer 3

This is the point of the story after which there is no going back and the ending becomes inevitable.

Question 4

Denouement/Resolution

Answer 4

The final part of the narrative in which the strands of the plot are drawn together and matters are explained or resolved.

Question 5

Epiphany

Answer 5

The epiphany is the moment when a character comes to understand life, or his or her situation.

Question 6

Exposition

Answer 6

A form of writing that explains what’s happening or has happened in the story up to a certain point that usually consists of background information, setting, conflict, and characterization.

Question 7

Falling Action

Answer 7

Occurs right after the climax, when the main problem of the story resolves. Think of this as the bridge between the climax and the denouement.

Question 8

Imagery

Answer 8

Imagery is the use of vivid description that enables the reader to imagine the world of the piece of literature. This can be literal (concrete) or figurative (abstract) language.

Question 9

Concrete Detail

Answer 9

Concrete detail is word choice, description, and story-telling devices that make an appeal to one or more of the following five (5) senses: sight, sound, taste, smell, touch.

Question 10

Irony

Answer 10

A situation in which there is a gap or discrepancy or incongruity perceived between expectation and result, or between what a character thinks is true and what the reader knows is true, or between the situation in the narrative and what would be deemed appropriate.

Question 11

Mood

Answer 11

The overall feeling, or atmosphere, of a text often created by the author’s use of imagery and word choice.

Question 12

Plot

Answer 12

The sequence of events or actions that make up a story, usually consisting of the exposition, conflict, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution (denouement).

Question 13

Point of View

Answer 13

Think of the narrative point of view as the perspective from which the story is told.

Question 14

First Person

Answer 14

Narrator uses I and we rather than he, she, they. Most often the narrator is a protagonist or one of the major characters. Sometimes the narrator may be an observer and a participant in the story.

Question 15

Second Person

Answer 15

The narrator speaks through the eyes of the reader, using the pronoun you to describe the action.

Question 16

Third Person Omniscient

Answer 16

An all-knowing narrator gives thoughts of characters, judgments about them, as well as details of action and dialogue.

Question 17

Third Person Limited

Answer 17

Narrator focuses on thoughts, feelings and actions of a single major character.

Question 18

Third Person Objective

Answer 18

Like a camera, the narrator reports only what can be seen and heard; no thoughts of characters are given except as spoken.

Question 19

Protagonist

Answer 19

The central character in a story.

Question 20

Rising Action

Answer 20

A part of the plot where a series of incidents take place to build suspense, interest, and tension in a narrative. In literary works, rising action includes the exposition which in turn leads to a climax.

Question 21

Setting

Answer 21

The setting is the context in time and space of the action of a story or play. It can include time of day, time of year, historical period, interior space, geographical space, weather, social class and customs, and many other things.

Question 22

Symbolism

Answer 22

Symbolism occurs when an element of the story—an object, gesture, or circumstance—represents or stands for a larger idea beyond its literal meaning in the story. For example, a flower that blooms and then withers in a story might symbolize or represent how fragile and fleeting beauty is.

Question 23

Theme

Answer 23

Different from a topic or a moral, a theme is a general truth about human nature or the human condition which the action of the story reveals. That general truth is not expressed as a single word or phrase.

Question 24

Tone

Answer 24

The attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience conveyed through word choice and the style of the writing (sarcastic, dry, angry).

Question 25

Simile

Answer 25

a figure of speech involving the comparison of one thing with another thing of a different kind, used to make a description more emphatic or vivid (e.g., as brave as a lion, crazy like a fox ).

Question 26

Metaphor

Answer 26

a figure of speech in which a word or phrase is applied to an object or action to which it is not literally applicable.