SHORT STORY Flashcards
WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF SHORT STORY?
POV, SETTING, CHARACTER, CHARACTERIZATION, PLOT, CONFLICT AND THEME
refers to the perspective from which a story is told
POV
- narrator or storyteller is a major or minor character within the story who uses the pronoun “I”
- sometimes called the persona
FIRST PERSON
time and place in which it happens
SETTING
person, or sometimes even an animal, who takes part in the action of a short story
CHARACTER
TWO TYPES OF CHARACTERS?
PROTAGONIST AND ANTAGONIST
character, or group of characters, causes the conflict for the protagonist
ANTAGONIST
main character, around which the whole story revolves
PROTAGONIST
THE DIFFERENT TRAITS OF A CHARACTER
FOIL, STATIC, DYNAMIC, FLAT, ROUND AND STOCK
do not change throughout the story
STATIC
stereotypical characters (like boy genius, ambitious career person, faithful sidekick, mad scientist, etc.)
STOCK
- has one or two main traits, usually only all positive or negative
- opposite of ROUND CHARACTER
FLAT
meant to help highlight or bring out another’s positive or negative side
FOIL
- opposite of STATIC
- change throughout the story. They may learn a lesson, become bad, or change in complex ways
DYNAMIC
have many different traits, good and bad, making them more interesting
ROUND
how the author develops the characters
CHARACTERIZATION
- series of events
- has a beginning, middle, and end
- engine of the story
PLOT
2 types of CHARACTERIZATION
DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION AND INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
Showing a character’s personality through his/her actions, thoughts, feelings, words, appearance or other character’s observations or reactions
INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
author directly states what the character’s personality
DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
BASIC PLOT STRUCTURE
EXPOSITION, RISING ACTION, CLIMAX, FALLING ACTION AND RESOLUTION
struggle between two people or things
CONFLICT
KINDS OF CONFLICT
- MAN VS MAN
- MAN VS SOCIETY
- MAN VS NATURE
- MAN VS HIMSELF
TYPES OF CONFLICT
INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL
struggle with a force outside one’s self
EXTERNAL CONFLICT
struggle within one’s self
INTERNAL CONFLICT
- central idea or belief
- author’s underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to convey
THEME
WHAT ARE THE TECHNIQUES USED IN FICTION?
MONOLOGUE, FORESHADOWING, SUSPENSE, STEREOTYPES, SLAPSTICK, ATMOSPHERE, LOCAL COLOR, FLASHBACK, EMPATHY AND STYLES
create funny or humorous situation
MONOLOGUE
identifying one’s self with the character
EMPATHY
unique approach used by the author when writing a story
STYLES
over-all mood
ATMOSPHERE
presents events or dialogue to create funny or HUMOROUS situation
SLAPSTICK
focuses more on the characters manners, events, language, customs and traditions of a particular country or place
LOCAL COLOR
standardized, conventional ideas about characters, plot, and setting
STEREOTYPES
feeling that something is going to happen
FORESHADOWING
playback of events from the past
FLASHBACK
WHAT ARE THE PLOT TYPES?
ADVENTURE, CHANGE, LURE, RACE, ROMANCE, GIFT and MISTAKE
characters chase wealth or fame but must overcome others to succeed
RACE
ordinary person sacrifices to aid someone else
GIFT
jealousy and misunderstandings threaten lovers’
happiness
ROMANCE
person undergoes a dramatic transformation
CHANGE
innocent person caught in a situation he doesn’t
understand must overcome foes and dodge dangers he never expected (ex. FINDING NEMO)
MISTAKE
person must decide whether to give in to temptation, revenge, rage, or some other passion
LURE
person goes to new places, tries new things, and
faces myrid obstacles
ADVENTURE
