Short Story Elements

Question 1

plot

Answer 1

the sequence of events in a story

Question 2

character

Answer 2

a person or animal in a story

Question 3

indirect charcaterization

Answer 3

the character is revealed through their personality, appearance, words, actions, and effect on others

Question 4

direct characterization

Answer 4

the author directly states a character’s traits

Question 5

flat character

Answer 5

a character who is not very well developed; has few identifiable characteristics

Question 6

round character

Answer 6

this character is fully developed - the writer reveals good and bad traits as well as background

Question 7

static character

Answer 7

a character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end

Question 8

dynamic character

Answer 8

a character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story’s action

Question 9

motivation

Answer 9

the reasons that cause characters to act as they do

Question 10

protagonist

Answer 10

the main character, who must overcome obstacles and resolve the conflict

Question 11

antagonist

Answer 11

a character or force in conflict with the main character

Question 12

exposition

Answer 12

the introductory material which gives the setting, creates the tone, presents the characters, and presents other facts necessary to understanding the story

Question 13

rising action

Answer 13

the series of conflicts or struggles that build a story toward a climax

Question 14

climax

Answer 14

the turning point of the story

Question 15

falling action

Answer 15

The events after the climax which close the story

Question 16

denouement/conclusion

Answer 16

the point when the conflict is resolved and remaining loose ends are tied up

Question 17

theme

Answer 17

a central idea or insight into life revealed through a literary work

Question 18

first-person point of view

Answer 18

the narrator is a character in the story and used words like I, me, we

Question 19

second-person point of view

Answer 19

the narrator addresses the reader directly using the pronoun “you”

Question 20

thrid-person point of view

Answer 20

the narrator is outside the story and reveals the thoughts of only one character, who is referred to as “he” or “she.”

Question 21

omniscient pov

Answer 21

all-knowing speaker shares the actions, thoughts, and dialogue of all characters

Question 22

limited pov

Answer 22

a narrator who is confined to what is experienced, thought, or felt by a single character, or at most a limited number of characters

Question 23

objective pov

Answer 23

story told through actions and dialogue; reader infers what the characters think and feel. narrator is a detatched observer.

Question 24

inagery

Answer 24

Description that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste)

Question 25

simile

Answer 25

a comparison using like or as

Question 26

metaphor

Answer 26

a comparison without using like or as

Question 27

personification

Answer 27

a figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes

Question 28

symbol

Answer 28

something that stands for or represents something else

Question 29

fable

Answer 29

a brief story that leads to a moral, often using animals as characters

Question 30

allusion

Answer 30

a reference to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art

Question 31

foreshadowing

Answer 31

the use of hints and clues to suggest what will happen later in a plot