Short Story Terms Flashcards
A brief work of fiction where, usually, the main character faces a conflict that is worked out in the plot of the story
Short story
A person in a story, poem, or play
Character
Fully developed, has many different character traits
Round character
Stereotyped, one-dimensional, few traits
Static
Changes as a result of the story’s events
Dynamic
How the author develops the characters, especially the main character
Characterization
The author directly states what the character’s personality is like
Direct characterization
Showing a character’s personality through his/her actions, thoughts, feelings, words, appearance or other character’ observations of reactions
Indirect characterization
Main character of the story that changes
Protagonist
A major character who opposes the protagonist
Antagonist
Types of antagonists:
People
Nature
Society
A struggle between two opposing forces
Conflict
Types of Conflict
Internal and External
Takes place in a character’s own mind
Man vs. Him(her)self
Internal
A character struggled against an outside force Man vs. Man Man vs. Nature Man vs. technology, progress Man vs. Society Man vs. Supernatural
External
Series of related events that make up a story
Plot
Section that introduces characters, the setting, and conflicts
Exposition
The time and place of the story’s action
Setting
Consists of a series of complications Occur when the main characters take action to resolve their problems and are met with further problems: -Fear -Hostility -Threatening situation
Rising Action
The turning point in the story: the high point of interest and suspense
Climax
All events following the climax or turning point in the story. These events are a result of the action taken at the climax
Falling Action
The end of the central conflict: it shows how the situation turns out and this ties loose ends
(Denouement)
Resolution
Vantage point from which the writer tells the story
Point of view
One of the characters is actually telling the story using pronoun “I”
First person
You
Second person
He,she,it
Third person
(Enters on one character’s thoughts and actions (third person))
Limited Omniscient
All knowing narrator. Can center on the thoughts and actions of any and all characters (third person)
Omniscient
The central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work
The “main idea” of the story
Theme
The present scene in the story is interrupted to flash backward and tell what happened in past time
Flashback
Clues the writer puts in the story to give the reader a hint of what is to come
Foreshadowing
An object, person, or event that functions as itself, but also stands for something more than itself
Example: scales’ function is to weigh things, but they are also a symbol of our justice system
Symbol
Involved imaginative comparison between two unlike things
Figurative Language
Comparing two unlike things using like or as
“I wandered lonely as a cloud”
Simile
Comparing two unlike things (not using like or as)
“Life is a roller coaster, it has lots of ups and downs
Metaphor
Giving human qualities to non-human things
Personification
A contrast between expectation and reality
Irony
Saying one thing but meaning something completely different
Verbal Irony
A contradiction between what we expect to happen and what really does happen
Situational Irony
Occurs when the reader knows something important that the characters in the story do not know
Dramatic Irony
Reference to a statement, person, place, or events from: Literature History Religion Mythology Politics Sports
Allusion
Uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels about what is going to happen next in a story
Suspense
Language that appeals to the senses Touch Taste Sight Sound Smell
Example: Creating a picture in the reader’s mind through our senses.
Imagery
