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Short Story Terms
Short story- a brief work of fiction where, usually the main character faces a conflict that is worked
out in the plot of the story
Character- a person in a story, poem or play
Types of characters:
o Round- fully developed, has many different character traits
o Flat-stereotyped, one dimensional, few traits
o Static- does not change
o Dynamic- changes as a result of the story's events
Characterization- how the author develops the characters, especially the main character
o This is done through:
What the character does or says
What others say of and to the character
Authors word choice in descriptive passages
Direct Characterization- the author directly states what the character's personality is like (ex
...
self
External- a struggle against an outside force
Man vs
...
nature
Man vs
...
society
Man vs
...
These events are a
result of the action taken at the climax
Resolution- the end of the central conflict; it shows how the situation turns out and ties up loose
ends (denouncement)
Point of view- the vantage pint from which the writer tells the story
o First person- one of the characters is actually telling the story using the pronoun "I"
o Third person limited- centers on one characters thoughts and actions
o Third person omniscient- all knowing character, can center on the thoughts and actions of
any and all characters
Theme- the central message or insight into life revealed through a literary work
o The main idea of a story
Flashback- the present scene in the story is interrupted to flash backward and tell what happened
in an earlier time
Foreshadowing- Clues the writer puts in the story to give the reader a hint of what is to come
Symbol- an object, person, or event that functions as itself, but also stands for something more
than itself
o Example- scales function is to weigh things but they are also a symbol of our justice system
Figurative language- involves some imaginative comparison between two unlike things
o Simile- comparing two unlike things using "like" or "as"
"I wandered lonely as a cloud"
o Metaphor- comparing two unlike things without using "like" or "as"
"Life is a roller coaster, it has lots of ups and downs"
o Personification- giving human qualities to non-human things
"the wind howled"
Irony- a contrast between expectation and reality
o Verbal irony- saying one thing but meaning something completely different
o Situational irony- contradiction between what we expect to happen and what does happen
o Dramatic irony- occurs when the reader knows something important that the characters in
the story do not know
Allusion- reference to a statement, person, place, or events from:
o Literature
o History
o Religion
o Mythology
o Politics
o Sports
Suspense- uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels about what is going to happen next in a story
Imagery- language that appeals to the senses
o Touch
o Taste
o Sight
o Sound
o Smell
*creating a picture in the readers mind through description