I.

Short Story
The short story was first formally defined in 1842 by Edgar Allen Poe as an artistic composition controlled to produce
a single unified effect.
The short story is, in the broadest sense, a prose narrative that can be told or read in a single sitting.
From this point of view, the short story is the oldest and most natural form of prose fiction.
II. Terms:
1. Prose- is unmetered, unstructured writing.Prose is the opposite of Poetry
Ex. of prose: Short Story, non-fiction
2. Fiction- A prose story based on the imagination of the author
3. Plot- A plot is the sequence of events that make up a story. The action of the plot progresses because of a conflict
between opposing forces/ conflicts.
Note: Of course, this "sequence" doesn't necessarily have to be in order - detective stories or thrillers can often work
backwards or jump from one event to another - however, everything does
come together. Keep in mind that stories can b e plot driven, character driven or theme driven.

4. Conflict- A struggle between opposing forces (There are two types)
a. Internal conflict- A conflict within the mind of a character; self-imposed challenges
i. Man vs. Self
b. External conflict- A conflict that occurs outside the person.
i. Man vs. Man
ii. Man vs. Nature
iii. Man vs. Society
iv. Man vs. Supernatural / Fate
v. Man vs. Technology
5. Plot structure:
a. Exposition- This is the introduction of story background information that is needed to properly understand
it. The part of the work that introduces the characters, the setting and the basic situation. The inciting
incident occurs here the initial event which triggers the rest of the story. In other words, what was it that
put everything in motion? The conflict is introduced and the situation intensifies through the RISING ACTION.
b. Rising Action- All events that occur before the climax. During this time, the events intensify the conflict.
Twists and turns occur in the plot.

Note: For example, in Harry Potter and the Sorcerers Stone, Harry must go through a set of tasks to reach
where the sorcerers stone is hidden where he will have the final battle. These tasks are the rising action,
and the final battle would be considered the climax.
c. Climax-The high point of interest or suspense in the story. The conflict is about to be revealed.
d. Falling Action- Events that occur after the climax. This is where the conflict unravels and leads to the
resolution.
e. Resolution- The end of the conflict; Things are explained; Often involves a change or an insight.
f. Denouement- Any events that untie or occur after the resolution. (Often stories are not resolved.
g. **Draw Plot Structure

6. Inciting incident- The incident which introduces the central conflict
7. Setting-The time and place of action

8. Characterization- The method (s) used by an author to create and develop the characters in the story.
a. Methods of characterization:
i. What a character says
ii. The characters actions
iii. The characters thoughts
iv. What others say about the character
v. How the character looks: Appearance
9. Characters-are the people, animals or sometimes objects who participate in the action of a literary work. A character
may be main or minor, depending on their roles in the short story. Successful characters are not the only individuals
but also in some way examples of the universal human conditions.
EX. Characters in Little Red Riding Hood:
LRRH, The Big Bad Wolf, The Woodsman, Grandmother
Protagonist: Red Antagonist: The Wolf
10. Round character-A complicated character that exhibits numerous qualities or traits. The reader can see many sides of
the character. The author develops this type of character in the story.

11. Flat character- A character that has only one or two traits. The author does not develop this type of character.

12. Antagonist Villain / Bad Guy

13. Protagonist Hero/ Good Guy

Narrator/ point of view
14. Narrator- The character who tells the story (does not have to be a person
15. Point of view- The relationship of the narrator/ storyteller to the story. The perspective or vantage point from which
the story is told
a. First person The narrator in the story tells the story directly using I, we, me and / or us.
b. Third person- The narrator speaks in third person using he, she it, and they.
c. Third Person Omniscient The narrator has an all-knowing point of view. The narrator supplies more
information about all the characters and events than any one character could know. The narrator knows
what every character is thinking.

16. Theme- The main idea or thread that holds the story together. The central idea in a literary work.
17. Universal Theme- A theme that is timeless. All people can relate to the theme. Example: Love, Hate, Death, Betrayal,
free will vs. fate, good vs. evil.
18. Symbol- Anything that stands for or represents something else.
19. Inference- A reasonable conclusion drawn from evidence
20. Denotation- The dictionary definition of a word
21. Connotation- A suggested, personal or implied definition of a word
22. Foreshadowing- The use of hints or clues to suggest what will happen later in the story.
23. Flashback- Takes the reader back to an event/ action that happened in the past
24. Mood- The climate or feeling based on characters, setting, plot, etc.; The atmosphere; the feeling created in the reader
by a literary work .
25. Tone-The authors attitude toward the readers and toward the subject. Formal or informal; friendly or distant;
personal or impersonal.
26. Irony- The general name given to literary techniques that involve surprising, interesting or amusing contradiction.
27. Local/ Global color- The use of characters and details from a specific geographic region
28. Personification- Giving human-like characteristics to a non-living/ non-human object
29. Anecdote- A brief story about an amusing, interesting or strange event
30. Allegory- A form of extended metaphor, in which objects, persons, and actions in a narrative, are equated with the
meanings that lie outside the narrative itself. The underlying meaning has moral, social, religious, or political
significance, and characters are often personifications of abstract ideas as charity, greed, or envy.
Thus an allegory is a story with two meanings, a literal meaning and a symbolic meaning.
31. Figurative Language- Writing or work that is interpreted beyond the literal meaning.
32. Metaphor- A comparison of two unlike things NOT using like or as
a. Our school is a mighty fortress
b. Her grandmother is a superhero
33. Simile- A comparison of two unlike things USING like or as
a. She is like a rose
b. "Good coffee is like friendship: rich and warm and strong