Elements Of A Short Story

Time and place are where the action occurs Details that describe: Furniture Scenery Customs Transportation Clothing Dialects Weather Time of day Time of year

Location

Era

Life

Place

Time

Setting

Physical

Day

Atmosphere

Mood

History

Feelings

Word Choice

Weather

Use as activator to activate prior knowledge. Write the web on the board or overhead and students create one at their seats. Then as class share and fill in.

We left the home place behind, mile by slow mile, heading for the mountains, across the prairie where the wind blew forever. At first there were four of us with one horse wagon and its skimpy load. Pa and I walked, because I was a big boy of eleven. My two little sisters romped and trotted until they got tired and had to be boosted up to the wagon bed. That was no covered Conestoga, like Pa’s folks came West in, but just an old farm wagon, drawn by one weary horse, creaking and rumbling westward to the mountains, toward the little woods town where Pa thought he had an old uncle who owned a little two-bit sawmill. Taken from “The Day the Sun Came Out” by D. Johnson

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A writer reveals what a character is like and how the character changes throughout the story.

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Two primary methods of characterization: Direct- writer tells what the character is like Indirect- writer shows what a character is like by describing what the character looks like, by telling what the character says and does, and by what other characters say about and do in response to the character.

…And

I don’t play the dozens or believe in standing around with somebody in my face doing a lot of talking. I much rather just knock you down and take my chances even if I’m a little girl with skinny arms and a squeaky voice, which is how I got the name Squeaky. From “Raymond’s Run” by T. Bambara

The old man bowed to all of us in the room. Then he removed his hat and gloves, slowly and carefully. Chaplin once did that in a picture, in a bank--he was the janitor. From “Gentleman of Rio en Medio” by J. Sedillo

Fully Developed

Friends

Relatives

Main

Minor Not Fully Developed

Character

Protagonist

Flat

Co-Main

Antagonist

Enemy

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Physical appearance of character

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Personality

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Background/personal history

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Motivation

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Relationships

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Conflict

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Does character change?

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Inciting incident – event that gives rise to conflict (opening situation)

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Development- events that occur as result of central conflict (rising action)

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Climax- highest point of interest or suspense of story

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Resolution- when conflict ends

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Denouement- when characters go back to their life before the conflict

tion

ol u

Inciting incident/ Opening situation

Res

Introduction

De Ris velop ing me Ac nt/ tio n

Climax

Denouement

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Suspense- excitement or tension

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Foreshadowing- hint or clue about what will happen in story

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Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of events to tell about something that happened in the past

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Surprise Ending- conclusion that reader does not expect

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Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces

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Every plot must contain some kind of conflict

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Stories can have more than one conflict

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Conflicts can be external or internal  External conflict- outside force may be person,

group, animal, nature, or a nonhuman obstacle

 Internal conflict- takes place in a character’s mind

There are four kinds of conflict: 1)  Man vs. Man (physical) - The leading character struggles with his physical strength against other men, forces of nature, or animals. 2)  Man vs. Circumstances (classical) - The leading character struggles against fate, or the circumstances of life facing him/her. 3)  Man vs. Society (social) - The leading character struggles against ideas, practices, or customs of other people. 4)  Man vs. Himself/Herself (psychological) -  The leading character struggles with himself/herself; with his/her own soul, ideas of right or wrong, physical limitations, choices, etc.

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A central message, concern, or insight into life expressed through a literary work

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Can be expressed by one or two sentence statement about human beings or about life

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May be stated directly or implied

The title of the short story usually points to what the writer is saying and he may use various figures of speech to emphasize his theme, such as: symbol, allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony.   Some simple examples of common themes from literature, TV, and film are: - things are not always as they appear to be - Love is blind - Believe in yourself - People are afraid of change - Don't judge a book by its cover

“Every man needs to feel allegiance to his native country, whether he always appreciates that country or not.” From “A Man Without a Country” by Edward Hale pg. 185 in Prentice Hall Literature book