According to ms. Hayes and Holt, rinehart and winston

According to ms. Hayes, Mrs. Duer, and Holt, rinehart and winstonElements of Short Stories

How do you define a short story?A story that is short, right? Come on, you can do better than that.It is a piece of prose that can be read at one time.What is prose, you may ask. Prose is ordinary writing, like in a paragraph. It is the opposite of poetry and doesnt have rhyme and meter.Remember: writing is divided into two categories: poetry and prose.CharacterizationCharacterization: the act of creating and then developing those characters

Two Types:Direct Indirect

Direct CharacterizationAlways a direct comment from the narrator

From The Tell-Tale Heart by PoeTRUE! nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am.

From The Gift of the Magi by O. HenryNow, there were two possessions of the James Dillingham Youngs in which they both took a mighty pride. One was Jim's gold watch that had been his father's and his grandfather's. The other was Della's hair.

Indirect characterizationJudgments by the reader based on a characters speech and actions

Judgments based on how the character looks and dresses

I will decimate anyone who stands in my way!Indirect Characterization 2Letting the reader hear the characters inner thoughts and feelings

Revealing what other characters in the story think or say about a characterFrom Charles Dickens A Christmas Carol:

"I have no patience with him," observed Scrooge's niece. Scrooge's niece's sisters, and all the other ladies, expressed the same opinion.

"Oh, I have," said Scrooge's nephew. "I am sorry for him; I couldn't be angry with him if I tried. Who suffers by his ill whims? Himself, always. Here, he takes it into his head to dislike us, and he won't come and dine with us. What's the consequence? He don't lose much of a dinner."

Nerve, nerve, nerveI must keep my wits.Types of CharactersProtagonistAntagonistRoundFlatDynamicStaticSubordinateProtagonistThe main characterStory focuses on this characterUsually a good guy, but not always

AntagonistThe character opposite the protagonistWhen you antagonize someone you annoy them, so the antagonist annoys the protagonist or causes conflict. Just like the protagonist is not always the good guy, the antagonist is not always a villain.

BTW--This is the old man from The Tell-Tale Heart.9More Character TypesRound CharactersFlat CharactersThese characters show many different traits.Usually a major characterCharacters we come to know, like real peopleThese characters show only one or two traits.Commonly stereotypesThe nagging wifeThe hyperactive childThe troublemakerThe mean librarian

More Character TypesDynamic CharactersStatic CharactersCharacters who experience an emotional growth due to the storys eventsThese characters usually learn a lesson related to the storys theme.These characters, on the other hand, do not experience emotional growth or change. They stay basically the same. The storys events have not taught them a lesson.Dying does not count as a change.

Subordinate CharactersThese are the characters who are needed to add depth and complication to the plot, but they are not main characters.

Motivationthe driving force behind a characters actions

SettingTime and place of story

SeasonTime, date, or yearGeographical locationTime Periodor EraWeatherEconomic AtmosphereSocial or Cultural AtmosphereMoodA storys atmosphereThe feeling the story evokes in the readerStrongly influenced by setting

eeriejoyouspeaceful15Point of ViewThe relationship of the narrator to the story and what the reader sees from that vantage point

TypesFirst personThird person limitedThird person omniscientThird person objective

First-person narrator

The narrator is a character in the story.

The readers sees only what this character observes and feels.

He or she is commonly the protagonist.

Refers to himself or herself with the first-person pronouns, such as I, me, my, mine, our(s), we, and us

Unreliable NarratorUntrustworthyAs the reader, you are not sure that you can believe everything the narrator tells you.Especially true with first-person because the reader gets one side of the storyFirst person narration includes bias and opinion.

HOWEVER, some first-person narrators are reliable; as the reader, you must decide based on the evidence in the story.

Third-person LimitedNarrator is outside of the story.Narrator is limited to focusing on the internal thoughts and emotions of one character at a time.Technically, this means the narration can shift from one character to another.Uses the third-person pronouns he, she, him, or her

Ernest Hemingway's The Old Man and the SeaThen he looked behind him and saw that no land was visible. That makes no difference, he thought. I can always come in on the glow from Havana.

Third-Person OmniscientOmniscient is Latin for all-knowing.Narrator is outside of the story.Narrator can focus on the thoughts of many characters and their situations.Sort of like an eye that can see into any aspect of the story that he or she chooses

Third-Person ObjectiveThe narrator is totally outside of the story and relates only what he sees or hears. He doesnt know any of the characters thoughts and feelings.

Like a reporter, telling the story without judgment, just giving the facts

Like a fly on the wall

Some literary examples: Young Goodman Brownby Nathaniel Hawthorne The Lotteryby Shirley Jackson Animal Farmby George Orwell

TONEThe authors attitude toward his or her work

Tone is conveyed through the authors word choice.

SomberSentimentalOptimisticNostalgicRegretfulGloomyCritical

ContemplativeObjectiveVengefulReminiscentThoughtfulRestrainedRidiculing

WrathfulSarcasticNeutralSympatheticUnsympathetic

Plot

Plot: A series of events through which the writer reveals what is happening, to whom it happens, and whyBroken down into five major sections:ExpositionRising actionClimaxFalling actionResolution (or to those more refined, the denouement)Parts of the PlotExpositionbeginning of the story; background info; sets scene for characters and conflict; exposition exposes

Rising Actionevents leading to climax

Climaxmoment of greatest emotional intensity; the point during which the conflict will be decided; very close to the end of the story

Falling ActionResults of climax; events leading to resolution

Resolution or Denouementthe outcome of the conflict, i.e. they lived happily ever after

ConflictConflict: A struggle between opposing forces, be it man, woman, child, beast, crazy townspeople, or a two-ton iceberg

ConflictsMan vs. Man-external struggle between two or more individuals

Man vs. Himselfinternal struggle concerning emotion and decision

Jack or Cal.Cal or Jack?

What will I do with that nice old man who happens to be blind in one eye?

I do believe Ill go for the cute, fun one who can sketch like nobodys business!

To be or not to be that is the question.ConflictMan vs. EnvironmentAn external struggle between man and an element of his surroundings (not necessarily nature)

ConflictMan vs. societyan external struggle between man an element of his cultures traditions, beliefs, government, values, customs, etc.

Subjects vs. themesSubjects are the words that immediately come to your mind as topics broached in a story.

Subjects are brief, usually one wordfor example, love, hate, jealousy, revenge, war, etc.

Subjects are the words that writers use to elaborate upon to create the deeper, more abstract themes of stories.

Themethe central message the writer is trying to reveal in his or her work;

Always ask yourself as the reader: What message is this author trying to convey to me? Theme shows a generalized truth about human nature.

Theme is not the subject; therefore, theme is written as a complete sentence.

Subject vs. ThemeSubjectsLove JealousyForgiveness

War

Themes

Love will cause people to do things they usually wouldnt.Jealousy causes more harm than good.

Giving forgiveness allows a person who has been betrayed to move on with his/her life without growing bitter and cynical.

Wars often occur due to the greed of a small number of people though many more innocent people usually die.

IronyIrony is the contrast between an expectation and reality.

Situational Irony

A contrast between what you would expect to happen and what really happens

Verbal IronyA writer speaks or says one thing but means something completely different.

Sometimes verbal irony is very obvious sarcasm, but not always.

Other characters may or may not understand the irony of what another character is saying.

Yet Brutus says [Caesar] was ambitious, and Brutus is an honorable man.Antony says this after Brutus has killed Caesarhis best friend. He really believes Brutus to be a murderer.

Well, it is so great to see you!Even though these two are arch nemeses.Dramatic IronyThe audience or reader knows something that at least one character does not.

The word drama helps to remember this because it is often found in plays and movies.

The End

and now you see what happens when a teacher is stuck at home for a week due to snow days!