Short Story

1
Short Story

• A short story is http//www.youtube.com/watch?v
  c6I24S72Jps
• a work of fiction that is shorter and more
  limited than the novel,
• usually focuses on one important event in the
  lives of a small number of main characters,
• authors purpose is to entertain
• varies in length, but is usually short enough to
  be read in one sitting.

2
Plot Development
3
Plot Diagram
Plot The sequence of events in a story.
4
Exposition
Climax
Rising Action
Falling Action
exposition
resolution
Exposition the author introduces the
characters, creates the setting, and introduces
the conflict.
5
ExpositionSetting

• Setting
• Includes where and when the story takes
• place.
• How setting is expressed
• Place
• Time of day
• Weather
• Seasons
• Type of People
• Kinds of clothing
• Smells, sounds

6
ExpositionCharacter
Character Person, animal, or imaginary
creature that plays a role in the story. Types
of Characters Protagonist main character in
the story, hero(ine). Antagonist character that
causes the initial conflict . . . The bad guy/girl
7
Round character with many personalities.
He/she has many strengths and weaknesses. Flat
this character usually has one kind of
personality, such as only good or only evil.
Often, less important in the story.
Character Classifications
8
Dynamic this character changes because of what
happens to him or her in the story. Often this
character learns as a result of an event in the
story. Static This character stays the same
throughout the story.
Character Classifications
9
Conflict
Conflict A struggle or clash between two
opposing forces.
10
Conflict
Internal Conflict Struggle occurs within the
character Person vs. Self
External Conflict Struggle occurs between the
character and an outside force. Person vs.
Person Person vs. Society Person vs.
Nature, Person vs. Unknown, Person vs.
Technology, Person vs. Supernatural
11
Rising Action Climax

• As they say in writing and reading circles . . .
• the plot thickens!!!

12
Plot Diagram Rising Action
Rising Action a series of crises, events or
turning points that build tension towards the
climax.
13
Plot Diagram Climax
Climax The most intense or crucial moment or
event when the tension reaches a peak.
14
Rising Action The stairs leading up to the top.
There are many stairs that lead there.
Climax You have reached the top of the stairs
after a long climb. This is the highest point
with the most excitement. It is the turning point
that resolves the conflict or problem
15
Falling Action Resolution
16
Plot Diagram Falling Action
Falling Action The story examines the
consequences or outcomes of the climax and the
tension fades.
17
Falling Action After reaching the climax, the
stairs lead back down. There may be many stairs
or just a few that lead there.
Resolution The problem or conflict is solved.
The last puzzle piece is put into place.
18
Plot Diagram Resolution
Resolution The storys main problem or
conflict is resolved, bringing the conflict to an
end.
19
Theme
Possible Theme Topics

• Theme is the underlying meaning of the story, a
  universal truth, a significant statement the
  story is making about society, human nature, or
  the human condition. Theme is written as a
  statement.
• Video on Theme

• Principles of Distinction
• COOPERATION
• INTEGRITY
• FAIRNESS
• COURAGE
• COMMITMENT
• TRUST
• EMPATHY
• COMMUNICATION
• FRIENDSHIP
• TOLERANCE
• RESPECT
• HUMOR
• RESPONSIBILITY
• ENTHUSIASM

20
Point of View
Perspective from which the story is told.
1st person In the first person point of view,
the narrator is a character in the story. He/She
will use pronouns like I we . When reading
stories in the first person, we need to realize
that what the narrator is recounting might not be
the objective truth. We should question the
trustworthiness of the accounting.
3rd Person Here the narrator does not
participate in the action of the story as one of
the characters, but lets us know exactly how the
characters feel. We learn about the characters
through this outside voice.
21
Types of 3rd person Point of View Omniscient
Points of View (3rd person)A narrator who knows
everything about all the characters is all
knowing or omniscient. Limited Points of View
(3rd person) A narrator whose knowledge is
limited to one character, either major or minor,
has a limited omniscient point of view.

• As you read a piece of fiction think about these
  things
• How does the point of view affect your responses
  to the characters?
• How is your response influenced by how much the
  narrator knows and how objective he or she is?
• First person narrators are not always
  trustworthy.
• It is up to you, the reader, to determine what is
  the truth and what is not.

22
Plot Development Techniques

• Suspense is the quality that is created when the
  reader is uncertain about what will happen next.
  
• Foreshadowing is the use of hints or clues in a
  narrative to suggest what action is to come.
• Flashback occurs when the author interrupts the
  action of the story to give us information that
  occurred before the story began.
• Tone is the emotion exposed as the writer selects
  words and phrases to amuse, anger, or shock the
  reader.
• Mood is the feeling that the reader has as he or
  she is interacting with the text.

23
Figurative Language

• Comparisons
• Analogy- a similarity between like features of
  two things
• Simile- uses like or as to compare 2 things
• Metaphor- does not use like or as to compare
• Allusion- comparison to a famous person or
  situation
• Exaggeration
• Hyperbole- highly exaggerated statement
• Idiom- an expression whose meaning is not the
  literal meaning but a figurative one
• Sounds
• Onomatopoeia- the word is the sound
• Alliteration- repeating beginning sounds for
  effect
• Other
• Personification- giving human qualities to
  inanimate objects
• Symbolism- giving special meaning to an object or
  person

Will Farrell video
24
The Lottery by Shirley Jackson

• Shirley Jackson, 1916-1965, one of the most
  brilliant and influential authors of the
  twentieth century, is widely acclaimed for her
  stories and novels of the supernatural, including
  the well-known short story The Lottery and the
  best-selling novel The Haunting of Hill House.
• Shirley Jackson wrote in two styles. She could
  describe the delights and turmoil's of ordinary
  domestic life with detached hilarity and she
  could, with cryptic symbolism, write a tenebrous
  horror story in the Gothic mold in which abnormal
  behavior seemed perilously ordinary.
• Excerpt from her obituary published in the New
  York Times on August 10, 1965

(December, 14, 1916 - August, 9 1965)
25
Vocabulary

• Boisterous noisy and lively unrestrained or
  unruly
• Reprimand harsh criticism from an authority
  figure.
•  
• Interminably endless or seemingly endless
  because of monotony or tiresome length
• Petulantly easily annoyed, complaining rudely,
  impatient irritation

26
Dialogue

• Dialogue is the conversation between two or more
  characters in a novel, short story, drama, etc.
• Dialogue is set aside by the use of quotation
  marks and a short explanation of who spoke the
  words. There can also be a descriptive word used
  to describe how the words were spoken.
• Every time a speaker changes, a new paragraph
  should begin.

27

• Story Elements to focus on

• Rising Action- how does the author increase our
  tension throughout the story?
• Point-of-View- why does the author choose to tell
  the story in third person?
• Foreshadowing- how does the author foreshadow the
  outcome of the story?
• Symbolism- how were the symbols of the rocks and
  the color black used in the story?

28
Tell-Tale Heart
By Edgar Allan Poe
Poe was born in Boston. He was a poet, writer,
editor, and literary critic. His short stories
were his main type of writing, and today they are
considered some of the best American short
stories in history. His tales usually are a mix
of mystery and macabre (grim and dealing with
death). Poe married his 13-year old cousin,
Virginia Clemm. Her early death may have
inspired some of his writing. Poes best known
fiction are Gothic (horror and romance ) in order
to appeal to the publics tastes at the time.
born January 19, 1809, Boston, Mass died October
7, 1849, Baltimore, Maryland
Biography
29
Vocabulary
Resembled looked like Distinctly
clearly Cunning slyly, carefully,
cautiously Hideous very ugly or frightful
30
Story Elements to focus on

• Rising Action- how does the author increase our
  tension throughout the story?
• Point-of-View- why does the author choose to tell
  the story in third person?
• Foreshadowing- how does the author foreshadow the
  outcome of the story?
• Symbolism- how were the symbols of the rocks and
  the color black used in the story?

31
The Tell-Tale Heart is a fun little horror
story where the narrator is driven almost insane
because of his obsession with an old mans creepy
eye! The narrator thinks hes perfectly sane and
tries to convince the reader throughout the
story. He is suffering from extreme paranoia and
mental health issues. Ask yourself What point
of view is the story in? Ask yourself Whose
heart does he really hear beating?
32
Direct vs. Indirect Characterization

• Direct
• Characterization
• the writer makes direct statements about a
  character's personality
• tells what the character is like.

• Indirect
• Characterization
• the writer reveals information about a character
  and his personality through that character's
• thoughts, words, and actions,
• how other characters respond to that character,
  including what they think and say about him.

Direct Characterization Ed Johnson scratched his
head in confusion as the sales rep explained
Dralcos newest engine performance diagnostic
computer. The old mechanic hated modern
electronics, preferring the old days when all he
needed was a stack of manuals and a good set of
tools.
Indirect Characterization That Ed Johnson,
said Anderson, watching the old mechanic scratch
his head in confusion as the sales rep explained
Dralcos newest engine performance diagnostic
computer. He hasnt got a clue about modern
electronics. Give him a good set of tools and a
stack of yellowing manuals with a carburetor
needing repair, and hed be happy as a hungry
frog in a fly-field.
Ervin II, Terry . "Fiction Factor - Direct vs.
Indirect Characterization." Fiction Factor -
Writing Tips for Fiction Writers. N.p., n.d.
Web. 6 Oct. 2010. lthttp//www.fictionfactor.com/gu
ests
33
Motive

• Motive is the reason a character takes a specific
  course of action.
• Not all motives are bad.
• Some motives can help lead the character to a
  resolution.

34
Harrison Bergeron by Kurt Vonnegut

• Writer, novelist. Born on November 11, 1922, in
  Indianapolis, Indiana. Kurt Vonnegut is
  considered one of the most influential American
  novelists of the twentieth century. He blended
  literature with science fiction and humor, the
  absurd with pointed social commentary. Vonnegut
  created his own unique world in each of his
  novels and filled them with unusual characters,
  such as the alien race known as the
  Tralfamadorians in Slaughterhouse-Five (1969).
• Other novels/stories
• The Sirens of Titan (1959), Mother Night (1961),
  Cat's Cradle (1963), Breakfast of Champions
  (1973), Jailbird (1979), Deadeye Dick (1982),
  Palm Sunday An Autobiographical Collage (1981),
  and Timequake (1997).

November 11, 1922-April 11, 2007
Biography
35
Vocabulary

• Vigilance watchful especially to avoid danger
• Luminous bathed in or exposed to steady light
• Doozy something that is unusually good, bad,
  big, severe, etc.

36
Story elements to focus on

• Climax- why does the author spend so much time on
  the climax?
• Motive/Conflict- what is it about the main
  conflict that causes Harrison to behave the way
  he does?
• Theme/Symbolism- how does the symbol of the
  handicaps help the reader understand theme?
• Tone- how does the authors choice of words cause
  the reader to feel shocked?

37
The Bet by Anton Chekhov

• One of Russia's greatest writers, Chekhov began
  his career writing jokes and anecdotes for
  popular magazines to support himself while he
  studied to become a doctor. Between 1888 and his
  death he single-handedly revolutionized both the
  drama and the short story. Near the end of his
  life he married an actress, Olga Knipper. He died
  from tuberculosis in 1904, age 44.
• Biography taken from
• http//chekhov2.tripod.com/

38
Vocabulary

• Rubles the basic unit of money of Russia
• Stake something that you could win or lose in a
  game, contest, etc.  
• Haphazardly having no plan, order, or direction
   
• Contempt a feeling that someone or something is
  not worthy of any respect or approval
• Emitted
• Lackadaisical
• Stealthy
• prominent

39
Story elements to focus on

• Falling action- how does the author wrap up our
  questions about the lawyers action? Does the
  authors explanations satisfy you?
• Motive/conflict- What was the conflict in the
  beginning and what was the lawyers motive for
  leaving early?
• Suspense- what is the question the reader has
  throughout the story? How is finally answered?

40
Factual vs. Interpretive Questions

• Factual Questions have only ONE correct answer.
• Factual questions address only ONE specific part
  of the story.

• Interpretive Questions have MORE THAN ONE
  possible answer
• Interpretive Questions apply to MORE THAN ONE
  part of the story.

Practice
Does the lawyer stay for the entire 15 years?
Why did the lawyer leave 5 minutes early?
41
All Summer in a Dayvideo by Ray
Bradbury

• Ray Bradbury is one of those rare individuals
  whose writing has changed the way people think.
  His more than five hundred published works --
  short stories, novels, plays, screenplays,
  television scripts, and verse -- exemplify the
  American imagination at its most creative. Once
  read, his words are never forgotten. His
  best-known and most beloved books, THE MARTIAN
  CHRONICLES, THE ILLUSTRATED MAN, FAHRENHEIT 451
  and SOMETHING WICKED THIS WAY COMES, are
  masterworks that readers carry with them over a
  lifetime.

August 22, 1920- June 5, 2012
42
Vocabulary

• Slackened- to become less active
• Surged- a strong wavelike forward movement
• Tumultuously- highly agitated

Watch video All Summer in a Day
43
Story elements to focus on

• Resolution- why do you think the author ends the
  story so quickly?
• Motive/Conflict- why do you think the other
  characters react to Margot in a negative way? How
  does that reaction contribute to Margots main
  conflict?
• Tone- how does the author use word choice to make
  the reader feel stunned in the end?

44
Suspense

• Suspense is the quality that is created when the
  reader is uncertain about what will happen next.
  
• In The Bet readers are left wondering if the
  man will stay the whole time or if the banker
  will win the bet.
• In The Tell-Tale Heart readers are left
  wondering if the man will confess his crime.

45
Foreshadowing

• Foreshadowing is the use of hints or clues in a
  narrative to suggest what action is to come.

46
Flashback

• Flashback occurs when the author interrupts the
  action of the story to give us information that
  occurred before the story began.
• At the beginning of The Tell-Tale Heart and
  The Bet, both authors tell us that the story
  they are about to tell has already occurred.

47
Figurative Language

• Will Ferrell on Figurative Language

48
Dramatic Irony

• Dramatic Irony occurs when the reader knows
  something that a character does not.
• For example in the story Charles, we know that
  the boy Laurie is actually the child Charles long
  before the mother does.

49
Tone

• The attitude a writer takes toward his or her
  subject, characters, and readers.
• Through tone, a writer can amuse, anger, or shock
  the reader.
• Tone is created through the choice of words and
  details.

50
Mood
51
The Marble Champ by Gary Soto

• AP/Wide World Photos. Reproduced by permission.
• Gary Soto is a man who writes from experience.
  He grew up in one of the many barrios (poor
  Mexican American neighborhoods) of Fresno,
  California, and since the mid-1970s he has
  borrowed from that community to create an
  astonishing number of works.
• Soto, however, does not see himself as strictly
  a Chicano author. True, in his over twenty books
  of poetry and prose for adults and in over thirty
  books for younger readers, he focuses on the
  daily trials and tribulations of Spanish-speaking
  Americans. But, through crisp, clear imagery and
  his true-to-life characters, Soto connects with
  readers of all ages and backgrounds.

April 12, 1952-
52
Vocabulary

• Slivers- small, slender, often sharp piece, as
  of wood or glass, split, broken, or cut off
• Reluctantly- unwilling
• Entranced- to fill with delight or wonder

53
Theme

• What are some of the lessons that Lupe learns
  from her experience?
• How can these lessons be found in your own life?

54
How dialogue is used in Charles

• Dialogue is used to show the relating of a story
  from Laurie to his mother.
• His mother becomes increasingly concerned about
  the environment her son is being taught in.
• What do we find out about Charles at the end of
  the story?