Intro to Short Stories

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Intro to Short Stories
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What is a short story?
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Short Stories vs. Novels

• Three key differences
• Length
• meant to be read in one sitting
• Complexity
• limits itself to one key event
• Character Development
• only one or two main characters

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Short Stories vs. Novels

• Shorter length means maximum impact with minimum
  words!
• Writers rely on many techniques and elements to
  tell their story as succinctly as possible.
• These elements are key in this unit!

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How to Approach Reading

• Three primary ways
• 1. Literal Reading
• 2. Inferential Reading
• 3. Critical Reading

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Literal Reading

• This is reading for details and facts.
• What are some examples of this type of reading?

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Inferential Reading

• What is an inference?
• a conclusion reached on the basis of evidence
  (facts)
• We will be talking about these all year.
• Drawing inferences is key in active reading.

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Inferential Reading

• What can you infer from
• a character who is red-faced?
• a poem that uses words like gloomy,
  tear-streaked, and heavy-hearted?
• a statistic that tells you that 85 of high
  school students use MySpace?

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Critical Reading

• This is reading beyond literal and inferential in
  order to evaluate a piece.
• We are all critics when we read as soon as we
  give feedback.
• What do you think is key to quality critical
  reading?

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Literary ElementsWhich do you know?

• Theme
• Characterization
• Foreshadowing
• Symbol
• Flashback
• Suspense
• Hyperbole
• Irony
• Satire

• Setting
• Atmosphere
• Plot line
• Metaphor
• Simile
• Point of view
• Internal conflict
• External conflict
• Tone

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Setting

• Setting is the time and place of the story.
• Setting is key in developing a storys atmosphere

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Setting

• What is the setting of Elf ?
• North Pole / New York City
• What is the setting of Family Guy?
• Quahog, Rhode Island
• What is the setting of Julius Caesar?
• Rome

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Atmosphere

• Atmosphere is the general mood or feeling of a
  story
• What kind of settings and atmospheres do you
  think of for
• horror movies?
• Sci-fi novels?
• Setting is the noun atmosphere is the adjective

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Plot line

• What are the five key parts of a plot line?
• 1. Exposition
• 2. Rising action
• 3. Climax
• 4. Falling action
• 5. Resolution

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Exposition

• Start of the story
• Establishes setting and characters
• Think EXPosition EXPlanation

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Rising Action

• Series of events that leads up to the climax
• Develops characters, conflicts, and other key
  elements
• Creates interest in the story
• Builds tension

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Climax

• The moment of highest intensity in the story
• The outcome of the conflict is made clear.

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Falling Action

• Any action that follows the climax
• This is usually quick-moving and makes up a small
  part of the overall story.

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Resolution

• The end of the story
• All loose ends are (usually) tied up.

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Metaphor and Simile

• Both are comparisons
• Simply, a simile uses like or as a metaphor
  does not.
• Similes
• The horse was as big as
• The student was as smart as

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Metaphor and Simile

• Metaphors
• The football player was a(n)
• His love for her was a(n)
• But this is the basic definition of a metaphor.
  How will we refer to it?

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Metaphor and Simile

• A metaphor a comparison between two seemingly
  different things, with hopes of giving more
  meaning to one of them.
• The football player was a house.
• His love for her was an ocean.

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Point of View

• Point of View is the view from which a story is
  told.
• There are three main points of view
• First-person
• Third-person limited
• Third-person omniscient

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Point of View

• A first-person narration tells the story from a
  characters perspective.
• It is the character speaking (I, me, we).
• We only know what he or she knows.
• What must we remember in a first-person
  narrative?
• The events of the story may be biased!

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Point of View

• I heard a noise from outside. As I got up and
  walked boldly towards the entrance to the room, I
  knew that there may be someone lurking around the
  corner. I kept my composure and continued
  forward, knowing that I may soon have to take
  down an intruder.

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Point of View

• A third-person limited narration is told from the
  perspective of a character, but it is not the
  character who is telling the story.
• How is this different from first-person?

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Point of View

• John heard a noise from outside. He wasnt sure
  what it was, so he slowly walked towards the
  door. He was visibly shaking, and he knew that
  he could be attacked at any minute. With sweat
  dropping from his brow, he slowly peaked around
  the corner.

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Point of View

• A third-person omniscient narration tells the
  story from a God-like point of view.
• The narrator is all-knowing.
• We see several events taking place at the same
  time.

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Point of View

• John heard a loud noise outside. He wasnt sure
  what it was, so he walked slowly towards the
  door. Little did he know that his anxiety was
  unnecessary. At the same time, around the corner
  sat Snuggles, his cat, who had just knocked a
  plate from the kitchen sink. With sweat dripping
  from Johns brow, he slowly peaked around the
  corner.

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Conflict

• The conflict is the struggle between two opposing
  forces.
• EVERY STORY has some sort of conflict.
• Whats your favorite movie? Whats its conflict?

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Conflict

• Furthermore, there are two types of conflicts to
  know
• 1. Internal conflict
• 2. External conflict

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Conflict

• Internal Conflict a struggle within a
  characters own mind
• We experience these every day.
• Think of the angel versus the devil on your
  shoulder this is internal conflict.

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Conflict

• External conflict has three types
• 1. Man vs. man
• e.g. stories of good guy vs. bad guy
• 2. Man vs. nature
• e.g. stories of travel and adventure
• 3. Man vs. society
• e.g. stories of defying odds

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Tone

• Tone is the attitude the writer takes towards the
  subject or the reader.
• This is closely related to atmosphere (feeling).

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Theme

• The theme is the underlying idea about life.
• It is an exploration of important questions and
  issues.

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Theme

• Remember Romeo and Juliet?
• The Power of Love
• How?
• The Individual vs. Society
• How?

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HALFWAY QUIZ!TAKE OUT A PIECE OF PAPER!

1. What is the difference between third-person
   limited and third-person omniscient (points of
   view)?
2. What is the difference between setting and
   atmosphere?
3. What is the difference between internal and
   external conflict?

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Characterization

• The way characters personalities are developed.
• There are two types of characterization
• 1. Direct characterization
• 2. Indirect characterization

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Characterization

• Direct characterization is when the writer tells
  us what kind of person the character is.

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Characterization

• Indirect characterization makes us figure out
  what kind of person the character is on our own.
• How?
• Through the characters words, actions, and
  interactions with others.

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Foreshadowing

• Foreshadowing is clues or details that hint at
  upcoming events in a story.
• It is often accomplished through symbols and
  omens.

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Symbol

• A symbol is something that stands for something
  else.
• What are some of the common symbols for
• peace?
• love?
• life?

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Flashback

• A flashback is a scene that interrupts the
  current action in order to give some sort of
  background information.
• It tells of earlier events that are probably
  still important to the story.

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Suspense

• Suspense is a feeling of uncertainty or anxiety
  in a story.
• Suspense is what keeps us reading. Without
  suspense, we are usually disappointed with the
  story.
• It can occur in all genres.

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Hyperbole

• Hyperbole is exaggeration for effect.
• We often use hyperbole in everyday discussions.
• When have you used it?
• It must have snowed eight feet last night!
• LeBron James scored about 600 points in that
  game.

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Irony

• Irony is a contrast between what is said and what
  is meant.
• It is also a contrast between what is expected
  and what happens.
• It is a hard term to understand, so lets study
  some examples from pop music

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Irony

• From the song Ironic by Alanis Morissette, tell
  me which ones are actual irony.
• An old man turned 98. He won the lottery and
  died the next day.
• Its like rain on your wedding day.
• Its a traffic jam when youre already late.
• And as the plane crashed down, he thought,
  Well, isnt this nice?

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Irony

• What is the difference between irony and sarcasm?
• Sarcasm is meant to be insulting
• So, sarcasm is ALWAYS ironic, but irony is NOT
  ALWAYS sarcastic

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Satire

• Satire is when art (literature) mocks or
  ridicules individuals or society.
• It is often done in a humorous manner.
• What are some common examples?
• The Simpsons
• South Park
• Saturday Night Live

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FINAL QUIZ!TAKE OUT A PIECE OF PAPER

1. What is direct characterization?
2. Why do people use hyperbole when they tell
   stories?
3. What is the difference between sarcasm and irony?