Short StoryA short story is:

•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,

•author’s purpose is to entertain,

•varies in length, but is usually short enough to be read in one sitting.

Plot Development

Plot Diagram

Plot:

The sequence of events in a story.

Exposition

Exposition:

the author introduces the characters, creates the setting, and introduces the conflict.

ExpositionSetting:

Setting:

Includes where and when the story takes place.

How setting is expressed:1.Place

2.Time of day

3.Weather

4.Seasons

5.Type of People

6.Kinds of clothing

7.Smells, sounds

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 or gal

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.

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.

Conflict:

Conflict:

A struggle or clash between two opposing forces.

Conflict:

Internal Conflict:

Struggle occurs within the character

Man vs. Self

External Conflict:

Struggle occurs between the character and an outside force.

Man vs. ManMan vs. SocietyMan vs. Nature

Rising Action & Climax

As they say in writing and reading circles . . .

the plot thickens!!!

Plot Diagram: Rising Action

Rising Action:

a series of crises, events or turning points that build tension towards the climax.

Climax:

The most intense or crucial moment or event when the tension reaches a peak.

ClimaxPlot Diagram: Climax

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.

Falling Action

& Resolution

Plot Diagram: Falling Action

Falling Action:

The story examines the consequences or outcomes of the climax and the tension fades.

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.

Resolution:

How the story’s main problem or conflict is resolved; bringing the conflict to an end.

Plot Diagram: Resolution

Theme

• 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.

Possible Theme Topics:

Point of ViewPerspective 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.

Omniscient Points of ViewA narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing, or omniscient.

Limited Points of View 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 to determine what is the truth and what is not.

“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. Poe’s best known fiction are Gothic (horror and romance ) in order to appeal to the public’s tastes at the time.

born January 19, 1809, Boston, Massachusetts—died October 7, 1849, Baltimore, Maryland

Biography

VocabularyResembled – looked like

Distinctly – clearly

Cunning – slyly, carefully, cautiously

Hideous – very ugly or frightful

“I think it was his eye. Yes, it was his eye! One of his eyes

was pale blue and dull. It resembled the eye of a vulture.”

“The Tell-Tale Heart” is a fun little horror story where the narrator is driven almost insane because of his obsession with an old man’s creepy eye!

The narrator thinks he’s 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?

Direct vs. Indirect Characterization

Direct Characterization is: the writer makes direct

statements about a character's personality:

• tells what the character is like.

Indirect Characterization is: 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 Dralco’s 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 Dralco’s newest engine performance diagnostic computer. “He hasn’t 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 he’d 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. <http://www.fictionfactor.com/guests

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.

“Charles” by Shirley JacksonShirley 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)

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.

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?

“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-

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

Theme

• What are some of the lessons that Lupe learns from her experience?

• How can these lessons be found in your own life?

“The Bet” by Anton ChekhovOne 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/

Vocabulary

• Prominent

• Emitted

• Lackadaisical

• Stealthy

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.

Does the lawyer stay for the entire 15 years?

Why did the lawyer leave 5 minutes early?

Practice

“All Summer in a Day” 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-

Vocabulary

• Slackened- to become less active

• Surged- a strong wavelike forward movement

• Tumultuously- highly agitated

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.

Foreshadowing

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

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.

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.

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.