SHORT STORY NOTES
2 TYPES OF CONFLICT:
INTERNAL: takes place within a character as he or she struggles with opposing thoughts, feelings, beliefs, or needs
EXTERNAL: occurs between two or more characters or between a character and a natural force
IRONY: a contrast between what is and what seems to be
Dramatic Irony: the reader knows something that the character doesn’t know
Verbal Irony: a speaker saying the opposite of what he/she means (ex: calling a tall person “Shorty”)
SYMBOLS: objects, ideas, or actions that represent something other than themselves
Symbols (cont’d): normal symbols are frequently objects, but characters can be used as symbols also if they represent various ideas and qualities
THEME: a general idea about life that the story conveys. Sometimes authors convey theme through the use of symbols. (Ex: the cycles of life)
TONE: the attitude implied toward the characters, situation, and readers (ex: humorous, depressing, hopeful, refreshing)
SETTING: the time and place of the story’s action (part of the exposition)
Round characters: fully developed people possessing a variety of character traits or personal qualities, and their actions can be contradictory or difficult to predict
Flat Characters: appear to have only one or two superficial character traits
DYNAMIC CHARACTER: he/she changes and sometimes learns as a result of the events in the story
STATIC CHARACTER: does not change during the course of the story
PLOT: The sequence of events in a literary work.
Exposition: Intro of setting/main characters and lay out of the basic situation.
Rising Action: All of the action after the exposition and up to the climax. Includes introduction of main conflict or complication.
Climax: The high point of interest or suspense. The main conflict or complication comes to a head.
Resolution: Point at which main conflict is resolved, and solutions are found to the complications.
Denouement: Any events that happen after resolution. Often explanation of what happened after.
SYMBOLS: objects, things, or actions that represent something other than themselves; symbols are frequently objects, but characters and settings can be used as symbols also if they represent various ideas and qualities.
THEME: a general idea about life that the story conveys. Sometimes authors convey theme through the use of symbols.
(Ex: the cycles of life)
TONE: the attitude implied toward the characters, situation, and readers (ex: humorous, depressing, hopeful, refreshing)
SETTING: the time and place of the story’s action (part of the exposition)
IRONY: a contrast between what is (reality) and what seems to be (appearance)
Dramatic Irony: the audience knows something that the character doesn’t know
Verbal Irony: a speaker saying the opposite of what he/she means
Situational Irony: the reality of the situation turns out different than it appears it should
ROUND CHARACTERS: fully developed people possessing a variety of character traits or personal qualities, and their actions can be contradictory or difficult to predict
FLAT CHARACTERS: appear to have only one or two superficial character traits
DYNAMIC CHARACTER: he/she changes and sometimes learns as a result of the events in the story
STATIC CHARACTER: does not change during the course of the story
Characterization: The act of building a character in a story. Includes defining their traits, both physical and emotional.
Direct Characterization: The author tells the reader directly and explicitly about the character.
Indirect Characterization: When the author does not directly state or describe the character's traits, but implies them through story elements.
In dramatic monologue, the character reveals themselves, indirectly through their monologue, a well as the implied reactions of their audience. Character's traits are revealed through: dialogue, actions, difference between what they say and what they think, other characters' response to them and sometimes the outcome of events.
Points of View Notes
______
Definition: the vantage point from which the action of the story is presented.
First Person:
· “I”
· A character tells his/her own story directly, not interpreted by author or outside narrator
· Through the character’s eyes only
Second Person:
· “You”
· The reader becomes the character created and referred to as “you”
· Used in giving directions
Third Person Limited:
· “He” or “she”
· Third person narration occurs through only one character; all details are experienced by and through one person only
Third Person Omniscient:
· “He” or “she”
· The author has unlimited access to all characters and their minds
· The author knows all, sees all, tells all
Interior Monologue
· A character speaking to him/herself
· We overhear his/her thoughts
· Tells a story of what is going on around him/ her, reviews some past events associated with something in the present, or reflects on the story itself
· Equivalent to a soliloquy in drama
Examples:
“A Telephone Call”
“I Stand Here Ironing”
Dramatic Monologue
· one person speaks aloud to another person, and we overhear what is spoken
· the story is spontaneous and very unrehearsed, like real conversation
· the speaker has a reason for telling this story to a particular person/audience
· the reader can infer where the speaker is and to whom he/she is talking from references he/she makes in the monologue
· also occurs in the theater where one character speaks to others uninterrupted and at length.
Examples:
"Straight Pool"
“The Lady’s Maid”
Letter Narration
· addressed to a certain person for a certain reason
· the writer/speaker is not face to face with his/her listener/reader
· letter narration can also be a one-way correspondence by characters who, because they are together, do not write to each other but about each other (the letters are like diary entries in some ways)
Letter narration may take a variety of forms including the following:
· letters of a personal nature
· journal entries
· resolutions
· editorials
· military orders
Example: “Wilderness Station”
Diary Narration
· the character writing the diary reacts to events almost as they happen
· like letter correspondents, they write successive dates
· not written to anyone in particular
· the imaginary listener or correspondent does not respond at all
· diary writers reveal and betray their own states of mind as well as report recent events
Examples:
"The Yellow Wallpaper"
“Flowers for Algernon”
Subjective Narration
· 1st person “I”
· told by one of the characters at the conclusion of events
· speaker addresses us, the general reader, not himself/herself or another character
· events may not have been over a very long time but time gap may vary
· unreliable narrator who may or may not be aware of his/her own prejudices
· ends up telling a story different from what he/she intended
Examples:
"The Somebody"
“My Side of the Matter”
“A & P”
Detached Autobiography
· the speaker tells about what happened to him/her in
the past
· he/she is in a frame of mind that has changed greatly since the time he underwent the experience he/she describes, a frame of mind that may even be a result of what he/she has learned from the experience
· the narrator’s maturity enables him/her to talk about events with an outsider’s detachment
· by the passage of time, the speaker has arrived at the understanding of his/her experience that he/she must have in order to discuss it with a neutral and watchful audience
Examples:
“First Confession”
“Birthday”
Memoir or Observer Narration
· imitates 1st hand reporting
· uses an observer or subordinate character as narrator
· observing others can be a profound experience in itself
· something happens in the protagonist (character being observed) that resonates in the narrator
· the observer may be a confidant, an eye witness, or a member of a group in order to gain the information
· the hinge between 1st person and 3rd person narration
Example: "The Voice from the Wall"
Third Person Limited / Single Character Point of View
· The author takes us only where a certain character goes
· He/she permits us to know only what the character is thinking and feeling
· The reader sees the world as the character sees it
· Asks the question: Why this character?
Example: “The Stone Boy”
Anonymous Narration / No Character Point of View
· The narrator reduces his roles as informer to eye witness and chorus alone
· He/she chooses not to present inner life at all, at least not directly
Example: “The Lottery”