Short Story Terms

Protagonist: the main character of a story; this individual may or may not be the “good guy.”

Eg.The narrator is the protagonist in “The Persian Carpet.”

Antagonist: the character that opposes the protagonist

Eg. The antagonist in “The Persian Carpet” is the narrator herself; all the conflict is inside her head; no one else is aware of her rage.

Conflict: the problem within the story

  1. character v/s character

Eg. The mother and the father in “The Persian Carpet” fight over their marriage

  1. character v/s self

Eg. The narrator in “The Persian Carpet” suffers from self-doubt and buries all of her anger inside herself.

  1. character v/s environment or society

Eg. The mother in “The Persian Carpet” suffers from the sexism of her society where as a woman, she has no voice/rights.

Foreshadowing: when the author gives the reader a hint of future events.

Eg.

Symbol: when something stands for something else. A symbol can usually be identified through repetition or significant placement

Eg. Persian Carpet represents the betrayal of the narrator’s mother

Irony

  1. situational irony: when something turns out differently than expected.

Eg.

  1. dramatic irony: when the reader knows something a character does not.

Eg.

  1. verbal irony: when a character says something they do not mean

Eg.

6. character

Dynamic Character: a character who goes through a significant and lasting change.

Eg. The narrator in “The Persian Carpet.” Her trust in her mother has been permanently altered

The father in “The Father” realizes it was his fault that his relationship with his son is des- troyed

Static Character: a character who does not experience any significant change.

Eg. The scientist in “Barney” remains oblivious to the end

Round Character: a character who is multi-sided and realistic.

Eg. Johnny from “The Father”: swimmer, son, boy scout, funny, popular, sullen, angry…

Flat Character: a character who only has one or two aspects to their personality.

Eg. The sister in “The Persian Carpet” : perky

Stock Character: a character that we all immediately recognize.

Eg. The mother in “The Father” – mother who takes care of everything/everyone

Theme: the main idea about human beings or human behaviour that the story is trying to reveal.

Eg. Parent/child relationships are fragile and if they are not nurtured, they will be destroyed beyond repair (“The Father”)

Eg. Those who have power often take advantage of those who don’t because they are voiceless. (“Persian Carpet”)

First Person Point of View: one of the characters is telling the story using “I”

Eg. The narrator in “The Persian Carpet” is telling her own story using “I”

Third Person Point of View: Roving camera that only records what is seen and what is heard

Eg.

Omnisicent Point of View: all knowing or “god-like” perspective – narrator knows everything (feelings and thoughts of everyone)

Eg. “The Father”: we know the thoughts/feelings of the father, son, mother, curate…

Limited Omniscient Point of View: narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of ONE character

Eg.

The Father Brainstorm

Strengths

Weaknesses

Fears

Hopes

Conflicts (problems)