Short Stories

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Short Stories Literary Devices
                                               
                                      

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Literary DevicesPart 1
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What makes a story short?

• Short stories are brief works of fiction in which
  a character faces a conflict that is resolved in
  the plot of the story.
• Think about a 30 minute sitcom on TV some sort
  of conflict occurs, but its always fixed by the
  end of the show

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• Two important questions
• What is a conflict?
• Why does every short story need to have a
  conflict?

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Conflict

• The problem or struggle in a story that triggers
  the action.
• There are 5 basic types of conflict.

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Types of Conflict
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Internal ConflictMan v. Self

• Any struggle or problem that is going on within
  the character.
• How would we know a character in a story was
  having an internal conflict?

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External Conflict

• - Any struggle or problem that involves the
  character and any other person, thing or unknown
  force
• Man v. Man
• Man v. Nature
• Man v. Society
• Man v. God (Fate)

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• Besides conflict, every short story needs to have
  a series of events that somehow connect to build
  the story.
• What is this called?

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The Plot!

• - The action or sequence of events in a story
• - It is usually a series of related events that
  build up on one another as the story develops

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Plot Line
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• 1. Exposition (the beginning) The background or
  situation surrounding the story, setting,
  characters
• 2. Rising action (introduction of conflict) - the
  series of struggles that builds a story toward a
  climax, the main conflict introduced
• 3. Climax (the high point) the turning point,
  which marks a change, for the better or the
  worse, for the protagonist

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• 4. Falling action (winding down) part of the
  story that works out decisions reached during the
  climax
• 5. Resolution (the ending or denouement) is
  part of the story in which the conflict is solved
  or resolved

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• Ok, so now we have a plot with a conflict what
  else does a short story need?

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Lets talk about characters

• Protagonist Main, or focal, character in
  conflict with the antagonist
• Antagonist - The person or thing working against
  the protagonist
• (This could be a person or a force even
  societys expectations of the protagonist could
  be a force against him/her)

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Literary DevicesPart 2
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Theme

• The lesson about life the author is trying to get
  across in a story
• Is the theme told to you directly at the end of a
  story or implied?

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• In the childrens book Charlottes Web,
  Charlotte, the spider, tells Wilbur, the pig,
  that all living things must die, and later on,
  she dies saving his life.
• The author was giving us a clue about what would
  happen later what is that device called?

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Foreshadowing

• The use in a literary work of clues that suggest
  events that will happen later in a story

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Flashback

• (this is almost the opposite of foreshadowing)
• A flashback is when an author refers back to
  something that previously happened

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Imagery

• The words used to appeal to the five senses. It
  creates word pictures in our minds while we read.
• The east wind came whipping across the fields
  from higher ground. He stamped his foot and blew
  upon his hands. In the distance he could see the
  clay hills, white and clean, against the heavy
  pallor of the sky (du Maurier 63).
• We can feel / hear the wind and see the hill s
  and sky in our minds!

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Setting

• The time, place and background of the story.
• The setting can change throughout a story
• What is the setting of your favorite movie? Your
  favorite book?

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Its finally ironic

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?v32LCwZFoKio

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Irony

• Is using a word or phrase to mean the exact
  opposite of its literal or normal meaning.
• Name an example of irony from the song Its
  finally ironic

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• Three Types of Irony
• Dramatic - a contradiction in what a character
  thinks and what the reader/audience knows is true
• Verbal - the writer says one thing and means
  another
• Situational - an event occurs that contradicts
  the expectations of the characters, the reader,
  or the audience

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• Do you speak the same in front of your grandma as
  you do in front of your friends?

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• Probably not )
• Authors choose their words carefully, too this
  is called their diction

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Diction

• The authors word choice, including the
  vocabulary used, the appropriateness of the
  words, and the vividness of the language.
• Why would a short story author have to choose
  their words very carefully?

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• That moment when youre in a scary movie, and you
  KNOW the bad guy is about to jump out from around
  the corner, and your heart starts pounding a
  little, and you start feeling a little nervous
  because youre afraid of what is going to happen

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That is called SUSPENSE

• The uncertainty or anxiety we feel about what is
  going to happen next in a story

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Characterization

• - Is the method an author uses to reveal
  characters and their personalities

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• Direct Characterization a writer tells us
  directly what a character is like or what their
  motives are
• Example The doctor was bald and quite impatient.

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• Indirect Characterization In which a writer
  shows us a character but allows us to interpret
  for ourselves the kind of person we are meeting
• How do authors use indirect characterization?
• Speech
• Appearance
• Private thoughts
• Actions and how others in the story feel about
  them

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• Example As the doctors head shone in the light,
  he tapped his pen on the clipboard while the
  patient slowly described his symptoms.

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More about Characters

• If a character never learns a lesson or never
  changes in a story, what type of character is he?
• What if that character DOES change or DOES learn
  a lesson throughout the story, what type of
  character would that be?
• If the main character has only one real trait or
  quality about them, what would call him?
• But, what if he had many traits and qualities,
  what type of character is that?

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Characters

• Static character A character who doesnt change
  or learn a lesson during the story
• Dynamic character A character who develops and
  grows (changes) during the course of the story
• Flat character A character who shows only one
  trait throughout the story
• Round character A character who shows many
  traits in a story, both the good (virtues) and
  the bad (vices or faults)

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Symbolism, Tone, and Mood
Literary ElementsPart 3
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Symbolism

• Person, place, thing, or event that stands both
  for itself and for something beyond itself.
• Public symbols are symbols that are widely
  recognized and accepted
• Can you think of any public symbols?

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Symbolism, Literary Example
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Symbolism

• Why would the eagle be chosen as a symbol of the
  United States?
• What metaphors exist within the symbol of the
  eagle when comparing it to a nation?

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Symbolism

• Strength of an eagles wings
• Sharp eyes
• Largeness of the bird
• Why do you think our forefathers chose the eagle
  over Benjamin Franklins proposed turkey?

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Tone

• - Tone is the attitude that an author takes
  toward the audience, the subject, or the
  character.
• - Tone is conveyed through the author's words and
  details.

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Mood

• - Mood is the emotions that you feel while you
  are reading. Some literature makes you feel sad,
  others joyful, and sometimes angry.

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The End