Short Story Literary Terms

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Short Story Literary Terms

• Vocabulary, ENG 10

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Protagonist

• The main character in a story.

Example Katniss Everdeen is the protagonist in
The Hunger Games.
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Antagonist

• The character who is against the protagonist or
  hero.

Example The Joker is the antagonist in the movie
The Dark Knight because he is trying to destroy
Batman.
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Exposition

• Is at the beginning of a story and introduces the
  setting and the characters.

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Rising Action

• The events in a story that lead up to the climax.

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climax

• The main turning point in a story. The point of
  most tension.

Example The climax in Harrison Bergeron is
when Harrison and the ballerina kiss on the
ceiling.
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Falling Action

• The events in a story, that come after the climax.

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Resolution

• The part of the story's plot line in which the
  problem of the story is resolved or worked out.
  It is at the end.

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Theme

• The main message or moral of a story.

Example One of the themes in Harrison
Bergeron, is Equality.
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Conflict

• The struggle between two characters or forces.
  Internal conflict is a struggle a character has
  with himself external conflict is with another
  character or force.

Example Harrisons conflict was with the
government.
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Setting

• Where and when a story takes place

Example The year was 2081 and everybody was
finally equal.