Honors English 10 - Elements of a Short Story

Setting

when and where a story takes place

Characters

people, animals, or objects whose thoughts, feelings, and actions are directly related to the story

Protagonist

main character; does not always need to be the good guy

Antagonist

opposes the main character; does not always need to be the bad guy

External Traits

characteristics that are visible or physical

Internal Traits

a character’s personality and behavior

Dynamic Characters

change over the course of the story

Static Characters

stay the same throughout a story

Round Characters

complex, have many personality traits

Flat Characters

have one personality trait

Direct Characterization

author tells reader explicitly about a character

Indirect Characterization

author shows the reader about a character through actions or thoughts

Plot

order of events in a story

First POV

narrator tells the story

(I/Me/We/Us)

audience knows narrator’s thoughts and feelings

3rd Person POV - Limited

follows one character and their thoughts and feelings

3rd Person POV - Omniscient

knows the thoughts/feelings/emotions of all characters

Subjectivity

biased or opinion based

Objectivity

factual

Theme

main idea or message of a story

Formula: what story is about in one word (abstract concept) + what author is trying to say about that idea

Tone

how the author writes a story

Mood

the way a text makes the reader feel

Atmosphere

how setting/word choice affects the mood

Situational Irony

opposite of what you expect

Verbal Irony

sarcasm

Exposition

introduces characters, setting, and theme

Conflict

main problem in a story

Rising Action

events that build suspense

Climax

event in the story with the most suspense or action

Falling Action

conflict and tension fades

Resolution

where we leave our characters at the end of the story