Short Story Terms

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Allusion

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A direct or indirect reference to a familiar figure, place, or event from history, literature, mythology, or from the Bible. Most allusions expand on or develop a significant idea, impression, or mood.

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Antagonist

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The major character or force that opposes the protagonist

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Antecedent Action

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A significant action that took place before the story began

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Anti-Climax

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An event or conclusion that is an abrupt shift from the important to the comical or trivial

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Atmosphere

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(mood). The prevailing feeling that is created in a story and usually sets up the reader's expectations about the ending or outcome of the plot. It is usually created through dialogue and imagery

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Character

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a) the fictional persons who carry out the actions of a story.
b) the moral and dispositional qualities of a fictional person in a story. Generally revealed through dialogue, action, and description.
Are classified as:

Hint 6

Round or flat, realistic, or stereotyped

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Character Sketch

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A character sketch is a description of a character's moral and dispositional qualities using nouns, adjectives, and specific examples and quotations from the story. One's physical appearance, dress and personal mannerisms may also be used to complete one's understanding of the character

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Climax

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The highest point of emotional intensity in a story. Usually marks the turning point in the protagonist's fortunes and the major crisis in the story.

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Conflict

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A struggle between opposing characters or forces, usually between the protagonist and someone/something else.
The 3 types of conflicts are:

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Man vs. Nature
Man vs Man
Man vs Himself

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Man vs Nature

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A main type of conflict. A storm, snake, etc. Generally something in the environment

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Man vs Man

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A main type of conflict. Between two characters (either physical, moral, emotional, or psychological)

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Man vs Himself

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A main type of conflict. The character experiences conflict within himself (moral, emotional, or int thought)

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Crisis

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A moment of intense conflict leading up to the climax.

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Denouement

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The "unknotting" of the plot following the climax. Also Known As:

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Resolution

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Dialogue

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Conversation including two or more characters in a story. Usually used to reveal character conflict.

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Diction

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Style of speaking (dialect)

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Dilemma

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A situation in which the character must make a difficult decision between two disagreeable, undesirable, unfavourable alternatives

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Exposition

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The background information provided by the author to further the plot, conflict, setting, and character

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Falling Action

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Part of a story immediately following the climax and lasting until the end of the story. Includes:

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Resolution

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Fiction

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Any narrative which is imagined and invented rather than historically or factually true

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Flashback

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A plot device which shifts the story from the present to the past, usually done in order to illustrate an important point or to reveal a change in character

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Foil

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A character whose behavior, attitudes, and opinions are in contrast to those of the protagonist

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Foreshadowing

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A device which gives a hint of what is to happen later in the story and it prepares the reader for the climax, resolution, and for changes (or lack of changes) in the character's attitude.

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Images

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Concrete details and figures of speech that help the reader to form vivid sense impressions of what is being described

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Indeterminate (open) Ending

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A story ending in which there is no clear outcome or ending. No resolution

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Irony

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A literary device which reveals concealed or contradictory meaning(s)
The three common for of irony are:

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Verbal Irony
Dramatic Irony
Situational Irony

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Verbal Irony

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Occurs when a contrast is evident between what a character says and what the character actually means.

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Dramatic Irony

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Occurs when the author shares the reader information not known by a character. The reader becomes aware that the character's actions may be inappropriate for the actual circumstances, that what is to come is the reverse of what a character expects, or that a character has unknowingly made a comment which anticipates the outcome

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Situational Irony

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Occurs when a set of circumstances turn out differently from what was expected or considered appropriate

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Local Colour

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The use of specific regional detail in order to increase atmosphere or reader interest and a sense of setting. Includes descriptions of locale, dress, and customs as well as dialect and ways of thinking and feeling characteristic of people in that region

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Moral

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Implied or stated lesson of a story

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Motivation

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What causes a character to do what they do

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Plot

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The storyline or organization of incidents in a story is called the plot and usually has rising and falling actions, and a climax and resolution

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Point of View

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The perspective form which a story is seen or told The 3 common types are:

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First Person
Third Person Limited Omniscient
Third Person Omniscient

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First Person

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Where the protagonist tells his/her own story directly to the reader using first person. "I"

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Third Person Limited Omniscient

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Refers to the main character as "he" or "she" and which shows us only what one character thinks and feels but from the perspective of someone "outside" the story

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Third Person Omniscient

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Reveals the minds of several or all characters knowing and telling all from an all-seeing, God-like perspective "outside" the story

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Predicament

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A position or situation that is difficult to get out of or that presents a problem difficult to solve.

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Prose

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Ordinary language not marked by rhythm or rhyme and is commonly used in short stories, essays, and modern plays

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Protagonist

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The main character of a story and though they may be heroes, more typically they are like people we meet in real life: they have a mixture of characteristics, some of which may be weaknesses

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Purpose

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Author's intention for writing. Ex: entertain, enlighten, demonstrate something about life/human nature

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Rising Action

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Consists of the events preceding the climax, when background information is given, conflicts are introduced, and suspense is built up

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Round Character

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A Realistic character with several sides to his/her nature

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Satire

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The ridicule of an idea, person, or type, usually to provoke change. Usually mocks human vices or foibles

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Setting

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Time and place of a story

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Short Story

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A brief, fictional prose narrative having one main character, a single plot, a limited number of settings, and one main single effect.

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Static Character

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One who does not change in the course of the story

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Stereotype

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Conforming to a general pattern; characters are familiar figures in fiction such as the "hard-boiled" private investigator, the "absent-minded" professor, the "stiff-upper lipped" police officer, the "ditzy" blonde

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Stream-of-Consciousness

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Depicting thoughts and feeling of a character in an apparently natural way without logic or interruption

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Style

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An author expresses their thoughts and feeling. In fiction, style is basically determined by such grammatical and sensory aspects as diction, sentences, and images.

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Sub-plot

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A minor storyline, secondary to the main plot, they may be related to the main action, but may also be a reflection or variation of the main plot

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Surprise Ending

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A sudden twist in the direction of a story, producing a conclusion which surprises the reader and often the story's characters as well

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Suspense

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The feeling of anxiety and uncertainty experienced by the reader about the outcome of the events or the protagonist's destiny

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Symbol

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Something that stands for or represents something else

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Theme

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The purpose for writing the story or what the author wanted to the reader to learn from the story

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Universality

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When a story is broad enough to be applied to most people at any time or place. They usually reveal human nature or common truths of experience

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Vicarious Experience

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The feeling a reader has when emotionally or mentally involved in a story. He imaginatively experiences and shares some of the same things as the characters in the story