1. By Mr. Gross For Senior English Elements of the Short Story

3. Five Elements to the SHort Story PLOT Character Point of View (POV) Setting THEME

4. Extra Stuff to Know... Motivation Dilema Versimilitude Conflict Irony Resolution

5. If Dads Raised Kids… Background….

6. PLOT - is made up of a series of related events that include the conflict, climax, and resolution Conflict is the struggle between opposing forces or people. Most plots are built on it. Internal Conflict : occurs within a character who possesses opposing ideas or feelings External Conflict : occurs between two or more characters or between a character and the forces of nature

8. The Five Main Types of Conflict Man versus Self Man versus Man Man versus Society Man versus Nature Man versus Supernatural (or PLOT continued…)

9. Man vs. Self

11. Man vs. Man Brock Lesner VS. Travis!

12. Man vs. Society

13. Man vs. Nature

15. Man vs. Super Natural

16. Plot continued… Climax is the turning point in the story. It is the point at which the conflict comes to a peak. Resolution shows how the situation turns out and ties up loose ends *** Exposition is background information that the author may present at the beginning of the story. It will set the scene for the conflict .

18. Short Story Sequence Exposition Rising Action Falling Action Climax Conflict Resolution

19. Is that Brett Abbot as a child???

20. Characterization refers to a character’s personality or the method by which the writer reveals this personality. There are two ways Direct characterization : the writer tells you directly about the character Indirect Characterization : the writer lets the reader learn about the characters through dialogue, actions, their thoughts, or what other characters think about them.

21. Characterization continued: Character Traits : qualities that make a person unique. Authors give their characters a number of different traits that together form their personalities Some may not be very important while others are crucial to the story. All should make the person seem true to life.

23. Point of View (POV) consists of first person narration, third person narration, and omniscient narrator First person narration : is told by one of the characters in the story who refers to self as ‘I’, ‘we’, ‘me’, and ‘us’. This person is called the narrator Makes the story seem immediate Limited though because the author can only reveal what the narrator would know and observe (story is one-sided) Inferences are based on what other characters say and do to get a wider picture

26. Point of View continued… Third person narrator : narrator is a voice outside the story who refers to all the characters as ‘he’, ‘she’, or ‘they’. Sometimes the narrator relates events from the POV of one of the characters in the story.  This is called Limited Third Person The reader sees events through the eyes of one character and knows what the character knows Mr. Hohlbein, Mr. Starks, & Mr. Lau 

27. POV continued again… Omniscient Narrator : this is the all-seeing & all-knowing narrator. This narrator can tell you everything (even things that the characters in the story do not know) They can also enter the minds of all the characters and tell you what they think and feel

28. SETTING Defined as the time & place of a story’s action

29. Setting continued… some stories contain a detailed description of the setting if it is important to the story it is also the cultural background against which the action takes place the customs, ideas, values, and beliefs of the society in which the story occurs provide what might be called the cultural setting

30. Mr. Lehmkuhle is a REAL good hunter… NOTHING gets away from Corey… Yeah, right!

31. Setting continued x 2… Historical Setting : a story takes place in the past. The time and place of the story are those of a significant event in history You need to know about the events of that time period to better understand the story

33. Setting continued x 3… Fictional Setting : a story that takes place in a make-believe place. Setting of a science fiction story is usually the future Using ideas from science or space travel, science fiction writers may take you to places that do not now exist or that are currently beyond reach. When a setting is that, ask how it effects the story (Fairy Tales…)

34. Been there before, eh?

36. THEME is the central idea or message that the story is trying to get across - must be discovered by the reader - sometimes it is hidden so well that discussion is needed to find it - it can also be called the ‘point to the story’

37. MOTIVATION

38. A character’s reason for behaving a certain way

39. Motivation continued… in a story it is easier to understand a character and his reasons for doing what he does when one understands the motive

40. When I was a senior I looked like this…

41. DILEMA situation where a person must choose between two equal alternatives - there is no objective way to determine that one alternative is better than the other - mostly the choice depends upon what type of person the character is

42. Should I stay? Should I go? Would he return for me? Can I live with the guilt? D I L E M A

43. VERSIMILITUDE

44. Versimilitude continued… - means similar to the truth characters of flesh and blood who make us respond to them as real people this helps us respond to them as we do toward people we know (because they are true to life)

45. Irony

46. … an old man wins the lottery, dies the next day … it’s like a no smoking sign on your cigarette break … it’s like 10,000 spoons and all you need is knife It’s like meeting the man of your dreams, and then meeting his beautiful wife

47. Isn’t it ironic? Don’t cha think? Alanis Morissette “ Ironic” Jagged Little Pill

48. Michigan Temperature Conversion Chart 70 above Texans turn on the heat and unpack the thermal underwear. People in Michigan go swimming in the Lakes. 60 above North Carolinians try to turn on the heat. People in Michigan plant gardens. 50 above Californians shiver uncontrollably. People in Michigan sunbathe. 40 above Italian & English cars won't start. People in Michigan drive with the windows down. 32 above Distilled water freezes. Lake Superior's water gets thicker. 20 above Floridians don coats, thermal underwear, gloves, and woolly hats. People in Michigan throw on a flannel shirt.

49. 15 above Philadelphia landlords finally turn up the heat. People in Michigan have the last cookout before it gets cold. 0 People in Miami all die... Michiganders lick the flagpole. 20 below Californians fly away to Mexico. People in Michigan get out their winter coats. 40 below Hollywood disintegrates. The Girl Scouts in Michigan are selling cookies door to door. 60 below Polar bears begin to evacuate the Artic. Michigan Boy Scouts postpone "Winter Survival" classes until it gets cold enough. 80 below Mt. St. Helens freezes. People in Michigan rent some videos. 100 below Santa Claus abandons the North Pole. Michiganders get frustrated because they can't thaw the keg.

50. 297 below Microbial life no longer survives on dairy products. Cows in Michigan complain about farmers with cold hands. 460 below ALL atomic motion stops (absolute zero in the Kelvin scale). People in Michigan start saying, "Cold 'nuff for ya?" 500 below Hell freezes over. The Lions win the Super Bowl! LIONS RULE!!!