The Short Story

**Portions of this Powerpoint presentation come from

the National Council of Teachers of English (NCTE)
website in their ReadWriteThink program.
Grade 7 LA Blue
Mrs. Munzner
History of the Short Story
1. Myth- gods, natural events are
explained to ancient people, usually there is
a hero involved.
2. Fables and Parables- Teach a moral or
lesson. Helps readers think about right or
wrong. They share an important human
experience. Animals are the main
characters
3. Folktales/ fairytales- Fantasy is
involved. Super powers are good vs. evil
are used to teach a lesson.
Then along came the modern
short story
Purposes
Helps us think about right and wrong
- Helps us understand thoughts and
emotions
- Main purpose= share an important human
experience
- Universal theme (applies to everyones
life)
Characteristics of the Modern
Short Story
1. One single situation or experience
2. One plot line (series of events)
3. One or two main characters
4. Records an incident that every
reader can connect to.
5. Carefully organized
Elements of The Short Story
Character
Setting
Plot
Conflict
Tone
Theme
Point of view
Characters
Round vs. Flat

Round characters=
Well-developed, has
many traits
Flat Characters=
One sided,
stereotyped
Dynamic vs. Static

Dynamic characters=
change in the story
Static characters=
stay the same
Characters
Protagonist
The main character in a literary work (for
instance, Harry Potter or Snow White)

Antagonist
The character who opposes the protagonist (for
instance, Lord Voldemort in the Harry Potter
Series, or The Queen in Snow White)


Methods of Characterization
Direct Characterization
The author develops the personality of a
character by saying it directly.

Jack had been in basic training in Florida and
Dottie was there on vacation with her parents.
Theyd met on a beach and struck up a
conversation. Dottie was the talker, the
outgoing one the extrovert. Jack was too shy
around girls to say much at all.
Furlough1044 by Harry Mazer
Methods of Characterization
Indirect Characterization
Revealing a characters personality through:

1. The characters thoughts and
words
2. The characters actions.
3. The comments of other
characters or how other characters
respond to specific characters
4. The characters physical appearance.

Setting
The setting is the place where the story
occurs. The setting can include the
following:
The geographic location (ex. London, California,
Holden)
The time period (ex. 2007, during WWII, today,
tomorrow, fifty years from now)
The socio-economic characteristics of the location
(ex. Wealthy section of town, the ghetto, the great
depression)
The specific building, room and so forth
Setting
Can be used to tell readers about the
characters:
That evening T.J. smelled the air, his
nostrils dilating with the odor of the earth
under his feet. Its spring, he said, and
there was a gladness rising in his voice that
filled us all with the same feeling
from Antaeus by Borden Deal
Setting
Can be used to set the atmosphere
for the story:

During the whole of a dull, dark, and
soundless day in the autumn of the year,
when the clouds hung oppressively low in the
heavens, I had been passing alone, on
horseback, through a singularly dreary tract
of country.
The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allen Poe
Plot is the literary element that describes the
structure of a story. It shows the a causal
arrangement of events and actions within a story.
Plot Structure
Plot Components
Exposition: the start of the
story, the situation before the
action starts
Rising Action: the series of
conflicts and crisis in the story
that lead to the climax
Climax: the turning point, the
most intense momenteither
mentally or in action
Falling Action: all of the
action which follows the
climax
Resolution: the conclusion,
the tying together of all of
the threads
Plot Components Explained
Exposition: The mood and conditions existing at the beginning of the story.
The setting is identified. The main characters with their positions,
circumstances and relationships to one another are established. The
exciting force or initial conflict is introduced. Sometimes called the
Narrative HOOK this begins the conflict that continues throughout the
story.
Rising Action: The series of events, conflicts, and crises in the story that
lead up to the climax, providing the progressive intensity, and complicate
the conflict.
Climax: The turning point of the story. A crucial event takes place and
from this point forward, the protagonist moves toward his inevitable end.
The event may be either an action or a mental decision that the protagonist
makes.
Falling Action: The events occurring from the time of the climax to the
end of the story. The main character may encounter more conflicts in this
part of the story, but the end is inevitable.
Resolution/Denouement: The tying up of loose ends and all of the threads
in the story. The conclusion. The hero character either emerges triumphant
or is defeated at this point.
Plot: Conflict
Conflict is the dramatic struggle between
two forces in a story. Conflicts lead you
through the story to the climax. Without
conflict, there is no plot.
Plot: Types of Conflict
Human vs. Nature
Human vs. Society
Human vs. Self
Internal Conflict
Human vs. Human
Interpersonal Conflict
Theme
Theme is the central underlying message
about life or human nature in a story.

-It tells the big ideas around which the
author was writing.

-In order to identify a theme of a story, one
must know the whole story.

Ex. Dont judge a book by its cover
In good vs. evil, good usually wins.
Tone
Tone is the attitude a writer takes towards a
subject or character.

It is revealed in the writers choice of words and
details.

Examples include: serious, humorous, sarcastic,
ironic, formal, playful





Other terms:
Mood
Foreshadowing
Point of View
Third Person (Omniscient) Point of View
Limited Omniscient Point of View
First Person
Symbolism