Short Story Elements & Terminology: 

series of events that make up the story (based on conflict)

the beginning action and dialogue which tells the reader the setting, who the characters are, what events happened before, and what the situation is now.

Action that has occurred before the opening of the story

is the overall emotional effect or mood of a literary work

is the feeling or emotional state created in the reader

An early hint or suggestion of a future event or circumstance.

Begins the central conflict.

a sequence of events following each other with logical development through cause and effect

is a struggle between two opposing forces (People or Ideas)

conflict or struggle with forces outside oneself

the main character is in conflict with some other person or groups of persons

the main character is in conflict with nature, animals or weather

the main character is in conflict with law, government or discrimination

conflict or struggle within oneself

the main character is in conflict with fear, conscience or morals

the quality in a novel/story that makes the audience uncertain or tense about what is going to happen next.

a situation necessitating a choice between two equal, often equally undesirable, alternatives;

a moment of intense conflict which forces the character to make a decision which directly affects the outcome.

point in the struggle where the problem must be resolved one way or the other. (highest point of interest and emotion)

the action of a novel/story which works out the decision arrived at during the climax.

the section of the novel/short story which occurs after the climax.

the author or someone in the story tells us directly by exposition or analysis, what a character is like.

the author shows us the character in action; we infer what he is like from what he thinks or says or does.

the central character in a novel/story who is most responsible for bringing the conflict to an end.

the force that opposes the central character, which can be another person(s), the character’s own weakness, desire, or belief, circumstances, nature, or environment.

one who undergoes significant change in some aspect of his character, personality or values.

one who does not change in personality, outlook or values throughout the text.

one who has a number of personality traits.

one who is characterized by one or two personality traits.

one who is familiar and predictable.

One who occurs repeatedly in a particular literary genre.

a character that contains the opposite traits to another and serves to highlight the good / evil

One who does not change without motivation.

One who has believable reasons for a change in values or behaviour.

The vantage point from which the author tells the story.

when he/she does not understand the implications of what he/she is telling. Often the reader sees more about the characters and situations that this narrator does.

The author is all knowing

The author tells as it is seen and understood by a single character, and restricts information to what that character sees, hears, feels and thinks.

The story by an external narrator. The narrator tells in an objective fashion what is said and done, and makes no attempt to explain or interpret.

the author attempts to duplicate the unbroken flow of thought and awareness in a character’s mind. The technique puts on paper what is going on in the mind of a particular character.

The central or dominating idea in a literary work, illustration of a basic truth of human life.

something that means more that what it is or that stands for something else.

A narrative or description which has a second meaning beneath the surface one

An author’s attitude toward his or her subject and audience

The ridicule of something

a term with a range of meanings

is a statement in which the implied meaning differs sharply from the meaning that is expressed. (Saying one thing but meaning another)

is a situation in which the reader or audience knows more about the circumstances or events of a story than a character within it

occurs when what takes place contrasts with what is expected or appropriate.

Refers to the shape and structure of a story

sections in short story are linked through combinations of the following devices: narrative episode, exposition, dialogue, description and flashback.

the individual manner in which an author expresses his or her thoughts and feelings.

describes the entry of a coincidence or implausible event that comes just in time to solve a problem in a story.

a story which contains no introduction. Instead, the reader is plunged directly into the action