Introduction to Short Stories Essential Question

Introduction to Short Stories

Essential Question:

What drives a story?

What is a Short Story?

• a short story is a brief work of fiction
• fiction is literature in the form of prose, especially short stories and novels, that describes imaginary events and people

Short Story Elements

Short stories will have these elements.

• Characters
• Setting
• Plot
• Conflict
• Point of view
• Theme

URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c6I24S72Jps

Characters

• a character is a person (or animal) in a literary work that takes part in the action
• Protagonist: The leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text
• Antagonist: a person who actively opposes or is hostile to someone or something; an adversary

Characters

Static Characters

• characters that do not change throughout the course of the narrative
• a static character does not go through a transformation or learn an important life lesson

Dynamic Characters

• characters that change throughout the course of the narrative
• a dynamic character experiences a transformation and/or learns a valuable life lesson

Characters

Round Characters

• characters that display multiple character traits
• a complex character
• a character the audience know a lot about
• a relatable character

Flat Characters

• characters that are two-dimensional and are relatively uncomplicated
• usually a side-kick
• oftentimes included in fiction as comedic relief

Characterization

Direct

• The writer makes direct statements about a character’s personality and tells what the character is like.
• Think adjectives.
• Character descriptions.
• What has the author told you?