Elements of Literature:

Short Stories

I. Parts of the Plot

II. Characters

A. round vs. flat

B. dynamic vs. static

C. protagonist vs. antagonist

III. Theme

IV. Characterization

A. Creating characters—telling what human beings are like—is the whole point of writing stories.

B. Ways to create characters

1. Indirect Characterization

(the writer shows us a character but allows us to interpret for ourselves the kind of person he or she is)

A. The character’s speech

(what they say, their tone of voice, etc.)

B. The character’s appearance

C. The character’s private thoughts

D. How other characters in the story feel about the character

E. The character’s actions

2. Direct characterization

Example:

“He was a tightfisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! a

squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner!” --Charles Dickens

II. Satire

A. any kind of writing, speaking, or art that ridicules or mocks some weakness in individuals or in society.

B. modern examples:

1. political cartoons

2. late night talk shows

3. TV sitcoms

4. comic strips

C. methods:

1. exaggeration

2. mockery

D. purpose = to cause change, make people think

III. Setting

A. where and when the story takes place

B. purposes:

1. to provide background so we can imagine where the characters are and how they might dress

2. to help explain why the characters behave the way they do—places where people live can affect their character and the places also reflect the occupants’ character

3. to contribute to the mood or atmosphere of the story

a. Some settings make the reader feel uneasy.

b. Some settings make us feel happy.

c. Some settings prepare the reader for a tale of isolation and terror.

IV. Irony

A. definition: surprise resulting from the difference between what we expect and what actually happens

B. Types:

1. verbal irony

a. saying one thing and meaning another

b. examples:

1. Saying “nice clean water” when you are looking at a polluted river

2. General Zaroff saying, “We try to be civilized here.”

2. situational irony

a. the situation turns out the opposite of what we expected

b. examples:

1. In “The Sniper,” the reader is surprised when he turns the body over and it is his brother.

2. the firehouse burns down

3. dramatic irony

a. the audience knows something the actors/characters do not know

b. Examples:

1. The audience knows that the young woman the man is flirting with is really his male roommate in disguise.

2. The audience knows that the cables of the elevator the hero is about to enter are cut.