Unit 6: The Short Story

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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. short story
    a brief but fully developed prose narrative
    The short story is a condensed form of fictional narrative.
  2. setting
    facts or circumstances that surround a situation or event
    The setting is the time and place of the unfolding action, together with all the details used to create a sense of a particular time and place.
  3. mood
    a characteristic state of feeling
    The details that create the setting also create the mood, or atmosphere.
  4. narrator
    someone who tells a story
    The narrator is the character or speaker who tells a story.
  5. point of view
    the perspective from which a story is told
    Point of view is the vantage point, or perspective, from which the story is told—in other words, who is telling the story.
  6. stream of consciousness
    a literary genre using long speeches to develop characters
    Sometimes, the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of only one character, as in the case of Katherine Anne Porter’s “The Jilting of Granny Weatherall.” Granny, whose stream-of-consciousness narrative gives us the significant facts of her adulthood, is not, in fact, the narrator.
  7. characterization
    the act of describing essential features
    Characterization is the act of creating or describing a character.
  8. plot
    the story that is told, as in a novel, play, movie, etc.
    A plot is a series of events related to a central conflict, or struggle.
  9. conflict
    opposition in a work of fiction between characters or forces
    In sum, a plot typically introduces a conflict, develops it, and eventually resolves it.
  10. exposition
    an account that sets forth the intent of a story
    The first element of plot, the exposition, provides background information about the characters, setting, and conflict and usually occurs at the beginning of a story.
  11. rising action
    a series of plot events that build up toward the climax
    The rising action sets up the conflict or problem that the protagonist (main character) must resolve.
  12. climax
    the decisive moment in a novel or play
    The climax is the high point of interest or suspense.
  13. falling action
    series of plot events following the climax of a narrative
    The falling action consists of all the events that follow the climax.
  14. resolution
    finding an answer to a problem
    The resolution is the point when the central conflict is ended.
  15. theme
    a unifying idea that is a recurrent element in literary work
    A theme is a central message or perception about life revealed through a literary work.
Created on Wed Mar 03 09:38:15 EST 2021 (updated Mon Jun 21 12:28:39 EDT 2021)

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