| A | B |
|---|
| plot | the sequence of events in a story, the arrangement of incident |
| realistic plot | a story created as true to real life as possible |
| fantastic plot | a story that probably could not happen but is told as if it could |
| complication | series of difficulties forming the central action |
| foreshadow | hint or clue about what is to come |
| flashback | narration of an earlier episode from the present time in the story |
| suspense | quality that makes the reader uncertain or tense about the outcome of events |
| irony of situation | a contrast between what is expected and what actually occurs |
| dramatic irony | the audience knows more than the character who is speaking |
| conflict | a struggle between two opposing forces or characters |
| internal conflict | man vs. himself |
| external conflict | man vs man; man vs society; man vs. nature; man vs. fate |
| character | people or animals/things/natural forces presented as persons in a work |
| characterization | the process of revealing the personality of a character |
| direct | author tells his readers directly what the character is like |
| indirect | the reader draws conclusions from evidence in the work |
| trait | a distinguishing feature of personality |
| motivation | person's reasons for his actions |
| minor character | has 4 major functions; used to help characterize a major character |
| major character | primary role in a story |
| flat | character with a single, dominant characteristic |
| round | a complex person with a variety of qualities, true to real life |
| static | remains unchanged throughout the story |
| dynamic | changes internally as a result of the action in the story |
| catalyst | a character who causes another to change but does not change himself |
| stereotype/stock character | a flat character whose personality is immediately known |
| foil | a person who emphasizes by contrast the qualities of another |
| narrator | the person who tells the story |
| persona | the "I" of the story |
| dialect | language of a certain group or region that is not standard English |
| dialog | written conversation |
| protagonist | the main characcter trying to carry out some action |
| antagonist | directly opposes the actions of a protagonist |
| verbal irony | a contrast between what is stated and what is really meant; the speaker says one thing but makes clear that he means just the opposite |
| setting | the time and place of the action of a story |
| time span | the length of time the action of the story takes place |
| theme | underliying meaning or central insight of the story |
| moral | lesson that some stories teach |
| point of view | the vantage point from which the story is told |
| lst person point of view | the story is told by one of the characters in his/her own words |
| third person omniscient | the narrator tells the story from the vantage point of an outsider who is not in the story at all |
| third person limited | the narrator tells the story as if from the vantage point of one character or a limited number of characters |
| fiction | anything that is invented or imagined--all novels are fiction |
| novel | a long fictional narrative in prose |
| short story | a short narrative fiction in prose |
| mood | the feeling or atmosphere created by a story |
| tone | the author's attitude towards his story such as ironic, serious, humorous, tragic, or romantic |
| style | qualities of writing that distinguish one writer from another |
| symbol | a thing which has meaning in itself and that also stands for some concept larger than intself |
| fiction | anything that is invented or imagined |
| novel | a long fictional narrative in prose |
| short story | a short narrative fiction in prose |
| simile | a comparison between two distinctly different things indicated by "like" or "as" |
| allusion | a reference to something in history or earlier literature |
| style | qualities of writing that distinguish one writer from another |
| universality | quality that makes the story seem part of the common experience of everybody -- applies to people in any age |
| symbol | a thing which has meaning in itself and that also stands for some concept larger than itself |
| fantasy | a story that probably could not happen but is told as if it could |
| realistic | a story created as true to real life as possible |
