| A | B |
|---|
| short story | a brief work of fiction containing a central conflict and one or more characters |
| narrator | person who tells the story. |
| Point of view | the relationship of the storyteller (narrator) to the novel. |
| First person | story told by a character in the novel or short story |
| Third person | story is told by an outside observer - not a character in the novel - |
| Character | person or animal in the story |
| Character traits | different qualities that make-up a character’s personality |
| Characterization | method in which author presents characters to the reader |
| Direct Characterization | actually states what character is like (Ex. He is a mean, stingy man.) |
| Indirect Characterization | infer character’s traits from facts (Ex. Mr. Jones always refuses to help |
| Motivation | feeling or goal that causes a character to do something |
| Major character | well-developed personality; often displaying many different traits |
| Minor character | appears less frequently and have less-developed personality |
| Round character | reader will see many traits and often changes and growth in character |
| Flat character | reader will see only one trait in character; does not change |
| Protagonist | main character in a literary work |
| Antagonist | a character or force in conflict with the main character. |
| Comparing | showing similar traits between two or more characters |
| Contrasting | showing differences between characters |
| Plot | sequence of events in a story |
| Rising action | events leading up to the climax |
| Climax | the point (in the plot) when things (characters and events) are the most |
| Falling action | events leading to end of story following the climax |
| Resolution | end of the story |
| Conflict | struggle between two opposing forces |
| External conflict | struggle against an outside force such as nature or another person |
| Internal conflict | struggle that takes place within the character’s mind |
| Setting | place and time in which a story, novel or play takes place. This includes |
| Atmosphere (Mood) | the feeling created in the reader by the words in the story (Ex. Onyx |
| Theme | a central message, concern, or insight into life expressed in a literary work |
| Stated Theme | author actually writes the main idea in sentence form in the story |
| Implied Theme | reader infers the theme through characters’ actions and words as well as |
| Inference | drawing a conclusion based on information given (what you have read) |
| Dialogue | conversation between characters |
| Symbols | anything that stands for or represents something else |
| Tone | attitude toward the subject and audience conveyed by the language and |
| Irony | literary technique that involves surprising, interesting, or amusing |
| Verbal Irony | words are used to suggest the opposite of their usual meaning (Ex. When a |
| Dramatic Irony | a contradiction exists between what a character thinks and what the reader |
| Irony of situation | event occurs that contradicts what character or reader expects |
| Imagery | use of words that appeal to the five senses |
| Suspense | use of techniques that keep the reader wonder what will happen next |
| Foreshadowing | technique in which author gives clues as to what will happen later in the |
| Genre | a division or type of literature, usually into three major genres: poetry, |
