SHORT FICTION UNIT

9th Grade English

Setting

The time AND/OR place of a piece of writing.

*** Sometimes the setting is specific, but at other times it can be very general.

** There can be more than one setting for a story – but consider what the MAIN setting is.

PLOT Sequence of incidents or

actions in a story. Whatever the characters do, or whatever happens to them, constitutes plot.

But First…. You can’t have plot without:

CONFLICT!

The dramatic struggle between opposing FORCES within a work of literature.

Two main types of conflict:

Internal

Opposing forces WITHIN an individual.

Example: Should I or shouldn’t I tell Mrs. Sinn that I saw Lucifer cheating on his test?

External

Opposing forces between two or more individuals, elements, institutions, etc.

Example: Batman versus the Joker

Example: Being stuck in a traffic jam.

FOUR categories of conflict:

Can you think of an example of each category?

MAN vs. MAN

Man vs. Society

Man vs. Self

Man vs. Nature

NOW, back to PLOT…

PLOT STRUCTURE

Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. It shows the a causal arrangement of events and actions within a story.

Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action

Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax

Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax

Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts

Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads

MOOD

The prevailing emotions or atmosphere of a given work. Often, the setting contributes to the mood

WHAT IS THEME?

Themes can be found everywhere: literature, stories, art, movies etc…

The theme of a fable is its moral.

The theme of a parable is its teaching.

The theme of a piece of literature is its view about life and how people behave.

THEME & MEANING

Theme is the… underlying meaning of the story, a universal truth, a significant statement the story is making

about society, human nature, or the human condition.

THEME = IDEA

The theme of a literary work is its underlying central idea or the generalization it communicates about life.

PLEASE KEEP IN MIND:

At times the author's theme may not confirm or agree with your own beliefs.

Even then, if skillfully written, the work will still have a theme that illuminates some aspects of true human experience.

Be aware that the theme never completely explains the story.

It is simply one of the elements that make up the whole. Some short stories have secondary themes as

well.

IRONY….

The essential feature of irony is the indirect presentation of a contradiction between an action or expression and the context in which it occurs.

Types of Irony

Verbal

Dramatic

Situational

Situational Irony

When the exact opposite of the expected outcome occurs in literature.

** This is a relatively new term.

EXAMPLE:

The Wizard of Oz

VERBAL IRONY

VERBAL IRONY occurs when one meaning is stated, but a different meaning is intended.

Examples of Ironic Similes:

As pleasant as the flu

As clear as mud

DRAMATIC IRONY

Occurs by giving the spectator (and/or reader) an item of information that at least one of the characters in the narrative is unaware of (at least consciously), thus placing the spectator a step ahead of at least one of the characters.

LET’S DISCUSS!

What was IRONIC about each of the stories we read so far?

“The Most Dangerous Game”

“The Lady or the Tiger?”

“The Lottery”

“War”

*** Each story includes several examples of irony.

AUTHOR’S PURPOSE

The author’s intent to: InformPersuade Entertain

The purpose of all of the short fiction we read so far is to _________.

If I won 5 million dollars on the lottery I would…