Short Story Terms Review

Author addresses the reader/audience

Hints at future events in the story

Point of view shows only actions and dialogue - no thoughts/feelings

Main character in the story

Author shows characters' traits

Point of view of one (or a few) character only

Type or category of literature

Someone or something in the story represents more than what it literally is

Conflict is between character and social expectations, customs, or elements

Told from narrator's perspective

Character changes throughout the story

Author tells about a character

Character has few or only one trait

Works against the main character

The struggle between opposing forces

Words and phrases spoken aloud in a story

Story transitions to an earlier time (before the present storyline)

Language that appeals to the senses

Conflict with another character in the story

Lesson or main idea in a story

Outcome of climax becomes clear; story moves toward resolution

Conflict is between main character and a force or element of nature

Conflict with main characters own thoughts/feelings

Wraps up loose ends and brings story to a reasonable close

Time and place of a story

The sequence of events in a story

Introduces characters, setting and conflict

Action and conflicts increase

Turning point; point of greatest intensity

Point of view of all characters

Character has many traits

Character stays the same throughout the story