Midterm Review: Short Story Terms and Definitions

When an event occurs whose significance the audience understands, but the characters do not.

Literary work where all or most of the elements stand for ideas beyond themselves.

A character who only portrays one kind of personality trait or characteristic.

Any character that has a complex personality; often portrayed as conflicted and contradictory.

A person, place, or object that represents something beyond itself.

A problem between opposing forces within a character.

A literary element that evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers.

When what happens is the exact opposite of what you or the character expected to happen.

The character of force against which the main character is pitted.

A character who provides a striking contrast to another character.

A character who undergoes a change as the plot unfolds.

A character that stays the same.

A problem between a character and nature, society, or another character

The central character(s); involved in the central conflict; often changes

The attitude of the writer toward the subject or audience.

An underlying message that the writer wants the reader to understand.