Elements of Short Stories Rap

To try and explain why people act the way that they do

The time and location in which a story takes placePlace: geographical locationTime: When is the story taking place? Historical PeriodTime of DayTime of Year

How the author arranges events to develop the basic ideaThe sequence of events in a story or playIntroduction/ExpositionRising ActionClimaxFalling ActionConclusion/Denouement

Introduction (Exposition): the beginning of the story where the characters and the setting is revealed

Rising Action: the events of the story become complicated and the conflict of the story is revealedEvents between introduction and climax

Climax: the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story. What will happen next?Will the conflict be resolved or not?

Falling Action: the events and issues in the story begin to resolve themselvesWas the conflict resolved?Events between climax and denouement

Resolution (Denouement): Final outcome or untangling of events in the storyFrench word for untying

A situation or problem that a character has to try and resolve

A constant, ongoing struggle that the main character is trying to find a solution to

Two Types: InternalExternal

Two Types of Conflict:External: a struggle with a force outside the character

Internal: a struggle within a character; a character has to make a decision, overcome pain, quiet their temper, resist an urge, etc.

Man vs. Man: the main character struggles with another characterGood guy vs. bad guy

Man vs. Circumstances: the main character struggles against fate or the circumstances of life facing him/herHamlet

Man vs. Society: the main character struggles against ideas, practices, or customs in their society

Man vs. Nature: the main character struggles against nature, a natural disaster, or animalsA struggle to survive

Man vs. Himself: the main characters struggle takes place in his/her own mind. Usually has something to do with a choice (choosing between right and wrong), or it may have to do with overcoming emotions or mixed feelings

Character: the people in a work of fiction

Character Development: the change in the person from the beginning to the end of the story

Characterization: the way a person looks, talks, acts, or thinks

Protagonist: main character of the story who is faced with a conflictUsually the hero or good guy

Antagonist: person who goes against the main character who may contribute to the conflictUsually the villain or bad guy

First Person Point of ViewOne of the characters in the story is telling the story through their perspective, or through their own eyesWhen reading stories written in first person, we need to realize that what the narrator is saying is based on their own personal feelings

Third Person Omniscient Point of ViewThe narrator is not a character in the storyThe narrator is an outside voice that lets us know exactly how the characters feel.We learn about the characters through this outside voice.

Objective Point of ViewThe writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story's action and dialogue. The narrator never tells anything about what the characters think or feel, remaining a detached observer.

Controlling idea in a piece of fiction or its central insightThe authors underlying meaningMain idea the author is trying to explainThe theme may be an authors thoughts about a topic or view of human natureExamples of Common Themes from Literature, TV, and Film:Things are not always what they appear to beLove is blindBelieve in yourselfEvil exists in the world

When the opposite of what you expect to happen takes placeVerbal Irony: when someone says one thing, but really means anotherKind of like sarcasm

Person, place, thing, or event that stands for itself and for something beyond itself

Example: heart stands for the actual organ and for love

A scene in a story that interrupts the present action of the plot to flash backwards and tell what happened at an earlier time

A scene in a story that interrupts the present action of the plot and goes into the future