Short Story Unit

Terms to Know

Fiction

•Prose writing that tells about imaginary characters and events

Short Story

•A short piece of narrative fiction

Myth•A fictional tale that describes the actions of gods and heroes or explains the causes of natural phenomena

•Unlike legends, myths emphasize the supernatural, rather than historical events

Tall Tale•An outrageously exaggerated and obviously unbelievable humorous story

Fable•Brief story in prose or verse that teaches a moral, or a practical lesson about life

Folk Tale• Anonymous traditional story

originally passed down orally from generation to generation.

• Examples: fairy tales, fables, legends, ghost stories, tall tales, anecdotes, and jokes.

• There are multiple versions of Folk Tales across cultures. (Ex: 900 versions of “Cinderella”)

Anecdote

•Very brief account of a particular incident

Archetype•A type of character, detail, image, or situation that appears in literature from around the world and throughout history.

•Can reveal deep truths about human experience.

Moral

•A lesson taught by a literary work, especially a fable

Paradox•A statement that seems contradictory but that actually may express a deeper truth

•It is surprising, so catches the reader’s attention

Parody•A humorous or satirical imitation of a serious piece of literature

•Created to mock, comment on, or make fun of an original work, author, etc.

Foreshadowing•The use of clues in a literary work that suggest events that have yet to occur

Analogy•Comparison made between two things to show how they are alike

Allusion•Reference to a statement, person, place, event, or thing that is known from literature, history, religion, myth, politics, sports, science, or the arts

Plot•Series of related events that make up a story or drama

•Basic Situation (Exposition)—Rising Action (Conflict & Complications)—Climax—Falling Action—Resolution

Exposition•Type of writing that explains, gives information, or clarifies an idea

•Also the first part of a plot, the “basic situation”

Climax•The high point of interest or suspense in a story, novel or play

•The events that make up the rising action lead up to the climax, which is the turning point, before the events that make up the falling action

Surprise Ending•A conclusion that violates the expectations of the reader but in a way that is both logical and believable