| Term | Definition |
|---|
| characters | the people or animals in short stories, novels and plays |
| protagonist | the main character, or the one most central to the plot |
| antagonist | a person, place or thing that works against the protagonist; can be character/other characters, a society, a force of nature, or a force within the main character. |
| major characters | include protagonist, antagonist, and other characters who have large roles in the story |
| minor characters | have smaller roles in the story |
| flat characters | have only one or two sides |
| round characters | have many sides |
| static characters | are unchanging, or experience no major change in the story |
| dynamic characters | change, grow or learn something by the end of the story |
| characterization | the ways in which an author reveals the traits of characters to his audience |
| direct characterization | method wherein author tells his readers about a character |
| indirect characterization | require reader to infer facts about a character's traits through the following: a character's words and actions, a character's physical description, a character's thoughts, and/or the thoughts, actions, and words of other characters |
| conflict | a struggle between two opposing forces (a problem that triggers the action) in a novel, short story, or play. It is developed around one or more of five basic conflict types |
| person v. person | problem with another character |
| person v. society | problem with laws or beliefs of a group of people |
| person v. nature | problem with environment |
| person v. fate | problem that seems to be uncontrollable |
| person v. person | Three Little Pigs |
| person v. society | Tom Sawyer; in his adventures as he tries to live outside of the rules of his aunt and his community |
| person v. nature | Hatchet; pits a young boy finds himself to be the sole survivor of a plane crash that lands him in the wilderness |
| person v. fate | Charlottes Web; the spider saves wilbur the pig from slaughter |
| person v. self | problem deciding what to do or thing |
| person v. self | Madeleine L'Engles's Wrinkle in Time; she has to decide what to believe about her father, her adventures, and herself |
| dialogue | conversation between two or mare caracters |
| flashback | an interruption in a story to tell about events that happened earlier |
| theme | indirectly expressed insights or statements about life that an author wants to convey to reader |
| narrator | the voice telling a story |
| point of view | the narrators position with respect to the characters and the reader; the perspective from which an author presents a story |
| first person POV | story is told by one of the characters who uses pronouns such as I or we and participates in much of the action |
| second person POV | this point of view places the reader in a story using the pronoun YOU |
| third person POV | story is told by narrator who is not a character in the story; uses pronouns such as she, he, and they |
| plot | sequence of events that make up a story. The plot serves as a skeleton on which the other elements of a story hang |
| exposition | an introduction to the characters and setting of the story |
| rising action | a series of conflicts or struggles that build a story to its climax; tensions rise |
| climax | high point, or turning point, of story. The climax is the point of highest tension in a story. It serves as a turning point between the rising and falling action |
| falling action | events that lead to a conflicts resolution |
| resolution | the point at which the conflict is resolved and the story is brought to a natural or surprising end |
| suspense | a growing sense of tension or anxiety about what will happen next in the story |
| setting | the time and place in which the action of a literary work takes place. Look for clues in opening paragraph of the story or navel |
| style | the way an author uses words, phrases, and sentences to express his/her ideas. Style includes the author's word choices, sentence structure, and use of literary devices |
| purpose | the reason a writer creates a literary work. Maybe to inform or explain, the entertain or reveal an important truth or persuade |
Combine with other sets
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