Lit Elements/Devices and Short Stories Flashcards
protagonist
main character
interaction with world drives story
not necessarily good
antagonist
opposes main character
interaction with protagonist drives story
not necessarily bad
not necessarily a person
static characters
stay the same throughout story
conflict of story doesn’t motivate change in character
dynamic characters
change over course of story
conflict affects a fundamental change in character
exposition
beginning of story
characters and setting established
rising action
conflicts introduced
tension builds
climax
peak of story
main event/ action
falling action
leads towards the end
things “calm down”
resolution
end of story
doesn’t have to solve conflict
setting
tells where
tells when
informs the plot and help make things happen
external conflict
problem that character faces that is outside themselves
don’t have control
environment/war/society/illness/economic
internal conflict
problem that character faces that is inside themselves
within their control
feelings/decisions/thoughts
internal-external connection
internal and external can happen at the same time
one conflict can cause the other
person vs person
conflict between 1 person and another person
person vs nature
conflict between 1 person and nature/animals
person vs society
conflict between 1 person and group of people
person vs technology
conflict between 1 person and technology
person vs self
conflict between 1 person and their thoughts
internal conflict
first person POV
I, me
second person POV
you
third person POV
he, she, it , proper noun
third person subjective POV
focus on one person in story and only knows their perspective
third person omniscient POV
told in light of 1+ characters
we know multiple viewpoints
theme
main idea or message of text
courage/loyalty
what is a lit element vs device
element: aspect of text
device: technique author can use to provide depth
