"Speak" by Henry Slesar

 

 

 

"Interim" by Ray Bradbury

 

Irony

  • Situational Irony - an unexpected event (or situation)
  • Dramatic Irony - the reader/audience knows what the characters do not
  • Verbal Irony - what is said is not what is meant

    irony handout

Pacing

"The Lady or the Tiger" by Stockton

The Plot Line (notes)

"Lady or the Tiger" Contest winners:

Chloe H. (2026)

 

"The Tale Tell Heart" by Poe

(Work Sheet) (listen to the story)

"The Cask of Amontillado" by Edgar Allan Poe

 

Unreliable Narrator
this would a first person narrator that for some reason is not telling us the truth. It may be that the narrator believes they are telling the truth, but does not know all the details (like Huck in Huckleberry Finn), the narrator is focused on the wrong details and is misreading the situation (like Christopher in The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Nighttime), or the narrator may be trying to deceive the reader (such as Van Helsing in Dracula).

Point of View

  • 1st person - narrator is a character in the story; uses "I"
  • 2nd person -"you" are the narrator (Choose Your Own Adventures)
  • 3rd person limited - narrator is not a character; we are limited to one person's thoughts and actions; uses "he, she, it"
  • 3rd person omniscient - narrator is not a character and we know multiple characters' thoughts and actions

    •  
    		This is an example of unreliable narrator. In this book, the wolf is telling his version of the "Three Little Pigs", but we are not to believe that he is telling truth.  

    "To Build a Fire" by Jack London

    Conflict

    • Character vs Character - two characters are fighting, schemeing against, or arguing with each other
    • Character vs Nature - the character is struggling against something that is nature - wild animals, terrain, weather, etc.
    • Character vs Society - the character is going against a group (class, city, government, cultural beliefs, etc.)
    • Character vs Self - the character has inner struggles like doubt

     

    		  

    "The Veldt" by Ray Bradbury

    Putting it all together

    "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow"

    by Washington Irving

     

     

    Putting it all together

    Quizizz

    		  

    The Short Story Unit Test

    You will be able to use all notes on this test. It is performative, which means you will need to break apart a short story by the plot line, irony, pacing, conflict, characters, and narration as well as demonstrate that you understood what you read by answering reading comprehension questions.

    Best way to prepare for the test - get your materials together and conisder reading the story the night before. On test day you should then skim it again to refresh the details before starting to answer the test questions.

    The story for the test will be by Ray Bradbury and is titled: "Marionettes, Inc." Since this is by Ray Bradbury, you can expect it to be about the future (for him, that is - the story takes place in the 1990s) and he is trying to envision what fantastical things we will have.

    Read the story here: