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Definition:
A theme is the central idea of a story, usually implied rather than directly stated. It is the author's idea about life.
Example from a short story:
A theme in "The Painted Door" by Sinclair Ross was loyalty and sacrifice. John was very loyal to Ann and unknowingly sacrifices his marriage by working very hard toward a better future for them as shown, "Then the days that began in the morning at half-past four and lasted till ten at night; the meals as which John gulped his food and scarcely spoke a word; the brute-tired stupid eyes he turned on her if ever she mentioned town or visiting"(pg.3).

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The characters in "The Painted Door" are defined by their loyalties and the sacrifices they make for the people they love. John is deeply loyal to his wife Ann, and he expresses this by working hard year after year in the hopes of providing her with a better life someday. Ann has been loyal to John throughout the seven years of their marriage, but she secretly resents some of the sacrifices that being married to him has required of her, particularly the social isolation of their farming life. For John, sacrifice is the ultimate expression of love and loyalty. Ann understands the necessity of some sacrifice, but she sees it as a necessary evil and something which makes it more difficult to remain loyal to her husband.

Because of the sacrifices he makes for a better future, John unintentionally drives Ann away from him. John is too focused on the idea of saving money for their future to see that she is unhappy in the present. When Ann feels she can no longer stand the sacrifices required of her marriage to John, she commits an extreme act of disloyalty by sleeping with Steven. Ann's attempt to "have it all" by remaining married to John while exploring the excitement of Steven ends in a harsh reality check. In the end, Ross shows us that loyalty always involves a sacrifice of some kind. Each of the characters must give something up to hold onto whatever they feel is most important. When Ann betrays her husband, she gains the attentions of Steven and the possibility of a more exciting life, but she loses the love and security of her marriage. When John kills himself, he gives Ann the freedom she seemed to want and avoids all conflict with her, but he loses everything in the process.

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The characters in "The Painted Door" are defined by their loyalties and the sacrifices they make for the people they love. John is deeply loyal to his wife Ann, and he expresses this by working hard year after year in the hopes of providing her with a better life someday.

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Definition:
A simile is a comparison between 2 things which are essentially dissimilar. It is stated through words such as like, or as than.
Example in a story:
"...the wind was like a flat blade of ice on his cheeks." - The Landlady by Roald Dahl

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Definition:
A metaphor is a comparison between 2 things which are essentially dissimilar. The comparison is implied rather than directly stated.
Example from a short story:
In "The Happiness Machine" by Ray Bradbury, he compares happiness to technology saying, "I been figuring what to put in it. Motion pictures? Radios? Stereoscopic viewers? All those in one place so any man can run his hand over it and smile and say, 'Yes, sir, that's Happiness.'"

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Definition:
Personification is giving attributes of a human being to an animal, object, or idea. It implies a comparison between 2 dissimilar things.
Example in a story:
"...Sinister Valley" - "Happiness" by Guy de Maupassant
"The villa stood above the sea." - "Happiness" by Guy de Maupassant

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Definition:
Imagery is representation through language of sense experience. The image often suggests a mental picture, but an image may also represent a sound, smell, taste, or tactical experience.
Example from a story:
In the story "Happiness" by Jeff Taylor, the author uses a lot of imagery so the reader has a clear vision of the surroundings or what is going on. A great example of imagery from this story is, "...the vanished sun had left the sky all rosy with its passing, dusted with golden power; and the Mediterranean, without a wave or a ripple, stretching out flat and smooth and shimmering still under the dying day, seemed a vast, polished sheet of metal. To the right, stretching off into the distance, jagged mountains cast their black silhouettes against the fading of crimson of the sunset".

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LoungeV Films - Relaxing Music and Nature Sounds

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HD Video 1080p - Timelapse with Sunsets, Clouds, Stars

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Definition:
Motivation is what causes a character to do what he or she does. Circumstances and temperament determine the actions of a character, but they must also have sufficient and plausible motivation to make the story realistic or effective.
Example in a story:
In the story "Never Stop On The Motorway" by Jeffrey Archer, the man in the van that is supposedly chasing Diana is motivated to do so because he saw a killer get in her car and was trying to help save her. "...she saw the black van sharply cut across the motorway in front of a truck, mount the grass divider and careen onto the exit ramp, swinging from side to side."
"I saw him get in when you were parked on the hard shoulder. What else could I have done? You just wouldn't pull over."

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Definition:
The setting is the time and place in which a story took place.
Example from a story:
In "Never Stop On The Motorway" by Jeffrey Archer,  the story is set on a Friday evening and mainly takes place on the Motorway which is considered to be a highway. The motorway is in England. The end of the story takes place on the main character's friend's farm in the country.

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The M23 is a motorway in the United Kingdom. The motorway runs from south of Hooley in Surrey, where it splits from the A23, to Pease Pottage, south of Crawley in West Sussex where it rejoins the A23.

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Definition:
The plot is the storyline or organization of incidents in a story. A plot usually consists of episodes. conflicts, rising and falling action, and a climax.
Example in a story:
"Never Stop On The Motorway"
Rising Action: We learn a bit of background information about Diana. We learn that is going to the farm after being invited by her friends. We also learn that she is divorced with two kids.
Inciting Force: Diana was hoping to leave early on the Friday so she could avoid traffic and get to the farm early. Her deputy dropped off a long document right before she wanted to leave so she felt annoyed that she had to stay and finish it, knowing that the guy had it on his desk since the morning. She finally got it done, but was now leaving an hour later than she wanted.
Conflict: The conflict happened while Diana was driving. She realized that she had forgotten to bring something nice with her for her friends, but left it alone. She got a bit distracted and ended up hitting a black cat that ran in front of her car. She pulled over to the side and said sorry to the cat.
Crisis: This was when Diana noticed that the car behind her was acting very crazy. The van was flashing its lights at her and remaining only a few yards away from her. Diana waited for him to pass and when he didn't, she took the opportunity for himself and got rid of him. Until he caught up with her again.
Catastrophe: The catastrophe was when Diana remembered the details about the murder of the woman on the highway. She remembered the warning to female drivers, "Never stop on the motorway". Diana tries to figure out what to do and sees a familiar sign. She lets the car tail her and at the very last second crosses multiple lanes of traffic and goes onto an exit.
Climax: The climax happened when the van cut across the motorway and mounted the grass divider and ended up right behind her again. The other part of the climax was Diana figuring out what she should do. She had two options, go down the unlit path to the farm, or go 12 miles to the nearest town on a nearly empty gas tank.
Falling action: This is when Diana decides to go down the farm route with her pursuer on her tail. She is able to get in front of the van a little bit, but each time he catches up. Diana hopes the gate is open to the farm and sees that t is and goes on down to the house, alerting her friends so they can come out and see.
Resolution: Diana tells Dan to get a gun and about the man in the van who was been chasing her. The man gets out of the van and Daniel has the shotgun trained on him. The man lets him know that his intentions are not ill. He tells Daniel about the guy in the back of Diana's car.
Denouement: This is the three of them finding the murderer hiding in the back of Diana's car and the sound of police coming.

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Definition:
Point of view is the perspective the story is told from. There are many different types of points of view like first person or third person.
Example in a story:
In the story, "Never Stop On The Motorway", the point of view is third person limited omniscient. The main character is referred to by her name Diana and is told from the perspective of someone "outside" the story. The reader is able to know only what Diana feels and thinks. "Diana had been hoping to get away by five so she could be at the farm in time for dinner."

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Definition:
An allusion is a direct or indirect reference to a familiar figure, place, or event from history, literature, etc. Most allusions expand or develop a significant idea, impressions, or mood.
Example in a story:
In the story, "Never Stop On The Motorway", the author makes a direct reference to Gloria Gaynor and her song, 'I will survive'. Diana turns on the radio and this song starts playing. The song gave an impression that Diana was going through a bit of a rough patch and the song reminded her that everything would be okay eventually.

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Gloria Gaynor - I Will Survive (Official Video)

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Definition:
The atmosphere is the prevailing feeling that is created in a story. Sets up the reader's expectations about the ending or outcome of the plot and it created through dialogue and imagery.
Example in a story:
You get a very good sense of the mood/atmosphere in the story, "Happiness". The beginning of the story starts off in a beautiful setting. The beginning of the story has a very posh and rich mood with everybody giving their opinions on love and being in a nice place. The mood changes once they are able to see Corsica as they become surprised, troubled, and afraid of the sudden appearance of the new place. Once the old man begins telling his story, the atmosphere changes. It changes to a rough area that is underdeveloped and living in poverty and dirt. It is a very unmodernised area. Very different than the atmosphere before.

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Definition:
A character is a fictional person who carries out the action of a story. It refers to the personality and moral attitudes of a fictional person.
Example in a story:
Dynamic Character: Leo Auffmann, from "The Happiness Machine", is this type of character. Over the course of the story, Leo changes his outlook on life and happiness and is able to develop throughout the story. Leo is also the main character in the story.
Stereotyped or stock character: In "Never Stop On The Motorway", I think Phil Haskins, Diana's deputy, might be considered a stock or stereotyped character. He is portrayed as the vengeful co-worker who got passed over for the promotion and is upset that someone else got promoted and not him. He may also be upset that a woman got promoted over him, a male.
Static Character: Steven, from "The Painted Door", seemed to be a static character. All he did was show up during the storm, sleep with Ann and then doze off. He did not grow, change, or adapt as a character.
Flat Character: In "The Landlady", the porter is a flat character. He is not involved in the story really and is only present for a line or two. He had one apparent quality of being helpful and that was all.

The bell and whistle is a picture of Steven in case that was not clear.

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Definition:
A flashback is a plot device which shifts the story from the present to the past, usually done in order to illustrate an important point or to reveal a change in character.
Example in a story:
In the story, "Happiness" by Guy de Maupassant, there is a flashback which is a major part of the story. The flashback occurred when the elderly gentlemen was telling the group of people about a love story he had stumbled upon. "...-I met with an admirable example of a constant love, an incredibly happy love. Here it is: ... Five years ago, I took a trip to Corisca."

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Definition:
Foreshadowing gives a hint of what is to happen later in the story. it prepares the reader for the climax, resolutions, and cor the changes, or lack of changes, in a character's attitudes.
Example in a story:
In the story, "The Landlady" by Roald Dahl there are a lot of elements of foreshadowing. "I'm almost positive I've heard those names before somewhere. Isn't that queer? Maybe it was in the newspapers. They weren't famous in any way, were they? I mean famous cricketers or footballers or something like that?"(line 300).Another example of foreshadowing from the story is, "But my dear boy, he never left. He's still here. Mr Temple is also here. They're on the third floor, both of them together" (line 400). "The tea tasted faintly of bitter almonds, and he didn't much care for it"(line 480), is also an example of foreshadowing.

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Definition:
Symbolism means that the symbol has 2 levels of meaning, a literal one and a figurative one. Characters, objects, events, and settings can all be symbolic in that they represent something else beyond themselves.
Example from a story:
The symbolism in the story "A Painted Door" by Sinclair Ross is the door that Ann paints. "There-as if another coat of paint could make it different anyway(pg.5). Ann painting the door is a symbol of her trying to cover up what is wrong in her relationship. The painted door also represents Ann's desire for control and excitement in her life.

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Definition:
Suspense is the feeling of anxiety and uncertainty experienced by the reader about the outcome of events or the protagonist's destiny.
Example in a story:
In the story, "Never Stop On The Motorway" by Jeffrey Archer, there are a lot of elements of suspense throughout the story. "She could only pray that Daniel had remembered to leave the gate open...She swerved out of the next bend and sped up, but once again she managed to gain only a dew yards, and she knew within seconds he would be back in place. He was ...'Dear God, let it be open. Let it be open just this once. I'll never ask for anything ever again.'"(pg.234)

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Definition:
Actions or events have the opposite result of what was intended or expected to happen
Example in a story:
In the story, "The Happiness Machine" by Ray Bradbury, there is some situational irony. Leo Auffmann creates the happiness machine intending for people to go in there and become happy, but what actually happened was that his wife went in and came out sad instead of happy.

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Definition:
There is a contrats between what a character says and what the character actually means.
Example in a story:
In "The Happiness Machine", Lena says, "As for joyful Leo? Look how I laugh scrubbing out the sink...". Lena is saying that she looks happy scrubbing the sink, but it is actually sarcasm. Lena does not feel happy scrubbing the sink whatsoever, but feels it is her job so she is forced to be happy about it. It sounds funny, but Lena is sort of yelling at Leo while saying it. In the movie they changed the line to "look how I laugh while ironing your shirts". The line is a bit different but the meaning behind it is still the same.

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The Ray Bradbury Theater - S06E10 - The Happiness Machine (Aired 7-17-92)