Characterization is the study of the characters in a story. They can be defined by what they say and do, how they appear and by what others say about them. Students can work together in groups and create posters of each character, finding evidence in the text to support their findings. Students can draw a picture on the front of the poster based on the author's descriptions and also highlight one or two quotes from or about the character. Hanging the posters around the room will help all students understand the story.
The setting of a story consists of time, place and atmosphere. Students can use context clues to figure out the time period. For example, in Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado" the story takes place long ago during the Carnival season and is set in the catacombs in Italy. Because the catacombs are soundproof and the loud Carnival is going on above, Montresor is able to encase Fortunado in a brick wall without being caught. Students can list elements of the setting that contribute to the tension of the story to further understand how setting is important. In "Cask," the atmosphere of the dank, dark catacombs adds tension and suspense to the story.
The plot is the action of the story, or what happens. Students can draw a pyramid to understand the plot. For example, in Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game," Rainsford accidentally lands on Ship Trap island and must contend with Zaroff and his henchman Ivan. The rising action on the left side of the pyramid heats up as Rainsford meets Zaroff, who chooses to hunt him. After many hunting tactics and traps unfurl, Rainsford is forced to jump into the sea to avoid the dogs. This is the climax, or turning point, which would be described at the top of the pyramid. Finally, the story is resolved on the right side of the pyramid by Rainsford saying that he had never slept in a better bed. This is known as the resolution.
Finding poetic devices such as personification, metaphor or symbolism is helpful for analysis. Personification is giving human qualities to inanimate objects. In "The Most Dangerous Game," "the muttering and growling of the sea" shows that the sea was angry. Metaphors are comparisons of two unlike things. Rainsford says of Zaroff: "Yes, he was a monster." This comparison shows how dastardly Zaroff is. In "The Cask of Amontillado," the amontillado wine itself is a powerful symbol. Obviously, it is a fine wine, but it also represents Fortunato's haughtiness about his own wine-tasting abilities, and ultimately, the hubris gets him killed. On the surface, the wine is just wine, but it represents much more.