the main character, the person the story is about

The locale and time period in which you find the characters

An object that represents something else, sometimes another object but more often an abstraction

A teenage girl leaves the house for an evening out with her friends. Her mother makes her promise to be back before midnight. The girl kisses her mother and tells her she worries too much. She'll be fine, she says.

When Fortunato says he won't die from a cold.

A character who changes

The emotional state the writer wants you to be in while you read the story. This is one of two possible answers.

A special use of symbolism where an image, object, character, situation, theme, or even a word that the writer uses repeatedly throughout a work, like decay in ARFE

When we go back in time, like to the death of Emily's father.

When Montresor keeps telling Fortunato to go home and take care of his cold.

Characters who appeal to us and have our good wishes

The emotional state the writer wants you to be in while you read the story. This is one of two possible answers.

Miss Emily's walking stick and the silver toilet set stand for this.

The pizza was covered in tomatoes. It had tons of layers of white cheese, and the oregano smell could be sniffed.

Fortunato's clown costume

Characters who do not change

When the wider world is convulsed in some conflict, like war, that disturbs the protagonist's state of equilibrium

Something like a snake, that represents the same thing in any culture.

what the story is about on an abstract level; you won't find this in a news story.

The men of the town don't want to offend Miss Emily when her house smells

Character who opposes or impedes the main character; not all stories have them

In this technique, the setting might also serve as a window in to a character's emotional state.

Fenway Park, the Freedom Trail, or clam chowder

what the story has to say about its theme(s)

When a diabetic gets run over by a sugar truck