ELEMENTS OF FICTION

1
ELEMENTS OF FICTION
English 20 Mrs. Hyshka
FEng 20F/Gen StartUp/Elements of fiction
2
THE PLOT (Elements of the Short Story)
The protagonists conflict is resolved. Often the
highest point of action, but not always
CLIMAX

• Setting
• time
• place
• mood
• situation as the scene opens

FALLING ACTION
DENOUEMENT/RESOLUTION

• Characters
• major, minor
• round, flat, static, dynamic
• protagonist, antagonist
• relationship to protagonist
• protagonists motivation

All events lead down to an inevitable end
details are explained questions are answered
RISING ACTION
A series of events advancing the plot and leading
towards the climax

• Conflict
• man vs man
• man vs nature (environment)
• man vs self

INTRODUCTION/EXPOSITION
TURNING POINT
Sometimes referred to as the initial incident an
incident which catapults the protagonist towards
the resolution of his/her conflict it sets the
story in motion
Sets the scene tells us something about the
characters introduces the conflict continues
well into the story
3
Plot The events that lead up to the climax, or
the resolution of the conflict.
Mood/Atmosphere/Tone refers to a disposition of
mind, a feeling, an emotional state. The mood
refers to its predominating atmosphere or tone.
Every major work has a prevailing mood, but there
can be shifts in mood to achieve counterpoint, to
provide comic relief or to reflect changing
circumstances in plot. Counterpoint In
literature, it is the art and technique of
playing off complementary and opposing
characters, themes or plots against each other.
4
Tone
It is through tone that the subtleties of the
text are understood. The tone in which something
is written can influence your acceptance of the
character, can enlist your sympathy, can cause
you to side with another character. The tone also
helps us understand the message the writer wishes
to convey. Here are some examples of tone words.
Petty Somber Indignant Condescending Facetious
Scornful Compassionate Pretentious Vibrant Sentime
ntal Insolent
Satiric Whimsical Dramatic Confident Flippant
5

• Narrator Tells the story and establishes the
  point of view. Point of view can be discussed as
  a physical point from which the narrator views
  and describes his material a mental point of
  view involves an authors feelings and attitudes,
  and personal concerns the relationship through
  which a writer narrates or discusses a subject.
• First Person Major Narrator Is the main
  character and tells the story from his/her
  perspective. We know what the main character
  thinks.
• Third Person Omniscient Knows the thoughts of
  all people in the story.
• Limited Omniscient Knows the thoughts of one
  character, and reports the thoughts and the
  actions of that character, usually the
  protagonist.
• Objective Narrator reports only what he/she
  observes.
• First Person Minor This narrator is a minor
  character in the story. He/She is there, but
  often as an observer.

6
Narrators
Reliable Narrator This narrator reports
perceptions close to that of the author. We feel
that we can trust the word of the
narrator. Unreliable narrator an ironic
narrative approach, for it involves a discrepancy
between what is said(by the character-narrator)
and what is meant(by the writer). Naïve narrator
often a child sometimes a mentally or
experientially impaired adult, whose perception
and interpretation of events is limited by lack
of experience.
7
Theme The central and dominating idea in a
literary work. It is the message implicit in any
piece of literature. It is not a lesson nor a
moral. It is not to be stated in absolutes.
It should be expressed in a paragraph of 4-6
sentences when referring to a story.
CONFLICT TYPES
Conflict The protagonist is arrayed against a
force. This creates the conflict. Conflict can
be Man vs Man// interpersonal conflict, a
struggle against another person or group. Man
vs. Society social conflict Man vs. Self
internal/psychological conflict Man vs.
Environment struggle against the forces of
nature or fate.
8
Character Types

• Round Characters are three dimensional in that
  they are fully developed by the author to the
  extent that the reader feels almost as if he
  knows them. We come to understand how these
  characters think, why they think as they do, and
  even develop the ability to predict with some
  degree of certainty how they will react to
  situations that they face.
• Round characters are usually realistic. This
  means that they are, like real human beings,
  flawed, with good and evil within their makeup
  and are torn by the same agonies of indecision
  that real people experience.

9
Character types, continued

• Flat characters are one dimensional in that
  they are undeveloped and often play minor roles.
  These characters are often easily recognized and
  serve as supporting cast to the central
  characters.
• Stock characters are often referred to as
  stereotypes because like stock on a store
  shelf, they are prefabricated, readyf or use and
  easily recognizable like the dumb jock, the
  lightheaded blonde, the town drunk, the burly
  Irish policeman, or the nagging mother-in-law.
• Character Foil characters designed
  specifically to highlight a specific trait of
  another character. Lisa and Bart Simpson are
  foils.

10
Character types contd

• Archetypal Archetypal characters are ideals
  that are ingrained into the culture and reappear
  in the literature frequently.
• original model or type after which other similar
  things are patterned a prototype
• Frankenstein... Dracula... Dr. Jekyll and
  Mr. Hyde... the archetypes that have influenced
  all subsequent horror stories (New York Times).
• The Hero is often an archetypal character
  Superman, Batman, Gladiator,
• An ideal example of a type quintessence an
  archetype of the successful entrepreneur.

11
Character Change

• Dynamic these characters undergo some
  fundamental change in personality or belief.
  This change is usually characterized by some new
  level of awareness that allows the character to
  overcome some old pattern of thought. For
  example, a dynamic character might overcome being
  racist, sexist or generally narrow-minded.
• Static These characters are unchanging. For
  whatever reason, they do not undergo any
  fundamental change.

12
Techniques and Devices
Flashback To tell of something that happened
before the story began.
Foreshadowing The author gives us a hint about
what the conflict will be or hints about
something that will happen.
Symbol A symbol is an object or an idea that
appears in a piece of literature that represents
more than its objective self.
Ending Endings can be happy, unhappy or
surprise. They can also be ambivalent with no
real resolution.
13
IRONY

• Irony has a wide range of meanings but
  essentially it is a term indicating CONTRAST OR
  INCONGRUITY. In an ironical contrast one part of
  the contrast mocks the other part.
• Verbal Irony Simplest form. What is said is
  the opposite of what is meant. Man standing on
  the corner in -40 weather saying, My, isnt this
  beautiful weather that were having. It is not
  sarcasm, which is meant to hurt.

14
Irony contd

• Dramatic Irony The contrast is between what a
  character says and what the reader knows to be
  true. The value of the irony in this kind of
  situation is that it provides suspense, or
  provides insight into the characters.
• Eg. Horror movie the girl goes up those stairs
  and we know that the monster awaits her there.
• A corrupt character makes a disdainful comment
  about a character we know is good and moral.

15
Irony contd

• Situational Irony The discrepancy here is
  between appearance and reality, or between
  expectation and fulfillment, or between what is
  said and what would be appropriate.
• In To Kill a Mockingbird we find that Boo saves
  the children, rather than harms them. This is
  ironic for Scout and for the reader.

16
The End