Literary Elements

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Literary Elements

• Some basics that every good story must have .

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The time and place of the story is the setting
Time could be time of day, a certain year, or
even a specific historical era
Place could be a home, a small town, or outer
space
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The point of view is the perspective of the story
or who is telling the story
It shapes the way the reader sees events and
characters in the story.
I was framed! I just wanted to borrow a cup of
sugar!
That rotten wolf tried to eat us!!!!
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Every story needs characters

• People

Animals
Or Creatures
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The protagonist is often the good guy.
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Protagonist

• Main character or the one most central to the
  action of the story
• Usually the hero
• Can have both good and bad qualities

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The antagonist is the bad guy or force.
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Antagonist

• Person, thing or force that works against the
  protagonist or hero.
• One of the main characters as well.
• An antagonist can be another character, a family,
  a society, a force of nature, or a force within
  the main character

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Identify the Protagonist/Antagonist

• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vp3jVKDd3nAA

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More on Characterization

• We talked about indirect and direct
  characterization. Here are two more ways to
  label a character in a story
• Dynamic (change) the character often learns
  something about themselves, the others or the
  world they evolve by the end of the story
  think of dynamite it changes things
• Static (same) a character that stays the same
  used most often to help the main character move
  the story along

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Plot

• The events that happen in the story

Notice where most of the story takes place.
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Five Parts of Plot

1. Exposition the author exposes or introduces
   the characters, setting, and possibly parts of
   the conflict

It was an old building with an old elevator a
very small elevator with a maximum capacity of
three people. Martin, a thin twelve-year-old,
felt nervous in it from the first day he and his
father moved into the apartment. Of course he was
always uncomfortable in elevators, afraid that
they would fall, but there was something
especially unpleasant about this one. -from
The Elevator by William Sleator
How does the author expose the story?
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Five parts of the plot

• 2. Rising Action
• Conflict or complications/problems the characters
  face
• Most of the story takes place in Rising Action.
• There can be mini turning points or climaxes in
  this part of the story.

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Five Parts of Plot

• 3. Climax - Turning point of the story where the
  conflict is decided one way or another, or the
  solution may have begun.
• 4. Falling action -Author describes how the
  problem is solved.
• 5. Resolution (ending) - Brings story to an end

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Conflict

• Internal conflict - characters struggle within
  himself (man vs. self)
• External conflict - struggle between two
  characters or forces (man vs. nature man vs.
  man man vs. society)
• Identify the types of conflict in this clip
• http//www.youtube.com/watch?vXoaL5QmWWDA

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ForeshadowingA hint about what will happen
next is called foreshadowing.
http//www.youtube.comwatch?vnJdXA6zNgqU
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Allusion

• A reference to something out of the story with
  which the reader is likely to be familiar, such
  as a person, place, or event from history or
  literature.
• Ask yourself What doesnt fit?

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Allusion

• What is the allusion in this passage, and WHY is
  it an allusion?
• Rafaela leans out the window and leans on her
  elbow and dreams her hair is like Rapunzels. On
  the corner there is music from the bar, and
  Rafaela wishes she could go there and dance
  before she gets old. from The House on Mango
  Street by Sandra Cisneros

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Mood and Tone

• Mood
• The feeling that a literary work gives to readers
  
• I feel _________________.
• Tone
• The writers or speakers attitude toward the
  subject and audience
• The author feels _____________ about the
  character/situation.

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Flashback

• FLASHBACK story stops for a past moment to be
  relived in the present
• Watch this clip and identify the flashback
• Toy Story 2 When Somebody Loved Me. - YouTube

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Suspense

• Feeling of anxious curiosity
• Keeps readers interested
• The real power of story lies in its ability to
  create suspense.
• What literary elements contribute to/create
  suspense?

Foreshadowing and conflict
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Whether youre the reader, or the writer, a great
story includes all these literary elements!
foreshadowing
protagonist
point of view
conflict
climax
characters
setting
antagonist
http//www.youtube.com/watch?vc6I24S72Jps