ELEMENTS OF FICTION

Literary Elements

Literary elements are the components of a literary piece, such as character, setting, plot, theme, and ending/resolution.

Fiction

Fiction is books that are made up by the author, or are not true.

Examples: Harry Potter books, The Hunger Games, The Hobbit

Author’s Perspective

An author’s perspective is their beliefs or attitude expressed in their writing.

Author’s Purpose

An author’s purpose is the reason an author decides to write about a specific topic. Then, once a topic is selected, the author must decide whether his purpose for writing is to inform, persuade, entertain, or explain his/her ideas to the reader.

Character Development

Character development is the process of creating a character's background, physicality, appearance, and personality.

There are two categories of character types:Flat OR RoundStatic OR Dynamic

And

There are two ways to characterize:Direct characterizationIndirect characterization

Character Types

Flat: • Characterized by a single dominant trait,

role, or function• Often a stereotypical character like• The whiny person who always dies in horror

movies• The sneaky servant• The jealous lover

Character Types

Round:• Fully developed with multiple & sometimes

contradictory traits• The reader often sees their thoughts,

motivations, etc.• Character seems like a “real person”

Character Types

Static: the character does NOT undergo an important change in their insight, understanding, values, etc. in the course of the story

Dynamic: the character DOES undergo an important change in their insight, understanding, values, etc. in the course of the story

Ways to Characterize - Direct

The writer tells the reader what the character is like

Example:• “The patient boy and quiet girl were both

well mannered and did not disobey their mother.”

The writer is directly telling the reader the personality of these two children. The boy is “patient” and the girl is “quiet.”

Ways to Characterize - Indirect

The reader must draw their own conclusions based on the character’s: Speech What does the character say? How does the character speak? Thoughts What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and feelings? Effect on others What is revealed through the character’s effect on other people? How do other characters feel/behave in reaction to the character? Actions What does the character do? How does the character behave? Looks What does the character look like? How does the character dress?

Character Point of View

Character point of view is the attitude or outlook of a narrator or character in a piece of literature, a movie, or another art form.

What words do they use when talking, or describing things? How does the character speak (short, breathless sentences, or long, rambling ones)? What are the character’s emotions and how do they describe or show them? How might they compare one thing to another? For example, an older person might compare a bright sunset to a bomb bursting over his aircraft carrier during the Second World War, whereas a teenager might compare it to the flash of fire in her boyfriend’s eyes.

Point of View

Point of view is the perspective from which the story is being told. The three main points of view in literary texts are omniscient, third person limited, and first person.

Point of View – First Person

Story is told by one of the characters Character can be a participant or observerUses “IExample: As I walked up the hill, I realized that

the atmosphere was just too quiet. There was no sound from the cardinal who was nearly always singing from the top of the maple tree. I thought I saw a shadow move high up on the slope, but when I looked again it was gone. Still, I shuddered as I felt a silent threat pass over me like a cloud over the sun.

Point of View – Third Person

Three Types: Limited/Limited Omniscient- most common today “Over the Shoulder” perspective Narrator describes events perceived by the viewpoint character Writers can shift perspective from one viewpoint character to

another Omniscient Narrator knows all the facts Injects narrator’s own perspective & reputation into story Common in classic novels Detached “Fly on the Wall” perspective Objective- without character’s thought or opinions Often used in newspaper articles

Conflict

There are two types of conflict in literature:

External conflict is between a character and an outside force.

Internal conflict is between a character and himself.

External Conflict

Man vs. Man (a character struggles with another character)

Man vs. Nature (a character struggles with a force of nature)

Man vs. Society (a character or a group of characters struggle against the society in which they live)

Internal Conflict

The character’s struggle takes place in his or her own mind.

Usually has something to do with a choice (right and wrong)

Exposition in Fiction

Exposition is information essential to understanding the work. The exposition is also that part of a story in which important background information is revealed to the reader.

Example: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone• Harry is left at the Dursley’s• Voldemort is introduced through Dumbledore

& McGonagall’s discussion• Harry and life with the Dursleys is introduced

Rising Action

Rising action is a related series of incidents in a literary plot that build toward the point of greatest interest

The “hook”Where the action kicks into gear & it begins

to get interestingWhere the conflict is introducedExample: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone• Harry begins talking to the snake at the zoo

& the glass disappears

Climax

Climax in literature is the ultimate point of tension in the story. It is what you have been waiting for throughout the entire book or play.

Example: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone• when Harry, Ron, & Hermione go through the

challenges protecting the Sorcerer’s Stone• When Harry faces Quirrell & Voldemort

Falling Action

Falling action is the events of a dramatic or narrative plot following the climax.

Where the author ties up loose ends that remain after the climax

Example: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone• Harry wakes up in the hospital• We find out Ron is ok• Dumbledore tells Harry about Nicolas Flamel

& the fate of the Sorcerer’s Stone• Gryffindor wins the House Cup

Resolution

Resolution is the outcome/conclusion/ending (conflict has been resolved).

Story wraps upLong-term effects of conflict are revealedExample: Harry Potter & the Sorcerer’s Stone• Exam results• Packing up• Harry is picked up by the Dursley’s at the train station• They meet Ron, his family, & Hermione• Foreshadows Harry’s summer with them (and the fact

that they don’t know he can’t perform magic!)

Flashback

A flashback is a narrative technique that allows a writer to present past events during current events, in order to provide background for the current narration. By giving material that occurred prior to the present event, the writer provides the reader with insight into a character's motivation and or background to a conflict.

Example: In Arthur Koestler, Darkness at Noon (first published

in 1940) the hero, Rubashov, spends hours in his prison cell thinking about his own past and reliving it, so to speak.

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing refers to the use of indicative words/phrases and hints that set the stage for a story to unfold and give the reader a hint of something that is going to happen without revealing the story or spoiling the suspense.

Example: Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. Throughout the play both Romeo and Juliet constantly refer to death, murder and suicide. One of the most obvious examples is Juliet's fake death scene after drinking Friar Lawrence's potion.

Moral

A moral is a message conveyed or a lesson to be learned from a story or event.

Example: At the end of Aesop's fable of the Tortoise and the Hare, in which the plodding and determined tortoise wins a race against the much-faster yet extremely arrogant hare, the stated moral is "slow and steady wins the race". However, other morals can often be taken from the story itself; for instance, that "arrogance or overconfidence in one's abilities may lead to failure or the loss of an event, race, or contest".

Plot/Plot Development

Plot is the events that make up a story. Plot development is how the story progresses. Exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution are part of plot development.

Protagonist/Antagonist

The protagonist is considered to be the main character or lead figure in a novel, play, story, or poem. It may also be referred to as the "hero" of a work.

The antagonist is a character in a story or poem who deceives, frustrates, or works again the main character, or protagonist, in some way.

Setting

Setting is the time, place, physical details, and circumstances in which a situation occurs. Settings include the background, atmosphere or environment in which characters live and move, and usually include physical characteristics of the surroundings.

Theme

A theme is a thought or idea the author presents to the reader that may be deep, difficult to understand, or even moralistic.

Example: Amigo Brothers• Friendship is more important than winning• Competition cannot break friendship• Friends care about each other• Strong friendships can survive even the toughest times

Trait

Character traits are elements of a character's personality that define who the character is.