Elements of Fiction

settingThe time, place, and

atmosphere of a story including…

geographical location (London, Texas, the Caribbean, etc.)

time period (1904, WWII, the 60’s, etc.)

setting

The socio-economic characteristics of the location (wealthy suburbs, dustbowl, etc.)

He specific location building, room, vehicle…(school, kitchen, bus, military bus, etc.)

setting

can also be used to tell the reader about the character, atmosphere, and to “set up” the the story

charactersThe people, animals, things,

force, etc., appearing in a literary work…

protagonist – main characterantagonist - the character

or force in conflict with the protagonist

charactersround character – shows

many different traits, good and bad

dynamic character – develops and grows during the course of a story

characters

flat character – shows very few character traits

static character – changes little, if at all, during a story

plot

The sequence of events in a literary work involving characters and a central conflict

Gustav Freytag, a 19th century German novelist, saw common patterns in the plots of stories and created Freytag’s Pyramid which consists of five main elements

plot

plotFreytag’s pyramid

exposition

rising action

climax

falling action

resolution

conflict introduced

plotexposition – introduces the

characters, setting, and the basic situation

rising action – all the events leading up to the climax

climax – the high point of interest or suspense

plot

falling action – follows the climax and leads up to the resolution

resolution – the end of the central conflict

plot

inciting incident – introduces the central conflict; occurs after the exposition and before the rising action

plot

denouement – any events that occur after the resolution

[dey-noo-mah]

conflictA struggle between two

opposing forces (characters).

conflictinternal conflict –

involves a character in conflict with himself or herself

conflictexternal conflict – the

main character struggles with an outside source

point of viewThe perspective from which

a story is told

1st person narrator – a character tells the story; can be main or minor character

point of view

omniscient 3rd person narrator – a person outside the story narrates the story and can tell what all characters think and feel

point of viewlimited third-person narrator

– a person outside the story narrates the story and can see the world through one character’s eyes and reveals only that character’s thoughts and feelings***

point of view

*** with 3rd-person limited, other characters thoughts and feelings are revealed through their dialogue and actions

themeThe central message or

insight to life revealed through a literary work

may be stated directly or implied by the events and actions in the story

symbol

Anything that stands for something else

A lion can be a symbol for courage.

A heart can be a symbol of love.

imageryDescriptive or figurative

language used to create word pictures for the reader; will appeal to any or all of the five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, & smell)

tone

The writer’s attitude toward his audience and/or subject

can usually be described by a single adjective

moodThe feeling created in the

reader by a literary workusually suggested by

descriptive detailscan be described in a single

word