Literary Elements

Some basics that every good story must have ….

Every story needs characters

People

Animals

Or Creatures

The protagonist is the “good guy”Can you name all the movies on this page?

The antagonist is the “bad guy” or force

Can you name all these movies?

Dynamic: undergoes some type of change in the story.

Flat/Static: stereotyped, shallow, often symbolic. Does not change over the course of the story.

For each of the type of characters above, think of a character in a novel you are reading, or just read, that fits the description. Write about them using a simple sentence. Then on my signal, share with elbow partner. (Be ready to share with the whole class too!)

TYPES OF CHARACTERS:

The time and place of the story is the setting

Flipped: 1994 - 2000.

Walk Two Mons: desert, mountain

Among the Hidden: Futuristic – Totalitarian Regime.

Setting

Place Time Weather conditions Social conditions Mood or atmosphere

PLOT

The series of events or actions that take place

Great stories have a conflict

Man vs. Man

Man vs. NatureMan vs. Society Man vs. HimselfMan vs. Machine

Think of a movie or story you have read

for each conflict listed on this page

and list them. Then write a compound

sentence that explains one of them. Then, on

my signal share with

person across from you. Be

ready do share with the whole

class.

A hint about what will happen next is called foreshadowing

For example, if you hear this:

Then you know someone’s about to get eaten!

The climax is the most exciting part!!

Theme The theme of a piece of fiction is its central

idea. Themes should be stated as a

generalization. Hint – what has the character learned by the

end of the story? What is the message the story is giving?

Write a theme from a fairytale using a simple sentence. Share with someone who has on the same color top as you.

Examples of Theme

Love is blind Don’t judge a book by its cover Believe in yourself People are afraid of change Its better to have loved and lost, than not to

have loved at all

The point of view is the perspective of the story

“That rotten wolf tried to eat us!!!!”

Which point of view is this?

“I was framed! I just wanted to borrow a cup of

sugar!”Which point of view is this?

Topic versus Theme Theme is the message of the story Topic is the subject matter that is being

discussed.

Think of the last television show or movie you saw and write the topic versus the theme. Share with your elbow partner.

Whether you’re the reader, or the writer, a great story includes all

these literary elements!!!

theme

conflict

setting

point of view

climaxcharacters

protagonist

antagonist

foreshadowing