The Four Parts to a The Four Parts to a StoryStory

All Secrets RevealedAll Secrets Revealed

I. Setting

– TimeTime: when in history the story takes place• Also includes over what time frame the story

takes place.

– PlacePlace: where the story takes place– Social ConditionsSocial Conditions: daily life of the

characters• Social Class• Gender• Education Level• Occupation/s• Mental/Physical Disabilities

II. Characterization• Types of Characters:Types of Characters:• ProtagonistProtagonist: main person in the story

– May or my not be a hero• person on a quest for truth, beauty, or to

save his/her society.

• AntagonistAntagonist: causes the conflicts/obstacles in opposition to the protagonist

– May or may not be a villain• does evil for evil’s sake

• Anti-heroAnti-hero: a character with some of the qualities of a villain, up to and including brutality, pessimism, and heartlessness, but with the motivations of a typical hero

• Supporting CharacterSupporting Character: fairly important, but not a leading character

• Flat: a character w/out much development, usually a minor one

• Round: a character with great development, usually a major one

• Static: a character that does not change throughout the course of story

• Dynamic: a character that changes throughout the course of a story

• Stock: basically a stereotype

Character LabelsCharacter Labels – Applies to all types of characters

Four Ways to Find Character Traits

1. Physical description of

character

2. What the character does/does

not do

3. What the character says/thinks

4. What others say about the

character

III. Conflict• Definition – struggle between two opposing

forces

• Internal– Character vs. Self: Outside elements cause tension

within a character.• The character may have to struggle against a personality defect

or struggle spiritually or emotionally.

• External– Character vs. Character– Character vs. Nature– Character vs. Society

• A character struggles with a group of people or a belief system held by his/her society.

– Character vs. Science/Technology

IV. Plot

A

B

C

D

E

- The events of a story in sequence

A. Exposition• Characters are introduced. • Setting is established. • Introduced to the main conflict (main problem).• Add all 3 = Add all 3 = Mood or AtmosphereMood or Atmosphere: feeling that

is created at the beginning of a story

Inciting Incident/Action/Force

Something happens that gets the action moving, usually in the first three chapters of a novel or the first act of a play.

B. Rising Action• Event that begins to develop the main conflict(s)

C. Climax• Turning point of the story

– Usually the main character comes face to face with a conflict.

– The main character will change in some way.

D. Falling Action

• Loose ends of the plot are tied up. – Consequences of the

climax

• The conflict(s) and climax are taken care of.

E. Final Crisis

• Sometimes called mini climax

• Occurs mainly in plays and novels, but not a requirement

• Final test/challenge/moment of suspense that will test the morality of the protagonist and supporting characters

E. Dénouement or Resolution• The story comes to a

reasonablereasonable ending.– “Reasonable” is

determined by what makes sense based on the events of the story up to this point.

• By studying all four of these elements, one can conclude a theme or themes that the author has created.– ThemeTheme: a major idea that an author develops

in his/her writing; written in a declarative sentence

• Can include:– Moral lesson– Comment author is making on society

Genres of Literature• GenreGenre: type of literary work

– Fiction• Novel • Short story• Play• Folktales/Fables

– Fiction can be further divided into:A. Realistic – every day situations B. Gothic – supernatural elementsC. Fantasy – supernatural elements plus supernatural creatures

and settingsD. Science Fiction – heavy on technology; usually set in the

futureE. Comedy – humorous situations; positive ending for the

protagonist

– Nonfiction • Essay

– Narrative– Persuasive

• Article in newspaper or magazine • Biography• Autobiography/Memoir• Journal• Letter• Speech

– Poetry