• Few characters

• Few events• Short in length• Narrative• Prose• Fiction

Elements of Fiction

•Plot•Setting•Characters•Theme •Point of View

1 2

35

6

4

1. Exposition

2. Initial Incident of Conflict

3. Rising Action

4. Climax

5. Falling Action

6. Resolution

time and place of action in a literary work

Any person, animal, object, or natural force presented as persons in a literary work

•The underlying meaning or overall message of a literary work

•Not a cliché

Point of ViewThe vantage point from

which a story is told

First person• The “I” point of view

• Narrator is a character in the story who only tells his/her side of the story

• Unreliable

Third person limited

•Narrator only knows the thoughts, emotions, and actions of one character in the story

•Still somewhat unreliable

Third person omniscient

• All-knowing, god-like narrator

• Narrator is outside the story

• Most reliable narration

Types of Characters

Role of the character

Protagonist Antagonist

Growth of character

Dynamic Static

Personality of the character

Round Flat

• Attempts to solve the conflict in the story

• NOT necessarily the main character

• The reader identifies with or admires this character

Antagonist• Attempts to keep

the protagonist from solving the problem

• Not always going to be a person

• The reader tends to dislike or despise this character

Dynamic Characters

• Develop and grow during the course of a story

• Learn a lesson• Experience a

significant change in attitude

Static characters

• Do not experience any significant changes in their attitude or beliefs by the end of a story

• Do not learn a lesson

Flat characters/ Round characters

• One-dimensional, stereotypical

• Totally predictable

•Multi-dimensional, well-rounded, complex

•Exhibits many personality traits

• Interesting, deep

Characterization Methods by

which a character’s personality is created and conveyed to the reader

The

Methodsof

Characterization

• Physical description

• Words/actions

• Thoughts and emotions

• How other characters view the character

The Direct Method

The author makes a direct comment about a character

Making an Inference

• Guess a logical conclusion• Read between the lines• Combine text information with your own

knowledge

Textual Clues + What You Know=Inference

Irony shows differences between

meaning and intention

appearance and realityexpectation and result

Verbal irony-

The speaker intends to be understood as meaning something that contrasts with the literal or usual meaning of what he/ she says. 

Dramatic ironycontradiction

between what a character thinks and what the audience knows

Irony of situation-

event occurs that directly contradicts

expectations

Diction• Your choice of words

• There is NO single correct diction

• Choose different words or phrases for different context

Diction Examples• To a friend:

– “a screw-up”• To a child

– “a mistake”• To the police

– “an accident”• To an employer

– “an oversight”

Denotation

-A literal meaning of the wordChick

Connotation• An association which a

word evokes

– Usually emotional

Example:

- “fat” “obese”

“heavy” “overweight”

+ “pleasantly plump” “big and beautiful”