Plot and Characterization Notes

Dunn English I

Plot NotesPlot NotesPlot NotesPlot Notes

The plot of a story has five points:

� Introduction

� Rising Action

� Climax

� Falling Action

� Denouement (Resolution)

Plot Notes

• Introduction

–Contains some setting and character

information

–Conflict—most conflict in stories can be

boiled down to the following categories:

• Internal Conflict (personal struggle)

• External Conflict (fight, etc)

Plot NotesPlot NotesPlot NotesPlot Notes

Plot Notes

• Rising Action

–Events that happen that lead up to

the climax

–No limit to number of events

Plot Notes

• Climax

–The turning point of the story

–A MAJOR shift in events

–The story is drastically changed after the

climax

–Not necessarily the “middle” of the

story—often happens closer to the end

Plot Notes

• Falling Action

–Events happen BECAUSE OF the climax

–Typically fewer in number than rising

action

• Story ends quickly after climax

• Resolution

–Satisfaction of conflict

–Happens quickly after falling action

Characterization Notes

• Character development is the way a story

teller informs the audience about the

character's personality, history, thought

processes, etc.

• The better the audience knows the

character, the better the character

development.

Characterization Notes• There are two methods of characterization:

–Direct

• The author tells us exactly what kind of person the

character is

– Indirect

• The author reveals information about the

character through the following methods:

– The character’s appearance

– The character’s speech

–Other characters’ reactions to the character

– The character’s actions

– -The character’s private thoughts *

Characterization Notes

Direct Characterization Indirect Characterization

Sally has brown hair and

brown eyes. She is a sad girl.

She walks around all day

crying because her kitten,

Mittens, ran away.

“I can’t believe he’s gone!”

Sally’s hair fell around her

face like a brown curtain as

she threw herself onto her

bed and dissolved into a fit of

tears. “Mittens was the best

cat in the whole world!” she

sobbed. Her mother looked

on from the doorway,

wondering what she could do

to comfort her little girl.

Characterization Notes• More Characterization Terms:

–Flat Character: a character that is two-

dimensional, not well described, stereotypical

–Round Character: complex, three-

dimensional characters, characters described

in detail (main characters almost always

round)

–Static Character: character that does not

change in the course of a work

–Dynamic Character: character undergoes a

transformation in the text

Characterization Notes• More Characterization Terms:

–Protagonist

• The main character in a story

• Typically the “good guy,” but NOT ALWAYS!

–Antagonist

• The character working against the main character

• Typically the “bad guy,” but NOT ALWAYS!