What is a story?As the following statements are read aloud, stamp your

feet for the statements that you think do not suggest a story.

• My shoes are tied

• Once, there were 3 raccoons and a skunk on my porch

• The beach is beautiful

• My name is Cori

• My cat escaped through the window this summer

PLOT: The series of events that create the basic situation

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Plot is the literary element that describes the structure of a story. The plot is all of the related events in the story that make-up the basic situation from beginning to end.

What is PLOT?

Plot Components

Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts: meet the characters and establish the setting

Rising Action: the series of attempts the character makes to try to solve the problem

Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action: when you discover at last how the conflict ends

Falling Action: all of the action which follows the climax

Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads

Types of Linear PlotsPlots can be told in

Chronological order

In media res (in the middle of things) when the story starts in the middle of the action without exposition

flashback

Setting

• Where and when a story takes place. • Sometimes, we must guess the location

or time period of a story from contextual clues, because the author does not tell us. – anachronism: a detail of a story that

does not fit the setting • A computer in a Shakespearean tragedy

would be out of place.

Mood

• Overall feeling of a story. (Ex. Happy, sad, depressing, scary)

Character: A person or animal that takes part in the

action. This includes the main character, called the protagonist.

Types of Characters:Protagonist: Main characterAntagonist: the opposing character or force to the protagonist

Static characters (flat): Characters who do not change within the context of the story. Characters we don’t get to know very well.

minor characters . Dynamic characters (round): Characters who change, grow, or develop within the context of the story. Characters we get to know well. We know their fears, fantasies, history, etc.

CharacterizationAuthors reveal a character’s personality and motivation by what they THINK, FEEL, SAY, and DO

1) Appearance: How does a character look and dress—what does this reveal about the character?2) Personality: Is the character emotional or rational—shy or outgoing—skillful or clumsy— happy or depressed—caring or cold—honest or dishonest?3) Background: Where and how did the character grow up—what is the social status of the character—how have they been educated—hobbies or skills—what do they do for a living?4) Motivation: What does the character want? What are the character’s wishes, desires, dreams,and needs?5) Relationships: How is the character related to the other characters and how do they interact with each other?6) Change: Does the character change in the course of the narrative? Does he or she learn or grow? In other words, is the character static (unchanging) or dynamic (changing)?

Conflict Conflict is the dramatic struggle

between two forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no plot.

Types of Conflict

character vs. nature

character vs. society

character vs. supernatural

character vs. technology

character vs. selfInternal Conflict

character vs characterExternal Conflict

ThemeThe message or moral the author is trying to convey about society or just a truth of life. Usually suggested by characters’ thoughts or what the main character learns.

“Bugs”The lightning bug has wings of gold,

The goldbug wings of flame;The bedbug has no wings at all,But it gets there just the same.

Point of View:The perspective from which the story is

told

First Person = When a story is told from the perspective of one of the characters in the story.

Uses the pronoun “I.” Third Person 

When a story is told from the perspective of someone outside the story looking in. Third person limited: perspective is limited to what one character does, observes, or thinks. (He, she, it)Third person omniscient: the story is told from the perspective of someone who knows and sees all (he, she, it)

FlashbackAn interruption of story action to tell about something that happened earlier.

ForeshadowingHints of clues in a story about what is to come.

Genre: a category of artistic, musical, or literary

composition characterized by a particular style, form, or content.

• There are 5 major forms genres of literature: • Plays• Non-fiction (autobiography, biography)• Fiction (fantasy, historical fiction, magic realism, mystery, science

fiction, realistic fiction, Western)• Poetry• Folk tale or classic