Transcript Document
Elements of Plot
Plot is the movement of a story through a
sequence of events. It’s like riding a
roller coaster!
1. Exposition = basic information that the
readers need to understand the events of
the story. (Scene, characters, setting).
a. This can be a single sentence or a
whole paragraph.
2. Conflict – the struggle between
different characters in the story.
This is usually a problem between the
protagonist (good guy) and the antagonist
(bad guy).
3. Rising Action – a series of
events that lead up to the climax
of the story. There may be several
smaller problems that occur before
the story reaches the climax.
Elements of Plot (continued)
4. Climax - a peak in the story's action, or
a moment of high tension or great
importance.
5. Resolution/Denouement
(Day-new-mo) - draws the
action to a close and answers
all remaining questions in the
story.
a. deus ex machina - an outside
force that comes in to save a
seemingly hopeless situation.
Other Plot Elements:
• Flashback - when the story moves out
of sequence and goes back to a previous
event to add important information to
the story.
• Foreshadowing - a situation, event,
character, or object that appears early in
the story and later turns out to have great
significance to the outcome.
Diagramming Plot
• The events of a story follow a pattern as the story moves
forward. This pattern is called the plot.
4. Climax
3. Rising Action
2. Conflict
1. Exposition
5. Resolution/
Denouement
Characters
• Protagonist: The main character
of the story. This is usually the
person who struggles to resolve
the conflict.
• Antagonist: someone or something
that is going against the protagonist.
This is usually the villain, bad guy,
enemy, etc.
• Minor Characters: Other people in
the story who interact with the
protagonist and antagonist to help the
story move forward.
Notes:
Characterization
• Characterization is the way writers develop
characters and reveal those characters to the
audience. Writers do this in different ways:
– Actions: What the character chooses to do and how
he/she behaves.
– Words: What the character says.
– Thoughts: The character’s inner thoughts.
– Appearance: Descriptions of what the character
looks like. His/her name, gestures, body language.
What the narrator and other characters say about
him/her.
Thoughts:
Character’s Actions:
Character’s Words:
Other People’s Words
About the Character:
Notes: Theme
• Theme is a message about life or human
nature. It is the lesson that the story teaches
you about life.
– To find the theme of a story look for clues that
show the stories most important ideas:
• Title often reveals the main idea of the story.
• Conflict by resolving the conflict the characters
generally learn a lesson, which shows the theme of the
story.
• Changes in Character can be caused by important
lessons that they learn about life or human nature.
• Character’s Words sometimes reveal the message or
lesson they have learned about life or human nature.
Theme
•
When looking for theme, answer the following
questions:
1. What does the title tell me about the story?
2. What lesson do the characters learn by resolving
the conflict?
3. How does the protagonist change from the
beginning to the end of the story?
4. What do the characters say/think about life or
human nature?
5. How does the setting fit into the conflict and
denouement of the story?