Transcript Document

Elements of Fiction
Plot
Theme
Setting
Characterization
Narration
Plot
• Simply put, plot is what happens
in the story. Some call it the
storyline.
• When doing an Elements of
fiction hand, describe the plot
in ten words or less without
revealing the plot’s climax or
resolution.
PLOT
The series of events and actions that takes place in a story.
Climax
Beginning
End
Expositions
Resolution
Plot Line
Climax: The turning point. The most intense
moment (either mentally or in action.
Rising Action: the
series of conflicts and
crisis in the story that
lead to the climax.
Exposition: The start of the story.
The way things are before the action
starts.
Falling Action: all of the action
which follows the Climax.
Resolution: The conclusion, the
tying together of all of the threads.
Theme
• It’s the moral or main idea of the story.
Themes do not provide any plot
developments, are not expressed in a
single word, is not the moral or the
conflict, and apply to many types of
stories in almost any genre.
• Can Be expressed in a single sentence
• Its central idea.
It usually contains some insight into the
human condition.
Theme, cont….
Identifying the Theme in Five Steps
To identify the theme, be sure that you’ve first identified
the story’s plot, the way the story uses characterization,
and the primary conflict in the story.
1. Summarize the plot by writing a one-sentence
description for the exposition, the conflict, the rising
action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution.
2. Identify the subject of the work.
THEME
3. Identify the insight or truth that was learned
about the subject.
• How did the protagonist change?
• What lesson did the protagonist learn from
the resolution of the conflict?
4. State how the plot presents the primary insight
or truth about the subject.
5. Write one or more generalized, declarative
sentences that state what was learned and how
it was learned.
THEME
Theme Test
• Is the theme supported by evidence from
the work itself?
• Are all the author’s choices of plot,
character, conflict, and tone controlled by
this theme?
THEMES IN HARRY POTTER:
THEMES IN HARRY POTTER:
• Family is a very important theme throughout Harry Potter
and the Sorcerer's Stone. Harry misses the family he never
knew – his parents – and hates the one he's stuck with – the
Dursleys. Blood ties only go so far, and relationships don't
necessarily mean that love is felt. Far from it, in fact. The
Dursleys feed, clothe, and shelter Harry (barely), but they
don't love him, and they certainly don't treat him as though
he belongs. Instead, it's the people Harry meets at
Hogwarts, both students and faculty, who care for and
nurture him, and who slowly become his new, chosen
family.
THEMES:
• Making friends is arguably one of the best things about
going to Hogwarts. Without friends, life can be pretty sad.
Having someone to side with, to share with, and to study
with – someone who has your back, and who needs you to
cover his/hers – is huge. Yet for Harry Potter and some of
the other characters who've been set apart by their magical
abilities, making real friends is only possible at wizarding
school. Wizard friends are lifesavers, literally: who else
can you collaborate with to defeat three-headed dogs or
evil overlords? By making friends, the characters get to
work together, learn from each other, and accomplish more
than they ever would have on their own.
THEMES:
• Home is where the Hogwarts is. In Harry Potter and the
Sorcerer's Stone, school's not just where you study and
learn cools spells; it's a real home. Harry may start out
living in a house with the Dursleys, but it doesn't feel like
home to him. To abuse the immortal words of Burt
Bacharach, that "house is not a home." At Hogwarts, and in
Gryffindor in particular, Harry finally feels a sense of
belonging and comfort. Responsible adults care about and
look after him, and he has good experiences, good meals,
and good friends. It's not sugarcoated – there are still small
and large-scale enemies – but for the first time Harry finds
pleasure and safety in his living space.
Symbolism
A symbol represents an idea, quality, or concept larger than itself.
A Journey can
symbolize life.
Black can
represent evil or
death.
Water may
represent a new
beginning.
A lion could be a
symbol of courage.
Characterization
• The main character in a story is called
the protagonist. She or he is always
involved in the main conflict and its
resolution.
• The person opposing the protagonist is
called the antagonist.
• When doing an Elements of Fiction
hand, use the methods of
characterization (flat, round, dynamic,
or static) to describe the protagonists
and antagonists in the story.
Narration
• First Person Point of View: The narrator
tells the story and is a character in the
story. (Pronouns: I, me, us, we, our, etc.)
• Third Person Omniscient: The narrator is
not a character in the story but can tell
you the thoughts and actions of all
characters at all times. (Pronouns: he,
she, him, her, they, them, etc.)
• Third Person Limited: The narrator is not
a character in the story but can tell you
the thoughts and actions of a few key
characters at all times. (Pronouns: he,
she, him, her, they, them, etc.)
Setting
• The setting provides us with the when and
where the story took place. In addition, the
context or historical background in which the
story is set provides us with additional plot
information.
The Geographical
Location
The Time Period
The Specific
location like room
The
socioeconomic
status of the
location
Methods of Characterization
Flat Characterization
• A character who has one or two
sides, representing one or two
traits—often a stereotype.
Flat characters help move
the plot along more quickly
because the audience
immediately understands
what the character is about.
• Example: Like a geeky
science professor
Round Characterization
• A character who is complex and
has many sides or traits
with unpredictable
behavior and a fully
developed personality.
Antagonists are usually
a round characterization.
• Example: Like The
Green Goblin (Norman Osborn)
ROUND CHARACTERS
• Main characters must be
round in order to be
believable.
• EXAMPLES: Harry
Potter, Ronald Weasley,
Hermione Granger, Ginny
Weasley, and Severus
Snape are among some of
the round characters in
the Harry Potter series
DYNAMIC CHARACTERS
• A dynamic character is a
major character in a work
of fiction whose
personality changes
through the course of the
story due to a change
•
in the situation or the
plot. The change is an
internal decision made by
the character based on
what happens during the
story.
• This
•
change in the
character’s personality
must be permanent.
• 14. The change may be
from weak to strong, from
strong to weak, from a
cheery person to a person
in distress, and the like.
• 16. Both the protagonist
and the antagonist can be
dynamic characters.
DYNAMIC CHARACTERS
• Dynamic traits are made
evident by Neville
Longbottom, Harry
Potter's classmate.
A perpetually petrified
student at Hogwart's
through most of the series,
by the end Neville leads
an army of students to
fight against Voldemort,
the evil character feared
by all
Dynamic Characterization
• A character who experiences an
essential change in personality
or attitude. Protagonists are
almost always dynamic.
• Example: Stitch,
from Lilo and
Stitch
Static Characterization
• A character who does not
change or develop beyond the
way in which she or he is first
presented.
• Example: Atticus
Finch from To
Kill a Mockingbird.
Other Fiction Elements
•Allusion: a reference to a person, place or literary, historical, artistic,
mythological source or event.
“It was in St. Louis, Missouri, where they have that giant
McDonald’s thing towering over the city…”(Bean Trees 15)
•Atmosphere: the prevailing emotional and mental climate of a piece of
fiction.
•Dialogue: the reproduction of a conversation between two of the
characters.
Other Elements Continued
•Foreshadowing: early clues about what will happen later in a piece of fiction.
•Irony: a difference between what is expected and reality.
•Style: a writer’s individual and distinct way of writing. The total of the qualities
that distinguish one author’s writing from another’s.
•Structure: the way time moves through a novel.
•Chronological: starts at the beginning and moves through time.
•Flashback: starts in the present and then goes back to the past.
•Circular or Anticipatory: starts in the present, flashes back to the past,
and returns to the present at the conclusion.