Elements of Fiction PDF

FICTION PROSE NONFICTION LITERATURE POETRY DRAMA  Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the convention...

FICTION PROSE NONFICTION LITERATURE POETRY DRAMA  Prose is a form of written or spoken language that follows the natural flow of speech, uses a language's ordinary grammatical structures, or follows the conventions of formal academic writing. Elements of Fiction Elements of Fiction 1. Character 2. Setting 3. Plot 4. Conflict 5. Point of View 6. Theme A character is a person, animal, or anything personified who acts in the plot of a short story or other literary work. Through characters, readers can experience the world that the author has built, both through the characters' interactions with and perceptions of their environment. Types of Characters (Version 1) 1. Hero/Heroine – leading male/female character who opposes the villain. They are often stronger or better than most human beings and possess godlike traits and qualities. 2. Antihero – the flawed lead character who is more than just a good guy. Readers either regard him with pity or disgust, unlike the traditional hero who is admired. Types of Characters (Version 2) MAJOR CHARACTERS Protagonist – more neutral term than “hero” for the leading character which does not imply either the presence or the absence of outstanding virtue. Antagonist – the protagonist’s opponent MINOR CHARACTERS Types of Characters (Version 3) 1. Flat/Static character does not change throughout the course of the story. 2. Round/Dynamic character goes through some sort of change. 3. Foil character serves as a contrast to the major character to highlight the particular qualities of the latter. Setting –- That combination of place, historical time, and social milieu that provides the general background for the characters and plot of a literary work. The general setting of a work may differ from the specific setting of an individual scene or event. Plot –- the major events that move the action in a narrative. It is the sequence of major events in a story, usually in a cause-effect relation. Point of view refers to the perspective that the narrator holds in relation to the events of the story. Three primary points of view: 1. First person, in which the narrator tells a story from their own perspective ("I went to the store"); 2. Second person, in which the narrator tells a story about you, the reader or viewer ("You went to the store"); 3. Third person, in which the narrator tells a story about other people ("He went to the store"). Each point of view creates a different experience for the reader, because, in each point of view, different types and amounts of information are available to the reader about the story's events and characters.  Identify the POV used in the following examples: 1. "What are you doing?" Yossarian asked guardedly when he entered the tent, although he saw at once. 2. "There's a leak here," Orr said. "I'm trying to fix it." 3. "Please stop it," said Yossarian. "You're making me nervous." Third Person POV  Identify the POV used in the following examples: 4. He came out of nowhere! Too bad for him, though: I only had five dollars in my bag. 5. I was desperate for something to eat. Judging by her expensive-looking shoes, I figured she could afford to part with her purse. First Person POV  Identify the POV used in this excerpt: 6. Eventually, you ascend the stairs to the street. You think of Plato's pilgrims climbing out of the cave, from the shadow world of appearances toward things as they really are, and you wonder if it is possible to change in this life. Being Second Person with a philosopher makes you think. POV  An author taking an omniscient point of view assumes the vantage point of an all- knowing narrator able not only to recount the action thoroughly and reliably but also to enter the mind of any character in the work or any time in order to reveal his or her thoughts, feelings, and beliefs directly to the reader. An author using the limited point of view recounts the story through the eyes of a single character (or occasionally more than one, but not all or the narrator would be an omniscient narrator). Theme(s) -- The central and dominating idea (or ideas) in a literary work. The term also indicates a message or moral implicit in any work of art.