Elements of Fiction

English 1

Why Do I Need to Learn This?

• Understanding literary elements will help you to understand fiction better. You will enjoy books, television shows, and movies much more!

• In order to succeed in English, now and in the future, you need to know about literary elements.

• Interested in creative writing? Then you must know these terms to improve your writing!

• People will think you are really smart! (Which you Are!!!)

Plotthe sequence of events in the story from the beginning to the end; a series of related events that make-up a story.

Plot Diagram

Expositionbackground information a

reader must understand in order to know what is

going on in the story; introduces characters, setting, and usually the

problem.

Rising Action•The series of events that lead to the climax of the story; when complications occur

Climax• The moment of highest intensity• The most exciting part•Usually at the end

Falling Action•occurs after the climax. It is where all the loose ends of the story are tied up.

Resolution/ DenouementOccurs after the

falling action when the conflict is

resolved

Conflict• Struggle between opposing forces or characters.• Every story needs a conflict!• There are two types of conflict

External Conflict

A character struggles with

something outside himself.

Internal Conflict

A character struggles with

something inside his or her mind.

Man vs. Man (Or Men)

•External Conflict•Occurs when a character (man or woman!) has an argument, disagreement, or fight with another character.

Man vs. Man Examples

Two teenagers fight in the hallway. A student and a teacher disagree

about a grade. A teen and her parents argue over

curfew. A girlfriend yells at her boyfriend

after he checks out another woman. A small male is jumped by three

bullies.

Man vs. Society•External Conflict

•This occurs when a character disagrees with the values of a society, laws, or beliefs.

Man Vs. Society Examples A teenager repeatedly breaks the

city’s curfew because he disagrees with the time.

Gay couples Protest for the right to marry.

Rosa Park refusing to give up her seat.

Man vs. Nature •External Conflict Occurs

when a character struggles with forces in nature such as animals or weather.

Man vs. Nature Examples

• A tornado leaves a family homeless• A surfer has her arm bit off by a

shark• People dying in hurricane Katrina• A woman has an allergic reaction

to a bee sting

Man vs. Self• Internal Conflict Occurs when a character struggles with his emotions,thoughts, or choices.• Internal conflicts usually result from external conflicts.

Man vs. Self Examples

• A woman debates if she should leave her verbally abusive boyfriend.

• A man feels anxiety while flying in an airplane.

• A teenager decides whether to share her friend Tanya’s secret with her boyfriend.

• After arguing with his parents, a teenager feels sad, lonely, and misunderstood.

Two Types of Characterization:• 1. Direct Characterization: The writer

directly states what a character is like or what a character’s motives are.

• 2. Indirect Characterization: Better/ more common method of writing; the writer SHOWS us what the character is like through five different methods.

Method #1: Speech•We can tell a lot about characters by what they say, how they talk, and the vocabulary they use.

Method #2: Appearance

•We learn what a character is like based on what characters look like and how they dress.

Method #3: Private Thoughts •We learn about character’s real feelings when we listen into character’s private thought.

Method #4: How Other Characters Feel About Them

•What are other characters’ opinions? What can this tell us about the character?

Method #5: Actions•How the character spends his/her time and how he/she behaves will tell us a lot about the character.

SettingWhere and when

the story takes place

Setting Includes….• Location• Weather• Time of day• Time Period (Past, Present,

Future)• Atmosphere/mood (fear,

anxiety, happy)

Point of ViewThe vantage point

from which a writer tells a story.

First-Person Point of View• A character in the story narrates the

action.

• Example: I walked down the alley, I picked up the phone, and I told Tony that he was going down if he didn't cough up the money by Saturday.

Second-Person Point of View• Narrative that uses the second-

person pronoun “You.”• Least common form used in fiction. • More often used in self-help books,

Choose Your Own Adventure books, song lyrics, & Poetry

• Example: The secret to success is making sure you are proactive and organized.

Third-Person Limited P.O.V.method of storytelling in which the narrator knows only the thoughts and feelings of a single Character.

Example: She was bitter because she lived her whole life feeling deprived of the one thing she wanted most—love.

Third-Person Omniscient• Third person omniscient is a method

of storytelling in which the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of all of the characters in the story.

Example: Carrie loved Geoff with all her heart, but geoff felt different. He wished he loved her, but he just didn’t.

Irony•The contrast between expectation and reality.

Verbal IronyWhen one says one thing yet

means another; sarcasm

Examples: when someone says "Oh, that's beautiful", when what they mean (probably conveyed by their tone) is they find "that" quite ugly.

Situational Irony• Occurs when a Situation turns out to be

the opposite of what is expected.

Example: When John HinckleY attempted to assassinate Ronald Reagan, all of his shots initially missed the President; however, a bullet ricocheted off the bullet-proof Presidential limousine and struck Reagan in the chest. Thus, a vehicle made to protect the President from gunfire was partially responsible for his being shot.

Dramatic IronyWhen the audience knows something that characters on screen or stage don’t

know. This is often used in plays, movies, and tv

Shows.

Examples: Little Red Riding Hood– we know it’s a wolf

before she does!

Theme• A theme is a broad idea, message,

or moral of a story. The message may be about life, society, or human nature. Themes often explore timeless and universal ideas and are almost always implied rather than stated explicitly. Readers will not always agree with a writer’s theme.

• Examples: War is pointless; the best things in life are free; everyone is capable of both good and evil.