Story ElementsCharacters

Setting

Plot (Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution)

ThemeConflict

Point of View

Characters

A dynamic character is one who goes through a personality change due to the events in the story.

A static character is one whose personality does not change throughout the story.

Round Characters

A round character is one whose personality, background, motives, and other features are fully described or explained by the author. In general, main characters are round because many insights are given.

Flat Characters

A flat character is one who is not fully described but is useful in carrying out some narrative purpose of the author. They tend to be minor characters.

Dynamic and Round

In most books the main character is both dynamic and round.

Round and Static

Characters can be round and static. For example, think about the character James Bond. We know a great deal about this character’s personality (round), yet he does not go through an inner personality change from the beginning to the end of the story (static). Often the side-kick in a story is round and static.

Dynamic and Flat

Characters cannot be dynamic and flat, because in a flat character we do not know enough about them to recognize a change.

Dynamic or StaticRound or Flat

Ebenezer Scrooge

from Charles Dickens's

A Christmas Carol

Dynamic and Round

Dynamic or Static Round or Flat

Robin

from Batman

Static and Round

Setting

The setting of a story includes the time and place in which the story takes place. Some stories may have more than one setting.

SettingTHE LION AND THE MOUSE by Aesop

A lion asleep in his den was wakened by a mouse running over his face. Losing his temper, he seized it with his paw and was about to kill it. The mouse, terrified, pleaded to the lion to spare its life. "Please let me go," it cried, "and one day I will repay you for your kindness." The idea of so small a creature ever being able to do anything for him amused the lion so much that he laughed aloud and let it go. But the mouse's chance came after all. One day the lion got tangled in a net. The mouse heard the lion’s roars of distress and ran to help. Without hesitation it set to work to gnaw the ropes with its teeth and succeeded before long in setting the lion free. "There!" said the mouse, “You laughed at me when I promised I would repay you, but now you see that even a mouse can help a lion." What is the most likely setting for this fable?

A. a zooB. a savannahC. a desertD. a swamp

First-Person Point of View

In the first-person point of view one character tells the story. This character reveals only personal thoughts and feelings of what s/he sees. The writer uses pronouns such as "I“, "me“, “mine”, or "my".

Example:I woke up this morning feeling terrific. I hopped out of bed excited to start the new day. I knew that today was the day my big surprise would come.

Second-Person Point of View With the second-person point of view the narrator tells the story using the pronoun "you".  The character is someone similar to you.

Example:You wake up feeling really terrific. Then you hop out of bed excited to start the new day. You know that today is the day that your big surprise will come.

This is rarely used in literature. It can be seen in Choose Your Own Adventure books.

Third-Person Point of View

The third-person point of view is the most commonly used in fiction. When writing in the third-person you will use pronouns such as "he", "she", or "it".

Example:Brian woke up feeling terrific. He hopped out of bed excited to start the new day. He knew that today was the day that his big surprise would come.

1st, 2nd, or 3rd Point of View Excerpt from Woodsong by Gary PaulsenI go up to the front of the team in the darkness and drag them around, realizing we are lost. My clothes have been ripped on tree limbs and my face is bleeding from cuts, and when I look back down the side of the mountain we have just climbed I see twenty-seven head lamps bobbing up the trail. Twenty-seven teams have taken our smell as the valid trail and are following us. Twenty-seven teams must be met head on in the narrow brush and passed and told to turn around.

Conflict is the struggle between the opposing forces on which the action in a work of literature depends.

In short stories, there is usually one major conflict. In longer stories, there could be several conflicts.

Conflict

There are two forms of conflict

1. INTERNAL CONFLICT:

• Person vs. Self

2. EXTERNAL CONFLICT

• Person vs. Person

• Person vs. the Environment

• Person vs. Technology

• Person vs. Society

Conflict

Person vs. Person

A person vs. person conflict is between two forms of like beings.

ExamplesFrom Where the Red Fern Grows - Billy and his dogs are attacked by a mountain lion, and they must do everything they can to survive.From Weasel -Nathan is captured by Weasel, an Indian fighter. Earlier in the book, Weasel had attacked Nathan's pa, had taken away Pa’s riffle, and had killed the farm animals.

Person vs. Self

In a person vs. self conflict the main character has a problem within him/herself.

ExamplesFrom WeaselNathan spends the winter months struggling with his conscious. Should he go back to Weasel’s cabin to seek revenge or forget about Weasel?

Person vs. the Environment

In a person vs. the environment conflict a character is struggling against the forces of nature.

Example:From Where the Red Fern Grows - Little Ann and Old Dan tree a coon in the tallest tree in the river bottoms.From Where the Red Fern Grows - Billy enters the championship coon hunt and encounters the snowstorm.

Person vs. Technology

In a person vs. technology conflict, a character has a problem with robots or machines.Example

From Hatchet - Brian flying the airplane after the pilot dies.

Plot

The plot is the story that is told in a novel, play, or movie. The plot has five components.

Plot Structure ComponentsExpositionRising ActionClimaxFalling ActionResolution

Exposition The exposition is the introduction of the story.

It contains the setting, introduces the main characters, and gives background information. It is the information needed to understand a story.

Rising Action

The rising action is the portion of the story where a character tries to solve the conflict. This is the longest part of the story.

Climax

The climax is the tensest moment of the story. It is the turning point in the story that occurs when characters try to resolve the complication.

Falling Action

The falling action is where the characters begin to apply a solution to the conflict and tie up loose ends.

Resolution

The resolution is how everything turns out in the story. It is the set of events that bring the story to a close.

Assignment

Answer Key

Theme

The theme is the insight about life or human nature that the writer shares with the reader. It is usually not stated directly, but must be inferred.

The theme is the message of a story. Ask yourself this question. What should you learn from the story?

Practice with ThemeTHE LION AND THE MOUSE

by AesopA lion asleep in his den was wakened by a mouse running over his face. Losing his temper, he seized it with his paw and was about to kill it. The mouse, terrified, pleaded to the lion to spare its life. "Please let me go," it cried, "and one day I will repay you for your kindness." The idea of so small a creature ever being able to do anything for him amused the lion so much that he laughed aloud and let it go. But the mouse's chance came after all. One day the lion got tangled in a net. The mouse heard the lion’s roars of distress and ran to help. Without hesitation it set to work to gnaw the ropes with its teeth and succeeded before long in setting the lion free. "There!" said the mouse, "you laughed at me when I promised I would repay you; but now you see that even a mouse can help a lion."

What is the theme of the story "The Lion and the Mouse?" A. hunter's net cannot hold a lion for long.B. A mouse is good at chewing things.C. Lions and mice make good pets.D. Size doesn't matter when doing a good deed.

The Wonderful Wizard of Oz (excerpt)L. Frank BaumDorothy lived in the midst of the great Kansas prairies, with Uncle Henry, who was a farmer, and Aunt Em, who was the farmer's wife.Their house was small, for the lumber to build it had to be carried by wagon many miles. There were four walls, a floor and a roof, which made one room; and this room contained a rusty looking cookstove, a cupboard for the dishes, a table, three or four chairs, and the beds. Uncle Henry and Aunt Em had a big bed in one corner, and Dorothy a little bed in another corner.

What is the theme of the passage?

A. the plain life of a prairie farm familyB. the things found in a home on the prairie C. building a prairie home D. living away from your parents

“The Fox and the Goat” by Aesop (paraphrased)       One day a fox fell into a deep well and could not escape. A goat, very thirsty,

came to the same well. When the goat saw the fox, he asked if the water was good. The fox, hiding his unfortunate problem by being cheerful, said the water was excellent. He encouraged the goat to jump down. The goat, paying attention to only his thirst, jumped down without thinking. Just as he drank, the fox told him of the difficulty they were both in and suggested an idea for their escape. "If," said he, "you will place your front feet upon the wall and bend your head, I will run up your back and escape, and will help you out afterwards." The goat gladly agreed, and the fox leaped upon his back. Steadying himself with the goat's horns, he safely reached the mouth of the well and made off as fast as he could. When the goat scolded the fox for breaking his promise, the fox turned around and cried out, "You foolish old fellow! If you had thought before you jumped into the well, you would never have gone down before you knew how to get back up, and you would not have exposed yourself to dangers from which you had no means of escape."

Choose the best answer. What is a universal theme in this story?

A. Look before you leap.B. Be kind to your enemy. C. Slow and steady wins the race.D. Do not attempt too much at once.

Theme

One way to determine the theme is to make a T – Chart. On the left write the theme. On the left give examples to show this theme.

Theme Using Hatchet

Theme Proof (Evidence)

Never give up - Determination Brian kept flying the plane and radioing for help after the pilot died.

Brian hunted and searched for food.

Brian built a shelter to protect himself from the elements.

Brian kept working until he was able to get inside the plane to get the emergency pack.

Theme Using Weasel

Theme Proof (Evidence)

Nathan hunts down the violent and disturbed man, but when the opportunity to strike arises, he realizes that such violence would make him no better than the assailant he has been hunting

seeking revenge vs. moral choices

Assignment – Answer Key

Survival

Overcoming prejudices

Theme Using Number the Stars

Theme Proof (Evidence)

Do anything to help a friend. Annemarie…