Theme• Theme is a central, underlying, and controlling idea of a literary work. • It is an abstract concept that may be presented by a character, by

actions, and/or by any of the other literary elements. • It is a generalization about human conduct that may be serious or

comic, profound or unsurprising. • Because theme often involves the development and revelation of

character, it is ordinarily expressed in a full sentence. • Theme is almost always implicit.• To ascertain theme, the reader should first understand/analyze the plot,

the characterization, conflict and/or any other literary elements. • First identify the subject in one word, then explain in one or two

sentences what the authors says about the subject. • The theme stated in one or more complete sentences reveals to us what

we have learned about a particular subject.

To ascertain theme, ask the following questions:

• How has the main character changed? • What lessons has he or she learned? • What is the central conflict of the work?• What is the subject of the work?• What does the author say about this subject in the work?• Can this idea be supported entirely by evidence from the

work itself?• Are all the author’s choices of plot, character, and

conflict controlled by this idea?

Characterization• The process of presenting the different aspects of

character and personality of someone in a novel or short story

• Narrative depiction of human beings. • Readers learn about characters from: – What they say– What they do– What they think– What they have and wear– Where they are– The people with whom they associate– What others say about them– What statements the author makes directly about

him/her/them

Characterization and Point of View are closely related:

• The narrator tells the story from a certain point of view, and in doing so, develops the character of the people in the narrative.

• The omniscient narrator knows all the thoughts of the characters so he or she may choose to describe a character explicitly.

• A limited narrator does not control characterization in the narrative. This narrator tells what he/she sees without recourse to the thoughts of any other characters.

Types of Character

• Flat character (two-dimensional/angular): – The author is choosing to concentrate on a single

dominant trait to the exclusion or reduction of other traits

• Rounded character (three-dimensional): – A complex, fully rounded personality

Additional Classification for Types of Characters

• Static: a character that changes little over the course of a narrative. (usually seen in shorter fictional works)

• Dynamic: a characters that changes in response to the actions which he or she passes. (usually seen in longer narratives)

• Archetypal Characters: characters that embody a certain kind of universal human experience.

Plot•When characters are set in opposition to each other in literature, the result is usually CONFLICT. •CONFLICT requires resolution, and in a novel, short story or drama, the process of the resolution of conflict is called the PLOT. •PLOT usually involves the outline of the clearly connected and interdependent actions undertaken by the characters.•Because most plots begin with the onset of the conflict between important characters, the middle sections should develop the conflict as well as the characters themselves, and the end clearly show how the conflict has been resolved.•Plot is an artistic construct that follows an artificial sense of order. The author selects certain items from a life or a period in a life that are sufficiently related to share a UNITY OF ACTION. •Consider narrative structure (the framework of a story) AND narrative pace (quick, slow)

Types of Conflicts

• A person in conflict with another person• A person in conflict with his or her inner self• A person is conflict with his or her society• A person in conflict with fate• A person in conflict with nature

Elements of Plot• Exposition• Rising Action • Climax• Falling

Action• Resolution• Conflict• Protagonist• Antagonist

Setting• The historical time and place and the social circumstances

that create the world in which characters act and make choices. – Readers who are sensitive to this world are better able

to understand and judge the behavior of the characters and the significance of the action.

• Social circumstances of a story will often illuminate and provide insights into the meaning of a literary piece.

• Setting is often associated with the emotional content of a story (mood/atmosphere).• DetailsDetails given by the author about the environment

emotionally charge a literary pieceemotionally charge a literary piece

How is setting revealed?• Geographic location: landscape, scenery, room

layout, buildings, the physical dimensions of the place.

• Cultural backdrop/social context/time period: occupations/working conditions, way of life, way of talking/behaving, clothing, gender roles, traditions, attitudes, customs, laws

• Artificial environment: rooms, buildings, cities, towns, villages

Questions to ponder when considering the setting of a particular work:

• How many locations are described? • How effective are the visual descriptions? • Are there connections between the locations and the

characters? • What is the state of the objects, furniture, or dwellings?• What conclusions does the author expect the reader to

reach as a result of the world of the story? • What effect does setting have on story structure, symbol,

irony, tone, mood, and character? (Complete in conjunction with the next two slides)

Point of View

•The perspective from which a story is told•In considering P.O.V., the author must determine where the narrator stands in relation to the events, and whether the events are viewed from a fixed or mobile position•The author’s choice of P.O.V. is deliberate. •If a different P.O.V. was chosen, it would completely change the story. •The author chooses P.O.V. for its precise effect on the meaning of the story

Types of Point of View• Participant or First Person: –Use of personal pronouns I, we, us– Subdivided as thus: • The narrator as a MAJOR CHARACTER in the

story (the story is told by and is chiefly about the narrator).• The narrator as a MINOR CHARACTER in the

story (the narrator tells a story that focuses on someone else, but the narrator is still a character in the story).

Purposes of Participant (1st person) Point of View

– This perspective offers immediacy; the reader sees what is perceived by the individual “I.”

– The 1st person narrator can:• approach other fictional characters as closely as one human being

can approach another• be an eyewitness, observing what other characters say and do. • summarize event and retreat from a scene to meditate on its

significance– The first person narrator:

• understands other characters only by observing what they say and do. This narrator cannot enter the minds of the other characters and is unable to grasp their inner thoughts.

• outlines what a character observes and feels, and thus the narrator’s conclusions may be inaccurate.

• may be untrustworthy and leave the reader to question the validity and accuracy of the narrator’s opinions.

Nonparticipant (Third-person) Point of View• Use of third-person pronouns to tell the story:

he, him, she, her, they, them• Omniscient narrator: the author can enter the

minds of all the characters• Selective (Limited) omniscient narrator: the

author limits his omniscience to the minds of a few of the characters or to the mind of a single character

• Objective narrator: the author does not enter a single mind, but instead records what can be seen and heard. This type of narrator is like a camera or fly on the wall.

Purposes of Nonparticipant Points of View

• Omniscient Point of View: allows greater freedom because the narrator knows all there is to know about the characters, externally and internally– The third-person narrator describes what characters

are feeling and thinking.– The third-person narrator describes what characters

do.– The narrator may shift focus from the close view to the

larger perspective.– The narrator may comment on events and characters,

thus explaining their significance to the reader. – The narrator may offer multiple perspectives on the

same event.

Purposes of Nonparticipant Points of View• Limited Omniscient Point of View: the author knows

everything about a particular character– The story is portrayed through the eyes of one character,

and there is a sense of distance from the other characters.

– The limited omniscient point of view approximates conditions of life in that only one character’s thoughts are known. The story is more unified through the use of this point of view.

• Objective Point of View: allows inferences to be made by readers through their observance of dialogue and external action.– Readers are not directly influenced by the author’s

statements. Readers’ perceptions are influenced more subtly by the author’s selection of diction and details.

Language Analysis: DIDLS • DIDLS Prose Analysis Method• Just as each of us has a particular, unique way of presenting ourselves, writers

have unique ways of presenting themselves. Our personalities shine through the way we talk, the words we choose, the gestures we use, the clothes we wear. A writer has only language to express his/her personality. The qualities below are the basic elements of a writer's style. Learning to examine them can help a reader discern the purpose for an author’s writing and/or the theme.

• Diction• What words does the author choose? Consider his/her word choice compared to

another. Why did the author choose that particular word? What are the connotations of that word choice?

• Author 1: Bill was unintelligent. (relatively neutral, as far as lack of intelligence goes)

• Author 2: Bill was a zipperhead. (less of a low IQ, more like someone who acts like an idiot)

• Images• What images does the author use? What does he/she focus on in a sensory way?

The kinds of images the author puts in or leaves out reflect his/her style? Are they vibrant? Prominent? Plain? NOTE: Images differ from detail in the degree to which they appeal to the senses.

Language Analysis: DIDLS, cont. • Details• What details does the author choose to include? What do they imply?

What does the author choose to exclude? What are the connotations of their choice of details? PLEASE NOTE: Details are facts.

• They differ from images in that they don’t have a strong sensory appeal.• For example: An author describing a battlefield might include details

about the stench of rotting bodies or he might not.• Language• What is the overall impression of the language the author uses? Does it

reflect education? A particular profession? Intelligence? Is it plain? Ornate? Simple? Clear? Figurative? Poetic?

• • Sentence Structure• What are the sentences like? Are they simple with one or two clauses? Do

they have multiple phrases? Are they choppy? Flowing? Sinuous like a snake? Is there antithesis, chiasmus, parallel construction? What emotional impression do they leave?