Plot Plot is the literary element that involves the events in the story We can organize the events of the story in a plot line A plot line should show all the significant events that happen in the story and put them in order 1
Plot Line Climax Turning point; the higest point of action Rising Action: The series of conflicts and resolutions that lead to the climax Falling Action: Action that happens after the climax; moving toward the resolution Resolution: the conclusion Exposition: the begining of the story characters are introduced 2
Setting Setting is the time and place where the story takes place Authors often set a story in a specific time or place for a purpose (to create an atmosphere, or tell something about the characters or themes) When describing setting, include both general and specific details eg. Time Include the period (the 1990's) and the time (at night from 11:30pm 12:01 am) if possible. Place Include the geographic location (New York) and the specific place (in an alley). To determine the setting you often have to make inferences based on the details in the story. 3
Point of View Point of view concerns the narration style in literature It involves the narrator's relation to the story There are basically 4 types, with some variation Each type has pros and cons, and authors purposefully choose point of view to convey certain ideas or emotions 4
Narrator Third Person Unlimited (omniscient) The narrator is outside the story and knows all character's thoughts and knows things that the characters do not know. Pros Cons We have information about all the characters Distances us from the story Objective and unbiased narrator We know all the facts We don t feel as strongly connected to any of the characters 5
Narrator Third Person Limited The narrator is outside the story, but knows the thoughts of only one character. Pros Cons We can identify somewhat with at least one character We only get one perspective Still somewhat objective 6
Narrator Objective Narrator is outside the story and does not know any of the characters' thoughts. It is told as if from someone observing the events. Pros Cons Completly unbiased/ trustworthy narrator Good for explaining directions or facts Used for newspapers and magazines Little, or no, connection with any of the characters Often lacks strong voice or style 7
First Person The Narrator is a character in the story. Narrator uses pronouns such as "I", "we"... Narrator Pros Cons More personal story we feel a strong connection to the narrator Most biased narrator may present unfair/ inaccurate portrayal of events and characters 8
Round characters convincing/ true to life. They have many different personality traits. Flat characters sterotyped, shallow, and usually only have one or two personality traits. They are often symbols, or they are used to highlight other elemsnts of the story. Dynamic characters undergo some type of change or development during the story, often because of something that happens to them. Static characters do not change through the course of the story. s can be both round and dynamic or flat and static. They cannot be both round and flat or dynamic and static. Source: Read/Wriet/Think 9
Protagonist/ Antagonist The main character is usually the protagonist. The protagonist has a mission or a goal. The force that attempts to stop the protagonist from reaching his goal is the antagonist. The antagonist may be another character, society, the forces of nature, or the protagonist himself. There is often more than one antagonist When the protagonist and the antagonist struggle we have conflict. 10
Conflict Conflict is the struggle between two forces in literature. Conflict drives the plot; without conflict, there would be no plot. When the protagonist and the antagonist struggle we have conflict. There are four types of conflict 11
vs A character is in conflict with another character. The conflict may or may not be physical 12
vs Nature A character is in conflict against the forces of nature. Nature is the antagonist 13
vs Society A character has conflict with a larger group (a community, a society, a culture). It often involves a character who rejects the governing ideas in society 14
vs Self A character experiences an inner struggle. The character must overcome his own issues. 15
Writing about conflict Writing about conflict, in literature, involves not only identifying what conflicts exist, but also explaining the conflict with specific examples and details. You must also explain how the conflict was resolved... Which force won the struggle? What was the outcome? For example: vs : Ponyboy vs Darry One of the key conflicts in the outsiders involves Ponyboy and his oldest brother Darry. Pony thinks that Darry hates him: "Darry thought I was just another mouth to feed and somebody to holler at". He also says that he does not care about Darry, but realizes that he is only lying to himself, and that he actually does care about Darry. Other characters also try to convince Ponyboy that Darry does care about him. Soda tells Pony that Darry is, "really proud of you because you are so brainy". Two Bit also tells Pony that he has "got it all wrong". The conflict comes to a head between these two characters when Pony comes home late and Darry yells at him, and hits him and Ponyboy runs away. Pony seems to have conflicted ideas about Darry as he says he does not care if Darry worries himself "grey headed" when Pony runs away. However, he also realizes that he has a better home life than Johnny: "at least Darry didn't get drunk and beat me up or run out of the house". 16
Theme "The central or dominating idea in a literary work" Ask yourself why has the author written the story? Usually concerns some aspect of human behaviour/ human nature. We can understand theme by looking at other aspects of the story especially character and conflict Common themes "good vs. evil", "courage in the face of danger", "problems faced with adolescence" What are some of the Themes that have been explored in the stories we have read so far? 17
Literary Terms Foreshadowing A technique for providing clues about elements that may happen later in the story Flashback A technique for presenting something that happened earlier (often prior to the beginning of the story) that helps explain something about the current situation Symbol Something that stands for or suggests something else. For example: a lion often symbolizes courage; a maple leaf symbolizes Canada; a gold medal symbolizes excellence. Irony A subtle humourous contradiction whereby an event or something that should be straightforward turns out to be the opposite or the unexpected. 18