Teaching Fiction

GROUP:
NGUYỄN NGỌC CHÂU
NGUYỄN MỸ KHÁNH
PHẠM PHÚC KHÁNH MINH
NGUYỄN NGỌC PHƯƠNG THÀNH
ĐỖ THỊ BẠCH VÂN
NGÔ THẢO VY
Outline

The nature of literature

The nature of fiction

The elements of fiction

Other elements
1. The nature of literature

 “To analyze works of literature, you

need to know what literature is – what
typical components to expect and
how those components usually work
together.”
(Griffith, 1990)
1. The nature of literature

Language

Affective Aesthetic

Literature

Expressive Fictional

True
 Literature Is Language

 The medium of literature is language.

denotative meaning
used by scientists
connotative meaning
used by writers

 Writers use language for its expressive and emotional

qualities.
 They also use language for itself – the qualities of sounds,
rhythms, appearance on pages.
 Literature Is Aesthetic

 Literature gives a unique pleasure – aesthetic quality.

 Form (the order of language, characters, events, details) is
the most important element contributing to this pleasure.

disorder logical order

real life literature

 Plot, orderly patterns of language, appropriate character

reduction, ideas offering, logical setting description, ... can
combine to create an overall order and coherence.
Literature Is Fictional

 All works of literature are “fictional” in the sense that

the reader sets them apart from the facts of real life.
 2 ways in which a work can be fictional:
 The writer makes up some of the materials.

draw upon real- ignore laws that

life observations & govern the real
experiences world
 Literature Is Fictional

 The artistic control the writer exercises over

the work
E.g. a newspaper reporter and a poet write
the same event.
the poet makes his poem the
the reporter makes the event
object of experience 
the object of experience 
adding many special
describe the details of the
elements  the work
events exactly
becomes an artifact
Literature Is Fictional

 One of the most important effects of

fictionality is the distance between the
readers and the material presented.
 Some authors try to reduce the
psychological distance between the
fictional events and the readers.
 Other authors constantly remind the
readers that their events are fictional.
 Literature Is True

Literature is true

interprets the real

world embodies a “world view” through an
E.g. fables and imaginary “world”
fairy tales

typical characters
experience of
and probable
reality
actions
E.g. The Massacre
E.g. The Lord of the
at Fall Creek
Ring
Literature Is Expressive

 Literature is an expression of the

individuals who write it.

Some authors try to reduce their

presence as much as possible. E.g.
Shakespeare, Daniel Defoe, …

Others makes themselves and their

feeling the obvious subject matter of
their work.
 Literature Is Expressive

The readers are drawn to a work

because they are drawn to the
author.
2 results of expressive
aspect
The readers experience events and
emotional reactions that may be
outside their experience.
Literature Is Affective

 Affective aspect is literature’s ability to create

an emotional response in the reader.
Some authors try to make their works
as unemotional and intellectual as
possible.

Others want the readers to feel deeply

and sometimes to do something about
the situations.

 The expressive and affective aspects often

work together.
2. The nature of fiction

 Fiction: a descriptive term

 Fiction includes made-up or imaginary
elements, and has the potential for
being “true”:
 true to the nature of reality,
 true to human experience.
 Fiction ≈ History
 two similar aspects
 five differences
2. The nature of fiction

multiplicity
to create a
world
Fiction ≈ complexity
History
the nature of
to speculate
the real world
 2. The nature of fiction

Fiction Facts
≠
History Principle of order or coherence
Building conflict

Celebrating the separateness, distinctness, and

importance of individuals and experiences

Perceptions of writers and historians

 2. The nature of fiction

Fiction History
1. Facts - Facts are made up by - Facts are truly taken by
writers. writers.
- Writers can produce facts - Writers cannot
at will, and fit them into a manufacture facts to fill in
coherent plan. gaps of their knowledge.
E.g. Writers with optimistic
view of reality include
positive and affirming facts
E.g. Writers of fiction can
enter their character’s
minds, look into heavens,
create chains of cause and
effect, foresee the future.
 2. The nature of fiction

Fiction History

2. - Writers must establish - Historians only need to

Principle some principle of order record events as they
of order or coherence that occur, no matter how
or underlies their work. unrelated or senseless
coherenc - They must establish at they may seem.
e least an aesthetic
order, and may impose
philosophical order
upon their materials.
 2. The nature of fiction

Fiction History
3. - Writers of fiction must build - Historians needn’t build
Building conflict into their worlds. conflict.
conflict

Three differences point to qualities

that make fiction innately enjoyable –
its imaginative, orderly, and dramatic
qualities.
 2. The nature of fiction

Fiction History
4. - Writers of fiction celebrate - Historians record and
Celebrating the separateness, distinctness, celebrate human experiences
the and importance of all that effect or represent large
separateness individuals and all individual numbers of people – wars, rises
, distinctness, experiences. and falls of civilizations,
and - They assume that human technological innovations,
importance experiences are intrinsically economic developments,
of individuals important and interesting. political changes, social tastes,
and and mores.
experiences - If they discuss individuals, it is
because they affect or
illustrate the wider
experiences.
 Fiction History
5. - Writers see reality as - Historians present reality
Perceptio united to psychological as external to individuals
ns of perception, as reflected and unaffected by
writers through the minds of human perception.
and individuals. E.g. Time is divisible into
historians E.g. Time is presented as exact, measurable units
an experienced, (centuries, decades, etc.);
emotional phenomenon, as a river where individuals
as a river flowing inside float like pieces of wood.
the mind. Time is not
measureable but is
determined by states of
mind.
- Other aspects of reality
are also determined by a
character’s states of mind.

The last two differences reveal an equally important aspect of

fiction – the kinds of reality it deals with and thus the kinds of
truth it attempts to expose.
3. The elements of fiction

Characte-
Plot Theme
rization

Point of
Setting Irony
view

Symbolism
3.1 Plot
3.1 Plot

Definition

PLOT
What happens in a narrative

A pattern of carefully selected, causally

related events that contains conflict
3.1 Plot
Freytag pyramid
 3.1 Plot
Freytag pyramid

Unstable
A conflict that sets the plot in motion
situation

Exposition The nature of the conflict

Events related by cause

Series of events - Event 1  Event 2  Event 3
- Cause  Event 1, Event 2, Event 3
 3.1 Plot
Freytag pyramid

CLIMAX The most intense event

Falling action Brief

(dénouement) = Falling action <much less intense <
unravelling Climax

Stable situation
3.1 Plot
Types of conflict

Internal Within the minds of

conflicts characters

Between individuals

External
conflicts Between individuals &
the world external to individuals
 3.1 Plot
The forces in a conflict

Protagonist Antagonist
• Main • The opponent of the
character protagonist

• Someone • A person /
fighting for a non-human force/
something an aspect of the
protagonist
3.2 Characterization
 3.2 Characterization
Definition
The author’s presentation
Characters: & development of
people characters

CHARACTERIZATION

The author’s action of

Characters: giving them human abilities
NOT people & human psychological
traits
3.2 Characterization
Types of characters

Flat (simple) characters have only one/two

personality traits  easily recognizable

Round (complex) characters have multi

personality traits  resemble real people
3.2 Characterization
Types of characters

Static characters remain the same

throughout a work.

Dynamic characters change during the

course of the work  grow in understanding
 The climax of the growth: epiphany
 3.3 Theme – Definition

4 areas of The nature of humanity

human
experience
The nature of society

The nature of humankind’s

relationship to the world

The nature of ethical responsibilities

 3.3 Theme – Characteristics

 The theme is not the same as the subject/ topic

- Subject: what the work is about
- Theme: what the work says about the subject

E.g. Shakespeare’s Sonnet 116 (p. 113-114)

- Subject: Love
- Theme: Love remains constant whether assaulted
by tempestuous events or by time
 3.3 Theme – Characteristics

 A work’s theme must apply to people outside the

work
 Move from concrete situations within the work to
generalizations about people outside the work
 Many works have more than 1 subjects and thus
more than 1 theme
E.g. The Last Leaf by O’ Henry
Themes: - Death - Pessimism
- Hope - Love and friendship
 3.3 Theme – Characteristics

 Some works may not have a subject or a theme

E.g. Edgar Allan Poe’s “The Raven” and “The Fall of
the House of Usher”
 The subjects and themes of complex works can
rarely be covered completely
+ Support the interpretations as logically and with
as much evidence as possible
+ May disagree with the author’s viewpoint
 3.3 Theme – Characteristics

 Theme may be a presentation of a problem rather

than a message neatly solving the problem
3.3 Theme – Questions
3.3 Theme – Questions

 What is the work about?


 What does the work say about the subject?

 In what direct and indirect ways does the
work communicate its theme?

3.4. Setting

Place Time

Social
Atmosphere
environment
3.4. Setting – Place & Time

 The physical  Atwhat period in

setting history does the
 Therelationship action take place?
that place has to  How long does it take
characterization for the action to
and theme occur?
 How is the passage of
time perceived?
 3.4. Setting – Social environment
& atmosphere

 Little importance in a  Theemotional

work reaction the
 Determining the
characters have to
behavior of characters the setting
 What method does
the author use?
 What does the
author achieve?
 Why does the
author create this
atmosphere?
3.5. Point of view

 Point of view is the position from which a

story is told.
3.5. Point of view

 Who is telling the story?

 A story is told
through the eyes of
a narrator.
 It is the “voice” of
the story.
3.5. Point of view – Four types
of point of view

 1st person
 3rd person omniscient
 3rd person limited
 3rd person objective
 3.5. Point of view – Four types
of point of view

First Person Point of View

 The narrator is one of
the characters.
 Uses “I, me, we, my,
our”
 He can’t tell us
thoughts of other
characters.
 3.5. Point of view – Four types
of point of view

“The other thing I want to clear up right

away is that this was MOM's idea, not
mine. But if she thinks I'm going to write
down my "feelings" in here or whatever,
she's crazy. So just don't expect me to
be all "Dear Diary" this and "Dear Diary"
that.
The only reason I agreed to do this at all
is because I figure later on when I'm rich
and famous, I'll have better things to do
than answer people's stupid questions all
day long. So this book is gonna come in
handy.”
Jeff Kinney's The Diary of a Wimpy Kid
 3.5. Point of view – Four types
of point of view

Third Person Point of View

 The narrator is not a character.
 Uses he, she, him, her, they, them, their
and characters’ names.
 3 types of Third person point of view:
1. Omniscient
2. Limited
3. Objective
 3.5. Point of view – Four types
of point of view

Omniscient Point of View

 The narrator is all-knowing.
 The narrator can enter the
minds of all characters
and describe what they
are thinking and feeling.
3.5. Point of view – Four types
of point of view

“The young woman was tall, with

a figure of perfect elegance, on
a large scale. She had dark and
abundant hair, so glossy that it
threw off the sunshine with a
gleam, and a face which,
besides being beautiful from
regularity of feature and richness
of complexion, had the
impressiveness belonging to a
marked brow and deep black
eyes.”

Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The

Scarlet Letter (1850)
 3.5. Point of view – Four types
of point of view

Limited Point of View

 The narrator only knows
the thoughts and
feelings of ONE
character, and it is
often a main
character.
3.5. Point of view – Four types
of point of view

“When he had been younger, Harry had

dreamed and dreamed of some
unknown relation coming to take him
away, but it had never happened; the
Dursleys were his only family. Yet
sometimes he thought (or maybe
hoped) that strangers in the street
seemed to know him. Very strange
strangers they were, too. A tiny man in a
violet top hat had bowed to him once
while out shopping with Aunt Petunia
and Dudley.”
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter and the
Sorcerers Stone (2001)
 3.5. Point of view – Four types
of point of view

Objective Point of View

 The narrator can only tell
what can be seen or heard.
 Cannot know thoughts or
feelings of the characters
 Adds no comments on what
is happening
 Allows readers to make
inferences
3.5. Point of view – Four types
of point of view

“The morning of June 27th was clear and

sunny, with the fresh warmth of a full-
summer day; the flowers were blossoming
profusely and the grass was richly
green. The people of the village began to
gather in the square, between the post
office and the bank, around ten o’clock; in
some towns there were so many people
that the lottery took two days and had to
be started on June 26th, but in this village,
where there were only about three
hundred people, the whole lottery took less
than two hours,…”
Shirley Jackson, “The Lottery” (1948)
3.5. Point of view – Multiple
Choice

 The narrator is an observer and knows

everything about all the characters.

A.) First person

B.) Third person omniscient
C.) Third person limited
D.) Third person objective
3.5. Point of view – Multiple
Choice

 The narrator is an observer and describes the

thoughts and feelings of just one character.

A.) First person

B.) Third person omniscient
C.) Third person limited
D.) Third person objective
3.5. Point of view – Multiple
Choice

 The narrator is a character in the story and

tells what he or she experiences.

A.) First person

B.) Third person omniscient
C.) Third person limited
D.) Third person objective
3.5. Point of view – Multiple
Choice

 The narrator just describes the facts, does not

enter the mind of the characters.

A.) First person

B.) Third person omniscient
C.) Third person limited
D.) Third person objective
3.6. Irony

 It is the difference between what we

expect to happen, and what actually
does happen.
 It is often used to add suspense and
interest.
 It is also used to keep the reader
thinking about the moral of the story.
3.6. Irony
 3.6. Irony – Four types of Irony

Irony

Verbal Situational Attitudinal Dramatic

Irony Irony Irony Irony
3.6. Irony – Four types of Irony –
Verbal Irony

 The simplest kind of irony.

 It occurs in a conversation where a person
aims to be understood as meaning something
different to what his or her words literally
mean.
 E.g. “Awesome! I can’t wait to read the seven
hundred page report.”
 3.6. Irony – Four types of Irony –
Verbal Irony in song lyrics

“You picked a fine

time to leave me
Lucille, with four
hungry children and
a crop in the field”

LUCILLE by Kenny
Rogers
3.6. Irony – Four types of Irony –
Verbal Irony – Two types

 There are two types of verbal irony

1. Overstatement – when a person

exaggerates the character of something.
2. Understatement – when a person
undermines the character of something.
3.6. Irony – Four types of Irony –
Situational Irony

 Occurs when the situation is

different from what most
people expect and
common sense indicates it is,
should be or will be.

 E.g. THE STORY OF AN HOUR

by Kate Chopin
3.6. Irony – Four types of Irony –
Attitudinal Irony

 Results from what one

person expects. An
individual thinks reality is
one way when, in fact, it is
very different.

 E.g. THE GIFT OF THE MAGI

by O. Henry
3.6. Irony – Four types of Irony –
Dramatic Irony

 Occurs when the audience knows something

that the characters do not know.
 This is used to engage the audience and
keep them actively involved in the storyline.
 E.g. In all of the Friday the 13th movies, we
know Jason is in the woods but the
characters do not. When they go out into the
woods, we are afraid for them because we
know that they are in danger.
 3.7. Symbolism

A
ABSTRACT A
CONCRETE
MEANINGS SYMBOL
OBJECT

 E.g. Destruction
+ Passion = Fire
Hell
 Symbolism vs. Metaphors

SYMBOLS METAPHORS

A concrete An abstract
object concept

Abstract Concrete
meanings objects
 Symbolism vs. Metaphors

Examples:

 fire  destruction  love  an ever-fixed

mark that looks on
 snake  evil
tempests and is never
 night  old age shaken
 raven  death  life  a roller coaster
 time  money
 Two kinds of Symbolism
 Public (conventional)  Private symbols
symbols
 are those that most
people would
recognize
 refer to something
definite
 E.g. the red cross, the
American Eagle,
flags of countries, the
skull and crossbones
 are unique to an
individual or to a single
work
 E.g. the valley of ashes
(an area between the
Long Island suburbs and
New York City)  moral
decay, urban blight, the
oppression of the poor by
the wealthy,
meaninglessness, hell,
and violent death
“A Farewell to Arms” by Ernest Hemingway

Frederic: “It’s raining hard.”

Catherine: “And you’ll always love me, won’t you?”
Frederic: “Yes.”
Catherine: “And the rain won’t make any difference?”
Frederic: “No.”
Catherine: “That’s good. Because I’m afraid of the rain.”
Frederic: “Why are you afraid of it? Tell me.”
Catherine: “All right. I’m afraid of the rain because sometimes
I see me dead in it.”
Frederic: “No.”
Catherine: “And sometimes I see you dead in it. It’s all nonsense.
It’s only nonsense. I’m not afraid of the rain. I’m not
afraid of the rain. Oh, oh, God, I wish I wasn’t.”
She was crying. I comforted her and she stopped crying. But outside it kept
on raining.
 Questions

 What does the rain in “A Farewell to Arms” by

Ernest Hemingway represent?
 Questions

 What does the rain in “A Farewell to Arms” by

Ernest Hemingway represent?

 The rain is a symbol of Catherine’s death, the

war, the cruelty of fate.
3.7. Symbolism

Not every work uses symbols, and

not every character, incident, or
object in a work has symbolic
values.
4. Other elements

Dialogue

Description
Poetic use of
language

Metaphor

Distinction
Thank you for your
attention!