Elements of Fiction

Fiction
• Literature with imaginary people, events, or places.
It can be inspired by fact and can include some real
events or people, but also includes at least one made-
up element.
• Types of Fiction – classified according to length
1. Novels – long works of fiction (main plot with
conflict, plus sub-plots with conflicts)
2. Short stories – brief, focus is upon one single conflict.
3. Novellas – shorter than novels but longer than short
stories.
Example: Narnia stories (Prince Caspian)
Elements of Fiction
Plot
Theme

Setting Characterization

Point of View
 Plot
• What happens in the story.
 Elements of the Plot
• Exposition
• Background information a reader must
understand in order to know what is going on
in the story
• Introduces the characters, problem, and
setting
• Found in the beginning of the story
• Rising Action
• Events that occur when the main character
tackles the problem (complications); level of
excitement and suspense builds
• Climax
• The main character comes face to
face with the problem; most exciting
part of the story
• Falling Action
• Things begin to get back to normal;
life goes on (even if the problem isn't
solved)
• Resolution
• Loose ends are tied off; allows reader
to clearly understand what happened
 Setting-Part of the Exposition

• When the story takes place

• Where the story took place
• Context or historical background in which
the story is set provides us with
additional plot information.
• Examples: geographic location, time
period, specific location (building, room,
street, etc.), socio-economic
characteristics of a location, etc.
 Setting
can help in the portrayal of characters.

“I write this sitting in the kitchen sink. That is, my feet are in it;
the rest of me is on the draining-board."
I capture the Castle by Dodie Smith

“Sir Walter Scott the Younger of Buccleugh was in church

marrying his aunt the day the English killed his granny."

Dorothy Dunnett
Disorderly Knights
 Setting
in some works of fiction action is so closely related to
setting that the plot is directed by it.
"Francis St. Croix spotted it first, a black dot floating in an ocean of
water and ice. When he and Ernie rowed alongside for a look, they
couldn't believe their eyes. There was a baby inside a makeshift cradle
on an ice pan, bobbing like an ice cube on the sea. How had a baby
come to be in the North Atlantic?"
Latitudes of Melt
Joan Clark

It was a bright cold day in April, and the clocks were striking thirteen.”

George Orwell, 1984;

 Setting
can establish the atmosphere of a work.

It Was a Dark and Stormy Night…

Snoopy

"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."

A Tale of Two Cities
 The Theme
of a piece of fiction is its central idea.
It usually contains some insight into the human condition.
The Literary Element of Theme
•a general statement of the central, underlying, and
controlling idea or insight of a work of literature.
• the idea the writer wishes to convey about the subject—the
writer’s view of the world or a revelation about human
nature.
can be expressed in a single sentence.
Theme is NOT-
• expressed in a single word
• the purpose of a work
• the moral
• the conflict
 The Literary Element of Theme
Identifying the Theme in Five Steps
To identify the theme, be sure that you’ve first identified
the story’s plot, the way the story uses characterization,
and the primary conflict in the story.

1. Summarize the plot by writing a one-sentence description for the

exposition, the conflict, the rising action, the climax, the falling
action, and the resolution.

2. Identify the subject of the work.

3. Identify the insight or truth that was learned about the subject.
• How did the protagonist change?
• What lesson did the protagonist learn from the resolution of the conflict?
 The Literary Element of Theme
4. State how the plot presents the primary insight or truth
about the subject.

5. Write one or more generalized, declarative sentences

that state what was learned and how it was learned.

Theme Litmus Test

• Is the theme supported by evidence from the work
itself?
• Are all the author’s choices of plot, character,
conflict, and tone controlled by this theme?
 Symbolism
A symbol represents an idea, quality, or
concept larger than itself.
A journey can
Water may represent
symbolize life.
a new beginning.

Black can represent

evil or death. A lion could be
a symbol of
courage.
 Other Fiction Elements
•Allusion: a reference to a person, place or literary,
historical, artistic, mythological source or event.
“It was in St. Louis, Missouri, where they have
that giant McDonald’s thing towering over the
city…”(Bean Trees 15)
•Atmosphere: the prevailing emotional and mental
climate of a piece of fiction.
•Dialogue: the reproduction of a conversation between
two of the characters.
 Other Elements Continued
•Foreshadowing: early clues about what will happen later in
a piece of fiction.
•Irony: a difference between what is expected and reality.
•Three types dramatic (the audience knows something
the character does not know, verbal (similar to sarcasm),
and situational (not what you would expect)
•Style: a writer’s individual and distinct way of writing. The
total of the qualities that distinguish one author’s writing
from another’s.
 Other Elements Continued

• Structure: the way time moves through a novel.

• Chronological: starts at the beginning and moves through
time.
• Flashback: starts in the present and then goes back to the
past.
• Circular or Anticipatory: starts in the present, flashes
back to the past, and returns to the present at the
conclusion.
• Panel: same story told from different viewpoints.
 Fiction
Cinderella:
 Characters: Cinderella, stepmother, stepsisters, fairy
godmother, etc…
 Setting: timeless fairytale land of castles and princesses
 Plot: young girl living in a wicked step-family is
magically transformed and dances with prince, loses her
glass slipper, and then reclaims it (lives happily ever after)
 Narrator/Point of View : (3rd person - s/he, narrator
outside of story)
 Symbolism: Glass slipper is a symbol of freedom and a
second chance. The wicked stepmother and stepsisters are
symbols of society and the cruelness in the world.
 Theme: kindness and goodness triumph over meanness
and evil
 Characters
• Protagonist
The main
character in a
literary work.

• Antagonist
The character
who opposes the
protagonist.
 Dynamic Characterization
A character who undergoes some
type of change in a story because
of something that happened to
him/her. Protagonists are almost
always dynamic.

Example: Stitch,
from Lilo and
Stitch
 Static Characterization
A character who does not
change or develop beyond the
way in which she or he is first
presented.

Example: Atticus
Finch from To
Kill a Mockingbird.
 Flat Characters
• A character who has
one or two sides,
representing one or two
traits—often a
stereotype.
• Flat characters help
move
the plot along more
quickly because the
audience
immediately
understands
what the character is
about.
 Round Characters
• A character who is
complex and has many
sides or traits with
unpredictable behavior
and a fully developed
personality.

• Round characters are

convincing, true to life
and have many traits.
 Definitions
Characterization is the process by which the
author reveals the personality of the
characters.

There are two types of characterization:

direct and indirect.
 Direct Characterization
Direct characterization is when the author
TELLS the audience what the personality of
the character is.

Example: “The patient boy and quiet girl were

both at the game.”

The author is telling us that the boy is patient

and the girl is kind.
 Indirect Characterization
Indirect characterization is when the author
SHOWS things that reveal the personality
of the character.

There are FIVE different methods of

indirect characterization: speech, thoughts,
effect on other characters, actions, and
looks. (STEAL)
 Indirect Characterization
Speech- What does the character say? How
does the character speak?

Example: “Hey, we can have lots of fun at

camp this summer! I love being outside!”

This shows us the character is upbeat and

happy.
 Indirect Characterization
Thoughts- What is revealed through the
character’s thoughts and feelings?

Example: I wish it would stop raining. I am

tired of sitting inside!

This shows us the character is not happy

about the situation.
 Indirect Characterization
Effect on Others- What is revealed through the
character’s effect on other people? How do other
characters feel or behave in reaction to the
character?

Example: The boy glared at his sister as she ate his

dessert.

This shows us that the character is upset about his

sister’s behavior and inability to think of others.
 Indirect Characterization
Actions- What does the character do? How
does the character behave?

Example: The girl rode the lawn mower

through the house and into the garage.

This shows us the girl is not concerned with

rules or safety.
 Indirect Characterization
Looks- What does the character look like?
How does the character dress?

Example: The little girl left the game with

slumped shoulders and a frown on her face.

This shows us the little girl is not enjoying

herself and is upset.
 The Difference
Remember, the difference between direct
characterization and indirect
characterization is TELLING v.
SHOWING!

Indirect characterizations are like clues

about the characters. There is no mystery
with direct characterization because the
author gives us the information we need to
know!
Foreshadowing vs. Flashback
 Definitions
• Foreshadowing: when an author
mentions or hints at something that
will happen later in the story
 Hint
• Now try breaking the word
FLASHBACK apart.
• FLASH: a quick glimpse.
• BACK: a look back in the story at
something that previously happened.
 An Example…
• And now you will see portions from
the well known children’s story Little
Red Riding Hood.
 Little Red Riding Hood
• Once upon a time, there
was a little girl who lived
with her mother. Her
mother asked her to take
her old and lonely
grandmother some food
one day. "Don't stop along
the way. Go straight to
your Grandma's house and
back. Don't talk to any
strangers and watch out
for the wolf in the woods!
Now get along!"

Foreshadowing
 Foreshadowing
• The first set of underlined words is
an example of foreshadowing. Little
Red Riding Hood’s mother is warning
her about the wolf in the woods,
which hints at what may happen next.
 Little Red Riding Hood
• While she was walking
through the woods, a wolf
was walking past her. "I
bet I could convince her to
take the long way. Then I
could get to her
grandmother's house first
and trick her into thinking
that I was her grandma.
That way I could have her
and her grandma for a
large feast,” he thought.
 Little Red Riding Hood
• The wolf went up to Little
Red Riding Hood and told
her that he knew a
shortcut. Little Red Riding
Hood thought back to
what her mother told her.
“Don’t talk to any
strangers and watch out
for the wolf in the woods!”
But it was too late, she
had already listened to the
wolf’s directions.

Flashback
 Flashback
• The second set of underlined words is
an example of flashback. Little Red
Riding Hood is thinking back to
something that happened earlier in
the story.
 Little Red Riding Hood
• Most know how the
rest of the story
ends. Little Red
Riding Hood and
her grandma are
saved from the
wolf. Hopefully
you can understand
foreshadowing and
flashback now.
 Point of View
• First Person Point of View
• The narrator tells the story and is a
character in the story. (Pronouns: I, me, us,
we, our, etc.)
• Third Person Omniscient
• The narrator is not a character in the story
but can tell you the thoughts and actions of
all characters at all times. (Pronouns: he,
she, him, her, they, them, etc.)
• Third Person Limited:
• The narrator is not a character in the story
but can tell you the thoughts and actions of a
few key characters at all times. (Pronouns:
he, she, him, her, they, them, etc.)
 Conflict
• The problems encountered by
the characters in the story.
• Two types
• Internal
• External
 Internal Conflict
• Character Vs.
Self
• The protagonist
in the story
experiences
conflict with
her or his
conscience.
 External Conflict
• Main character fights against
something or struggles to
overcome something outside of
himself.
• Character versus Nature
• Character versus Character
• Character versus Society
• Character versus Technology
• Character versus the Supernatural
• Character versus Fate
 Character vs. Nature
• The
protagonist in
the story
experiences
conflict with
the elements
of nature.
 Character Vs. Character
• The protagonist
in the story
experiences
conflict with
others,
especially the
antagonist.
Character vs. Society
• The protagonist in the
story experiences conflict
with society as a whole.
Character Vs. Technology

• The
protagonist
in the story
experiences
conflict with
technology.
Character Vs.
Supernatural
• The
protagonist in
the story
experiences
conflict with
unnatural
elements.
 Character Vs. Fate
• When the
protagonist tries to
break free of a
predetermined path
chosen before him
prior to his
knowledge. It can
also be referred to
as an issue between
destiny and
freewill.