Intrinsic element of prose

1. PLOT

2. CHARACTER
 Plot
 The “framework” or “skeleton” of the
story;
 A series of related events that are
linked together
 What Makes Up Plot?
1. Basic Situation
(Exposition)
- Tells the audience
who the characters
are and introduces
the conflict

- Example: “Every
Who
Down in Who-ville
Liked Christmas
a lot...”
 What Makes Up Plot?
2. Rising Action “But the Grinch,
- Complications Who lived just North
that arise when of Who-ville,
the characters
Did NOT!
take steps to
resolve their The Grinch hated
conflicts. Christmas! The
whole Christmas
season!
Now, please don't
ask why. No one
quite knows the
reason.
 What Makes Up Plot?
3. Climax: Most Example: “And the Grinch, with
exciting or his grinch-feet ice-cold in the snow,
suspenseful Stood puzzling and puzzling: "How
moment when could it be so?
It came without ribbons! It came
something happens
without tags!
to determine the "It came without packages, boxes
outcome of the or bags!"
conflict. And he puzzled three hours, `till his
puzzler was sore.
Then the Grinch thought of
something he hadn't before!
"Maybe Christmas," he thought,
"doesn't come from a store.
"Maybe
Christmas...perhaps...means a little
 What Makes Up Plot?
4. Falling
 Example:
Action: And what happened then...?
Well...in Who-ville they say
The conflictThat
is the Grinch's small heart
in the process
Grew three sizes that day!
of being
resolved or
“unraveled
 What Makes Up Plot?
 Resolution: (Denouement) or
“Untying the knot”
 When the story’s problem/conflict is
resolved and the story ends
 Endings may be happy or tragic

Example: “He whizzed with his load

through the bright morning light
And he brought back the toys! And the
food for the feast!

                                                              
 Freytag’s Pyramid
 Gustav Freytag was a Nineteenth Century German novelist who
saw common patterns in the plots of stories and novels and
developed a diagram to analyze them. He diagrammed a story's plot
using a pyramid like the one shown here:
Character
 What Characters Tell Us
What can we learn from fictional characters?
We can learn about
• encounters with discrimination

• conflicts between old and new

traditions
• struggles for independence and
acceptance
• triumphs, fears, and love
 What Characters Tell Us
Characters are the actors/actress in a story. When they
behave in convincing ways, they make us believe in them
and draw us into their fictional worlds.
By reading about their struggles, we often
learn something about ourselves.

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 Types of Characters…

 Major

 Minor
 Major Character

The major (main)

character in a story
is like the star of a
movie and is central
to the action that
takes place.
 Minor character…

A minor character is
one who takes part
in the action but is
not the focus of
attention.
 Types of Characters

The protagonist (or

main character) is
the central figure in
the work.
 The antagonist is
the character or
force pitted against
the protagonist.
 More types of characters…

 Dynamic character –
evolves as the story
progresses

 Static character –
stays the same
throughout the story
 Round Character

A round character is a
complex, fully
developed character.
 Flat Character

A flat character is a
one-dimensional
character, typically
not central to the
story
 The protagonist is usually…
 The central character
 Has a rounded personality (we hear what they
say, what others say about them, we know what
they think and how they feel)
 A character with a dynamic personality
 Characterization

Characterization is The
methods used by the
author to create or
reveal the characters
in a story.
(can be direct or
indirect)
 Methods of Characterization
creating believable characters…

INDIRECT DIRECT
-physical appearance -the narrator’s direct
comments about a character

-speech, thoughts, feelings,

or actions of the character

-speech, thought, feelings,

actions of other characters
 Creating Characters
Creating characters—telling what human beings are like—
is the whole point of writing stories.

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 Character Development
Writers build characters by revealing

speech appearance private thoughts

others’ reactions actions

 Speech
Dialogue can reveal a lot about characters and their
relationships with each other. Pay attention to

• what characters say and don’t say

• how characters respond to each

other

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 Appearance
Pay attention to language the writer uses to describe
the characters’ looks, clothes, and demeanor.

• Does the description give you a positive or negative

impression of the character?

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 Private Thoughts
Writers can take us into the characters’ minds to reveal
their thoughts and feelings.
As you read, note whether the characters’ thoughts and
feelings match their speech and actions.

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 How Other Characters Feel
Watch how other characters in the story react to the
character. Note
• how the others feel about the character
• what the others say about the character

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 Actions
What characters do and how they treat each other often
reveal the most about them.
Observe characters’ actions to determine
• what their personality is like

• what motivates them

• how they deal with conflict

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