Introduction to the Elements of Fiction

CHARACTERS The actors in a story’s plot People, animals, robots, or whatever the writer chooses May be more than one main character, particularly in a book. Protagonist – main character(s) Antagonist – person(s) or force(s) in conflict with the main character Little Red Riding Hood – Who is the protagonist? Who is the antagonist?

TYPES OF CHARACTERS Static Characters are characters that do not change throughout the story. They have the same personality and feelings from beginning to end. Dynamic Characters are characters who change and develop throughout the story. An example of this would be a coming of age story where the main characters matures from a child to more adult personality.

SETTING Time and place in which a story happens Physical surroundings Ideas Customs, Values, and Beliefs that are associated with the broad setting Little Red Riding Hood – What is the setting of this fairy tale? Think about the setting broadly, then identify more specific locations.

PLOT Sequence of events in a story – action that moves the story along  Exposition – introduces the story’s characters, setting, and conflict Rising action – develops the conflict with complications and suspense Climax – the emotional high point of the story Falling action – shows what happens to the characters after the climax Resolution – shows how the conflict is resolved or how the problem is solved Little Red Riding Hood – What is the sequence of events in Little Red Riding Hood’s story?

CONFLICT The element of the story which shows the concerns of the central characters. Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces External conflict: struggle between a character and an outside force (another character, society, nature, or fate) Internal conflict: struggle within a character against opposing feelings or indecision 3 Main Types of Conflict: Man vs Man, Man vs Nature, and Man vs Self Little Red Riding Hood - What conflict does Little Red Riding Hood face?

POINT OF VIEW Who is telling the story? Narrator’s standpoint or perspective First-person point of view: narrator is a character in the story, uses I, me, we, us Third-person point of view: narrator describes the story from outside Objective – like a camera is recording the action Omniscient – narrator knows thoughts and feelings of every character Limited – narrator knows thoughts and feelings of only one character Little Red Riding Hood – What is the P.O.V.?

THEME Central message of the story Universal – applies to everyone, everywhere, at every time Sometimes the theme is stated directly Sometimes the theme is implied (not “right there”, more of an “on your own”) Little Red Riding Hood – What is the theme?