Character & Plot 7.6 B Analyze the development of the plot through the internal and external responses of the characters, including their motivations and conflicts.

Character A character: A person, animal or other creature in a fictional text Protagonist – the main character working for a solution to the main conflict of the story – experiences a change because of events in the plot Antagonist – any character(s) working against the protagonist

Characterization Author provides us characteristics through: What he or she says and thinks What other characters say or think about that character How he or she interacts with the other characters in the story

Conflict Occurs when one character’s motivations cause a problem that needs to be resolved. How the character meets these challenges/conflicts and tries to solve them makes the events of the plot External (outside the character) Character vs. character Character vs. society Character vs. nature Internal (inside the character) Character vs. self

Plot The sequence of events, or what happens in a literary work. Very closely tied to the characters How a character behaves often drives the plot Their actions cause reactions of other characters ALWAYS question motivation in looking at characters and plot!!! Motivation is the REASON characters act as they do Example: a character might be motivated by wanting to be helpful, by greed , by pity for another character Mattie was motivated by pity to take Nell in (Which altered the plot) Katniss was motivated by love of her sister to volunteer as tribute (which was the inciting conflict of the storyline)

Plot Exposition – the beginning of the story, when time and place of the story is established and characters are introduced. Conflict – a problem that a character must resolve by the end of the story Rising Action – the bulk of the story, when the character works to resolve the conflict Climax – the turning point of the story Falling Action – the events leading to the resolution of the conflict Resolution/Denouement – the ending of the story, when the conflict is resolved

The turning point, when we learn the outcome coming ahead Plot The turning point, when we learn the outcome coming ahead

Practice Rachel was the star of the track team. She had set the school record in the 400-meter hurdle. A month before an important track meet against a rival school, Rachel twisted her ankle while jumping over a hurdle. She would have to walk with crutches so that her ankle would heal. Rachel returned to the track a month later. Which sentence in the story states the conflict?