Narrative Fiction: EOC Vocabulary

1. Narrative Fiction Writing that tells a story. Writing drawn from the author’s imagination (not real). Two types: Short Story and the Novel

2. Short Story A short work of Narrative Fiction.

3. The Novel A long work of Narrative Fiction. Novels are longer than Short Stories.

4. Prose The ordinary form of everyday writing. Essays, Short Stories, and Novels are Prose. Poetry, Drama, and Songs are not Prose.

5. Character Persons, animals, or things in a story. There are many different classifications of Characters and characterizations.

Main Character The important character in the story.

Secondary Character Characters other than the Main Character. (ALL other characters).

Indirect Characterization We learn about the character from what they do.

Direct Characterization The Author tells us what kind of person the character is.

Flat/Static Characters No Change (the character remains the same throughout the story)

Round/Dynamic Characters Changes (the character changes or develops as the story progresses)

6. Plot The sequence of events in a story. What happens in the story? A short 3-4 sentence summary that tells about the characters and the conflicts they are in. Plot: Exposition, Rising Action, Climax, Falling Action, Resolution

7. Setting The time and place of the action of the story. The year, time and place, season, weather, the daily life of the characters.

8. Conflict A struggle between two opposing forces or characters in the story. The fight or problem in the story. (often more than one)

Four types of Conflict Person v. Person Person v. Nature Person v. Society Person v. Themselves

9. Theme Central Idea or basic meaning of a literary work. An underlying idea that has a lot to do with the story. The point or moral of the story. What is this story saying about people, or life, or the world? (one sentence)

10. Climax The point of greatest interest or suspense in the story. The “turning point”: when the crisis is resolved or the decision is made. The major (most important) part of the story.

11. Point-of-View The Vantage Point from which a story is told. 1 st Person 2 nd Person 3 rd Person

1 st Person Point-of-View Story is told by a character. Uses “I”, “me”, and “we”.

2 nd Person Point-of-View Gives instruction Uses “you”

3 rd Person Point-of-View Story is told by a Narrator. Uses “he”, “she”, and “it”. 3 rd Person Limited – Narrator only knows some info, or what one person thinks. 3 rd Person Omniscient – Narrator knows everything that is happening.

12. Protagonist The Main Character in the story. Usually the Hero.

13. Antagonist The Person or Thing in conflict with the Protagonist. Usually the Villain.

14. Mood The feeling created in the reader by the story. The emotional response you feel from reading the story.

15. Tone The attitude the Author takes toward his subject. The words and details used in the story show the author’s tone. One word description: Humorous or Serious, Formal or Informal

16. Irony (Situational) A difference between what is expected and what really happens. A difference between what is said and what is really meant.

Dramatic Irony* When the reader knows something that the Character does not know.

17. Foreshadowing When things happen in the story that give hints or clues about what will happen later. When the Characters say things that let you know what might happen later.

18. Symbolism When an element of the story represents or stands for something else. A Rose=Love A Skull=Death Spring=Youth Winter=Old Age

19. Flashback When a scene in a story represents something that happened before.