1. Literary Elements

2. Bellringer (11/28/11) Welcome back!
Have your library book on your desk.

3. Character
character – person, animal, or other creature in a story.

4. Character protagonist – the main character or hero of a story.
antagonist – the person standing in the way of the protagonist or villain

5. Character
anti-hero – a protagonist that does not have the moral values or personality traits of a typical hero.

6. Character
characterization – the process writers use to describe characters

7. Characterization
round (dynamic) characters – interesting, complex, fully developed, growing
flat (static) characters – simple, undeveloped or stereotypical

8. Flat vs. Round Characters
List character traits for a heroic warrior.
List character traits for an evil ogre.

9. Round Character

10. Characterization
Direct characterization – when an author tells you directly about the character’s personality
The patient boy and the quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their mother.

11. Characterization
Indirect characterization – when an author reveals a character’s personality through his or her actions or dialogue
can use Speech, Thoughts, Effects on others, Actions, and Looks (STEAL)
“That Ed Johnson,” said Anderson, watching the old mechanic scratch his head in confusion as the sales rep explained Dralco’s newest engine performance diagnostic computer. “He hasn’t got a clue about modern electronics. Give him a good set of tools and a stack of yellowing manuals with a carburetor needing repair, and he’d be happy as a hungry frog in a fly-field.”

12. Characterization
Use the STEAL method to identify indirect characteristics of the people in the photographs

13. Assignment
Read “Thank You, Ma’am” by Langston Hughes and think about how the author uses indirect characterization to describe Roger and Ms. Jones.
Draw a STEAL chart and identify indirect characteristics from the story that describe Roger.

14. Characterization Assignment
1. Choose two stock characters from the list below and list their common traits in two columns.
shushing old librarian
bully jock
bookish nerd
ditzy prom queen
wicked witch
lying politician
the “bad boy” celebrity
the angelic child
2. Now draw an arrow from one column to the other, swapping the traits to make the characters rounded.
3. Complete a STEAL chart for one of the characters.
4. Write a short scene where the two characters meet for lunch. Use indirect characterization to help the reader learn who the characters are. *YOU MAY NOT USE DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION TO TELL ABOUT YOUR CHARACTERS.
5. Trade papers. Draw a STEAL chart and identify the indirect characterization for one of your classmate’s main characters.

15. What this tells us about the character
Character #1’s Name
Indirect Characterization
Example from the story
What this tells us about the character
Speech
Thought
Effect on others
Action
Look

16. plot – the sequence of events in a story (what happens)
Chronological order
Flashback
In addition, you can note that some stories follow a circular or episodic plot, and hypertextual stories can be different every time they’re read, as the reader chooses the direction that the story takes. If a story that students are working on does not fit into the triangle structure, think about why the author would choose a different story structure and how the structure has changed.
In the middle of things

17. Plot exposition – background information at the beginning of a story
character
setting – the time and place of a story

18. Plot
rising action – introduces and increases the major conflict in the story
conflict – the problem the main character faces
internal – within the character
external – forces outside the character

19. Plot climax – turning point of a story
will the character turn back or continue on?

20. Plot
falling action – events or action that occurs after the climax

21. Plot
resolution – the point at which the conflict is resolved

23. Other Plot Elements
suspense – uncertainty that makes the reader want to know more
foreshadowing – clues left by the author about what will happen later
dramatic irony – when the reader knows something important that the character doesn’t
theme – the message/lesson of a story or poem.

24. Literary Elements Quiz
theme
foreshadowing
flashback
conflict
internal
external
rising action
suspense
Resolution
Character
Protagonist
Antagonist
characterization
direct
indirect
plot
dramatic irony
climax
exposition
setting
falling action
point of view

25. Point of View
point of view – the perspective of who is telling the story
first person
uses pronouns like I
narrator is a character in the story
more personal (feels like we are there)
second person
uses pronouns like you
the reader is the main character
more informal or persuasive
third person
uses pronouns he, she, and it
narrator is outside of the story
more objective (factual), formal

26. Point of View 3 types of third person omniscient limited Objective
“all-knowing”, God-like
tells what several characters think
limited
thoughts of only one character
Objective
Like a video camera
only tells the actions or words—what can be seen or heard—of the characters
narrator does not know their thoughts