The Elements of Fiction

1. The Elements of Fiction New American Lecture

2. What Is Plot? Plot is “what happens” in a story—the sequence of related events that makes a story hang together.

3. Exposition The first part of a story is the exposition. The writer introduces • a character who wants something very much • the setting

4. Conflict The main conflict in a story may be internal or external. • External conflict: a struggle between a character and an outside force External: climbing wall • Internal conflict: a struggle within the character’s own heart or mind Internal: fear

5. Internal conflict man vs. himself External conflict man vs. society man vs. man man vs. nature man vs. supernatural Types of Conflict

6. Exposition and Conflict Quick Check What is the exposition? In a forest of mixed growth somewhere on the eastern spurs of the Carpathians, a man stood one winter night watching and listening, as though he waited for some beast of the woods to come within the range of his vision and, later, of his rifle. But the game for whose presence he kept so keen an outlook was none that figured in the sportsman’s calendar as lawful and proper for the chase; Ulrich von Gradwitz patrolled the dark forest in quest of a human enemy. from “The Interlopers” by Saki What conflict does Ulrich face?

7. Rising Action Next, a series of complications arises—events that make the character’s situation more difficult and heighten the suspense. Complication: “If only on this wild night, in this dark, lone spot, he might come across Georg Znaeym, man to man, with none to witness-that was the wish that was uppermost in his thoughts. And as he stepped round the trunk of a huge beech he came face to face with the man he sought.” from “The Interlopers” by Saki

8. Climax The plot reaches a climax. The climax • is the most exciting or suspenseful moment • decides the outcome of the conflict “Ulrich von Gradwitz found himself stretched on the ground, one arm numb beneath him and the other held almost as helplessly in a tight tangle of forked branches, while both legs were pinned beneath the fallen mass.” . . . . “At his side, so near that under ordinary circumstances he could almost have touched him, lay Georg Znaeym, alive and struggling, but obviously as helplessly pinioned down as himself. from “The Interlopers” by Saki

9. Resolution The last part of the plot is the resolution, or denouement. • The problems are resolved in some way. • The story ends—sometimes happily, sometimes not. “Who are they?” asked Georg quickly, straining his eyes to see what the other would gladly not have seen. “Wolves.” from “The Interlopers” by Saki

10. Questions Around the Wheel

11. Mapping a Short Story You will chart the plot of the story we will read by using a diagram like the one below. Copy this example so that you may successfully complete the mapping assignment. Climax Complications Event Event Event Resolution Basic Situation

12. Setting

13. Setting Setting draws us into the world of a story. Details of setting tell us • where and when events are happening • how the situation feels • who the characters are • what challenges the characters face

14. Character

15. The Protagonist The protagonist is the main character and the focus of readers’ attention. A good protagonist • is complicated and contradictory, like a real person • has both strengths and weaknesses

16. The Antagonist The antagonist is the force that blocks the protagonist from getting what he or she wants. The antagonist may be • another character • a nonhuman force

17. Direct Characterization Direct Characterization—The writer tells readers directly what a character is like. Oh, but he was a tightfisted hand at the grindstone, Scrooge! A squeezing, wrenching, grasping, scraping, clutching, covetous old sinner! from “A Christmas Story” by Charles Dickens

18. Indirect Characterization Indirect Characterization—The writer reveals characters’ traits through • appearance • dialogue • private thoughts • actions • effects on others

19. Dynamic Characters Dynamic characters change or grow as a result of the story’s action. They • are main characters • gain a new understanding, make an important decision, or take a crucial action • help reveal the meaning of the story Believable changes

20. Static Characters Static characters are usually exactly the same as the story ends as they were when it began. They • are almost always subordinate characters • support the plot without distracting readers from the main action—the protagonist’s conflict and growth

21. Flat and Round Characters Flat characters • have only one or two character traits • can be described in a few words • are usually minor characters

22. Flat and Round Characters Round characters • have many character traits • are complex, like real people • are often major characters

23. Questions Around the Wheel - Character

24. Point of View

25. What Is Point of View? Point of view is the vantage point from which a writer narrates or tells a story.

26. Omniscient Point of View In the omniscient point of view, the all-knowing narrator • plays no part in the story • knows and can tell what any character is thinking and feeling • knows what is happening in all of the story’s settings

27. Omniscient Point of View Quick Check How can you tell that this excerpt is written from the omniscient point of view? The feud might, perhaps, have died down or been compromised if the personal ill will of the two men had not stood in the way; as boys they had thirsted for one another’s blood, as men each prayed that misfortune might fall on the other, and this wind-scourged winter night. . . . from “The Interlopers” by Saki

28. Third-Person-Limited Point of View In third-person-limited point of view, the narrator • plays no part in the story • knows and can tell what a single character is thinking and feeling

29. Third-Person-Limited Point of View Quick Check How can you tell that this excerpt is written from the third-person-limited point of view? She grieved over the shabbiness of her apartment, the dinginess of the walls, the worn-out appearance of the chairs, the ugliness of the draperies. All these things, which another woman of her class would not even have noticed, gnawed at her and made her furious. from “The Necklace” by Guy De Maupassant

30. First-Person Point of View In first-person point of view, the narrator • is a character in the story • knows and can tell only what he or she thinks and feels • may be reliable and trustworthy or an unreliable narrator

31. First-Person Point of View Quick Check How can you tell that this excerpt is written from the first-person point of view? The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge. You, who so well know the nature of my soul, will not suppose, however, that I gave utterance to a threat. At length I would be avenged; this was a point definitively settled—but the very definitiveness with which it was resolved precluded the ideas of risk. from “The Cask of Amontillado” by EA Poe

32. Questions Around the Wheel

33. Irony

34. What Is Irony? Irony is the contrast between expectation and reality. Three kinds of irony are • verbal irony • situational irony • dramatic irony

35. Verbal Irony In verbal irony, a speaker says one thing but means the opposite. Verbal irony • is the simplest kind of irony • can become sarcasm if taken to a harsh extreme

36. Situational Irony In situational irony, what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected or appropriate. Situational irony • is often humorous • may mock human plans and intentions

37. Situational Irony Read this sentence from Hanson W. Baldwin’s R.M.S. Titanic. . . . she was fresh from Harland and Wolff’s Belfast yards, strong in the strength of her forty-six thousand tons of steel, bent, hammered, shaped, and riveted through the three years of her slow birth. Explain the situational irony in this ship sinking on its first voyage.

38. Dramatic Irony Dramatic irony occurs when the reader or the audience knows something important that the character does not know. Dramatic irony • adds greatly to the tension in stories, plays, and movies • heightens the sense of humor in comedies and deepens the sense of dread in tragedies

39. Review Quick Check • Identify each item as one of the following: • verbal irony • situational irony • dramatic irony After tripping over his own feet, the teen exclaims, “That was graceful!” The movie audience knows that a hostile alien is just past the door. “Don’t go in there!” one viewer yells at the screen. The guest opens his mouthto compliment the chef, but before he can speak, he burps long and loudly.

40. Questions Around the Wheel

41. Theme

42. characters plot conflict setting What Is Theme? A work’s theme is the central idea or insight about human life that it reveals. Many elements contribute to a work’s theme. Theme

43. What Is Theme? The theme of a work of literature is its root. It • gives meaning to the work’s characters and events • reveals the writer’s personal attitude toward the world and the people in it • may give readers insight into life and human nature or help them realize the importance of what they already know

44. What Is Theme? A work’s theme is sometimes confused with its • subject—what the story is about • plot—the events of the story • moral—the rule of conduct that the story teaches These parts of a story are important, but they are not its theme.

45. What Is Theme? Quick Check • Identify each item as one of the following: • subject • plot • moral • theme Listen to your elders. Three siblings go swimming in a creek even though their grandfather warns them not to. One sibling is almost swept away by the current. The story of a dangerous swim Young people’s overconfidence can put them in danger; young people often learn a lesson the hard way.

46. Discovering a Theme Identifying a work’s theme is not easy but can help the reader understand the work more fully. • The theme is rarely stated outright and must be inferred. • A long and complex work may present more than one theme, or insight into human life.

47. Discovering a Theme Here are some guidelines for discovering theme. • Think about the title. • Consider how the protagonist changes. • Pay attention to story’s conflict and how it is resolved. • Consider the work as a whole.

48. Discovering a Theme Think about the title. Readers may find clues to the theme in the first words they read, the work’s title. “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant” How might these three things—a fish, a river, and a girl—affect the main character’s life?

49. Discovering a Theme Consider how the protagonist changes. Often what the main character learns about life is the truth the writer wants to reveal to the reader. At the beginning . . . There was a summer in my life when the only creature that seemed lovelier to me than a largemouth bass was Sheila Mant. I was fourteen.

50. Discovering a Theme Consider how the protagonist changes. Often what the main character learns about life is the truth the writer wants to reveal to the reader. At the end . . . Poor Sheila! Before the month was over, the spell she cast over me was gone, but the memory of that lost bass haunted me all summer and haunts me still. . . . I never made the same mistake again.