Elements of a Novel

1. Elements of a Novel

2. Characters • Protagonist • Antagonist • Dynamic • Static • Round • Flat

3. Characterization – how readers learn about characters Direct • what the author tells us about the character’s personality Indirect • what the character … • does • says • thinks • what the other characters say about him or her

4. CharacterizationShow and Tell Indirect  Show Peter was bored with the TV show, but the remote control was across the room, so he just watched it anyway. Jan would be in soon, and she could fetch the remote control for him then. Direct  Tell Peter was very lazy, and would never do more than was absolutely necessary.

5. PlotThe sequence of events

6. Plot Climax: the turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action Rising Action: the series of conflicts and crisis in the story that lead to the climax Exposition: the start of the story, the situation before the action starts Resolution: the conclusion, the tying together of all of the threads

7. Setting time and place Functions of setting: • background for action • establishing the mood or atmosphere • developing the main character • setting as antagonist • emphasizing the theme

8. Irony Isn’t it ironic?

9. ToneAuthor’s attitude toward the subjectMood feeling or atmosphereAuthor’s Purpose the author’s reason for writing

10. Conflict Internal • Human v. self External • Human v. human • Human v. society • Human v. nature • Human v. fate • Human v. technology • Human v. supernatural

11. Conflict

12. Point of view • 1st Person • The narrator is a character in the story. • 3rd Objective • The narrator is outside of the story looking in. • But he/she can only report what they see and hear for themselves. • 3rd Limited • The narrator is outside of the story looking in. • He/she can report • what they see and here for themselves • And the thoughts and actions of one character • 3rd Omniscient • The narrator is outside of the story looking in. • He/she can report • what they see and hear for themselves • And the thoughts and actions of all of the characters

13. Point of view • 1st Person • My sister and I went to the store! • 3rd Objective • She and her sister went to the store; the cashier was helpful. • 3rd Limited • She and her sister went to the store and she thought the cashier was friendly. • 3rd Omniscient • She and her sister went to the store; they both thought the cashier was friendly. The stock boy was working in the back while they shopped.

14. Theme • a statement about life that the author is communicating through the selection. It is the message that unifies the work. Main idea of the work. • Stated obvious or clear themes. Sometimes the author tells us the lesson character learned in life. • Implied  Reader must use clues in the story to find the theme • UniversalThemes that are common to most human situations

15. Symbolism

16. Author’s PurposeFlashbackForeshadowing • His or her reason for writing – to entertain, to inform, to persuade, etc. • An scene from the past interjected into the current plotline • A hint of things to come

17. Imagery • Words that help the reader experience the work by letting them sense it. Taste Touch  Hear  Smell Sight • (Can be metaphors, similes, puns, etc.) This is BORING without IMAGERY  Grandmother Workman reached over and grabbed her grandson's arm. He was nervous because the staircase was so steep, but she leaned against him and they began to climb. So let’s add Imagery

18. Grandmother Workman lurched over and grabbed the pale skin of Randal's thin forearm with her leathery hand. The folds and creases beneath her skin coiled themselves out like electrical wiring, like the bloated, roughly-textured relief map of the world that his mother just posted above his bedside table. Randal looked ahead toward the winding spiral staircase, fidgeted with a small hole in his baseball jersey, and bit his lip. His mouth filled with the sweet, coppery taste of blood as she leaned in closely toward him, breathing her hot breath on the damp hair at the base of his neck. She smelled of wet cigarettes and bacon. As they slowly climbed the long, steep staircase, the only sound was his grandmothers' labored breathing and the mournful creak of the wooden stairs.