Elements of the Short Story or Novel

Character• The character can be revealed

through the character's actions, speech, and appearance. It can also be revealed by the comments of other characters and of the author.

Types of characters that appear in many stories:

• The protagonist: the central character (person, animal, or personified object) in the plot's conflict.

The antagonist is the force in conflict with the protagonist. It may be society, nature, fate, as well as another person. It can also be the protagonist's own self, if he or she has an internal conflict.

Characters may also be classified as :

Major: most important character around whom the action revolves (protagonist or antagonist).

Secondary: helps in the development of the major character(s).

Minor: least important characters

Plot Plot: the sequence of events which

involve the characters in conflict.

a) preliminary action b) complicating incidentc) rising action d) climax e) falling action e) outcome

Most plots have certain common elements:

A story commonly begins with preliminary action, an

explanation of the situation and the condition of the characters. It also includes when and where the story takes place.

A plot usually continues with a complicating incident, the first incident which creates a conflict.

Story continues with . . .

• Rising action: after the complicating incident, tension is built through a series of events leading to the climax, often creating suspense.

• The climax is the end of suspense; usually it is the most exciting or important moment in the story.

• The falling action (after the climax), it gives explanation and usually ends with problems from rising action being solved.

OutcomeThe ending of the story may be either opened or closed.In a closed ending, the most usual one in children's books, readers feel that they know what will happen. The reader feels a sense of completion.

In an open ending, readers must draw their own conclusions;

they do not know how the story will

end.

Conflict

-Conflict is the struggle between the protagonist and an opposing force.

-Several types of conflict may be present in any one story.

There are several types of conflict:

Character vs character: the protagonist against someone

else. •Character vs society: when the protagonist is in conflict with the values of his or her society.

•Character vs nature: takes place when the protagonist is threatened by an element of nature.

•Character vs self : occurs when the protagonist struggles within himself or herself. The protagonist is pulled by two courses of action or by differing emotions.

ThemeThe theme is the underlying message or idea of the story.

It can be the author’s message about important issues, a universal truth, a significant statement the story is making about society, human nature or the human condition.

Themes must be clearly stated; one word is usually not enough. To say that a book's theme is "friendship" is not clear. It may mean, "Friends are a person's most valuable possession." It may also mean, "Friends can never be trusted if their own interests are opposed to yours."

Point of View• The point of view is the position from

which the story is told.•1st person point of view: The narrator is the « I » of the story.

•3rd person point of view: The narrator is not part of the story but is an individual who knows everything that happens.

Literary Genre•Fiction: stories that are made up without actual realism to them. Ex. science-fiction, romance, western,fantasy, crime, mystery.

•Non-fiction: real life storiesEx. essay, biography, autobiography

Literary Devices- Other elements which may be found in plots

include:

• Foreshadowing: the dropping of hints or clues about what will happen later in the story.

• Flashback: occurs when the author interrupts the flow of the action and narrates an event that took place before the current time of the story.

• Irony is the use of words in a way that’s different from their ordinary meaning. It can also be written sarcastically.

•Examples: People who complain most loudly are the ones who do the least to help.

•The fire station caught fire!

Figures of speech

•Personification is used when applying human qualities to inanimate objects, animals, or natural phenomena. Ex: The rock refused to move. The moon’s light shakes across the lake.

•A hyperbole is an exaggeration or an overstatement of facts. Ex: I have a ton of homework! I told you a million times to stop talking.

•A metaphor is a comparison of two unlikely things without using the words like or as. Ex: He is a pig when he eats. A green plant is a machine that runs on solar energy.

•A simile is the comparison of two unlikely things using the words like or as. Ex: His eyes are as shiny as the moon-lit sky. She stook at the alter shaking like a trout.