Plot, Characters, Setting, Theme, and Point of View Ms. Adame 8 th Grade Language Arts ELEMENTS OF FICTION

All fictional stories have Plot Point of View Setting Characters Theme Mood/Tone Parts of a Fictional Story

1.plot: series of actions and events of a story. 2.conflict: a struggle between two opposing forces. Conflict causes the action. Plot Vocabulary

3.exposition: introduction to the story; it gives background information that is necessary to understand the story. It consists of- characters: who or what the story is about setting: time and place of the story basic problem: the main problem of the story (the main character wants something, but someone or something gets in the way.)

4.rising action: sequence of events leading up to the climax. Suspense begins to build/things get interesting. 5.climax: the turning point; the most interesting part of the story. Something happens that changes the plot; the main character changes in some way. 6.falling action: sequence of events leading to the conclusion. The conflict begins to get resolved. 7.resolution: the end or conclusion. All the loose strings are tied together.

Plot Diagram (copy in composition book) Exposition Rising Action Climax Falling Action Resolution THE INTRODUCTION TO THE STORY SEQUENCE OF EVENTS LEADING TO THE CLIMAX THE TURNING POINT SEQUENCE OF EVENTS LEADING TO THE CONCLUSION THE END. ALL THE LOOSE STRINGS ARE TIED TOGETHER

Exposition: 1.Characters: Sue and Dad 2.Setting: Gatlinburg in mid July 3.Basic problem: Sue hates his name and wants to get revenge against his father for naming him Sue, but he does not know where his father is. Rising Action 1.A boy is named Sue by his father 2.The father abandons his wife and child 3.Sue grows up being teased about his name 4.Sue becomes a fighter 5.Sue vows to find and kill his father 6.Sue finds his father playing cards in a saloon in Gatlinburg Plot Analysis of Boy Named Sue

Climax: Sue approaches his father and says, “My name is Sue! How do you do! Now you’re gonna die!” Falling Action 1.Sue and his father fight 2.Sue and his father pull guns on each other 3.The father explains his reasoning behind naming him Sue 4.The father says Sue should thank him for making him tough Resolution: Sue sees his name from a new perspective and throws down his gun. He decides not to kill his father, but resolves to give his own son a better name. Plot Analysis of Boy Named Sue (continued)

Plot Diagram Exposition Rising Action Climax Falling Action Resolution Characters: Sue and Dad Setting: Gatlingburg in Mid July Basic problem: Sue hates his name and want to get revenge against his father, but he does not know where his father is. 1.Boy is named Sue by his father 2.Father abandons wife and child 3.Sue grows up teased about his name 4.Sue becomes a fighter 5.Sue vows to find and kill his father 6.Sue find his father playing cards in a saloon. Sue approaches his father and says, “My name is Sue! How do you do! Now you’re gonna die!” 1.Sue and his father fight 2.Sue and his father pull guns on each other 3.The father explains his reasoning behind naming him Sue 4.The father says Sue should thank him for making him tough Sue sees his name from a new perspective and throws down his gun. He decided not to kill his father, but resolves to give his own song a better name

An automobile accident occurs. Two drivers are involved. Witnesses include four sidewalk spectators, a policeman, a man with a video camera who happened to be shooting the scene, and the pilot of a helicopter that was flying overhead. Here we have nine different points of view and, most likely, nine different descriptions of the accident. In fiction, who tells the story and how it is told are critical issues for an author to decide. The tone and feel of the story, and even its meaning, can change radically depending on who is telling the story. Remember, someone is always between the reader and the action of the story and is telling the story from his or her own point of view. This angle of vision, the point of view from which the people, events, and details of a story are viewed, is important to consider when reading a story. Point of View

The view from whose eyes the story is being told (where you place the camera) There are three major types of point-of-view Point-of-View

the story is told from the viewpoint of one character who narrates the story. Pronouns “I,” “me,” and “my” are mostly used. Key element: Narrator is a character in the story. Narrator is not reliable. First Person

Uses an outside narrator who is not involved in the story. Pronouns used are mostly “he,” “she,” and “they.” Key element: Narrator does not know what is in other characters’ minds. Narrator can only tell what is observable about other characters. Third Person Limited

The narrator is not a character in the story. Pronouns mostly used are also “he,” “she,” and “they.” Key element: This narrator has access into ALL characters’ minds and can tell what they are ALL thinking, feeling, and doing. Third Person Omniscient