1. Elements of Fiction

2. the time and place of the story’s action
Setting
the time and place of the story’s action

3. Mood
the dominant impression or emotional atmosphere evoked by the text

4. Tone the writer or speaker’s attitude toward the subject
Tone may be formal, informal, intimate, solemn, somber, playful, serious, ironic, condescending, etc.

5. Characterization
the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character. The process is revealed through direct and indirect characterization.

6. Direct Characterization
tells the audience the personality of the character
Examples:
The patient boy and the quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their mother.

7. Indirect Characterization
Indirect Characterization: shows things that reveal the personality of the character
STEAL information about the character.
S - Speech
T - Thoughts
E - Effect on others toward the character
A - Actions
L - Looks

8. Types of Character Protagonist: the main character
Antagonist: the character who opposes the main character
Flat Character: a character with few traits
Round Character: a character with many traits
Static Character: a character that stays the same; a character that doesn’t change
Dynamic Character: a character that changes

9. Conflict Conflict: a struggle between opposing forces
Internal Conflict: a struggle within a character (person vs. self)
External Conflict: a struggle between two (or more) outside forces (person vs. person)
Types of Conflicts: Person vs. ___________
A. person vs. self
B. person vs. person
C. person vs. nature/environment
D. person vs. machine/technology
E. person vs. God/Fate/Supernatural
F. person vs. society

10. Plot Plot: the series of events (what happens)
Exposition: the background information, the introduction (setting & characters)
Rising Action: the events that lead to the climax; when the conflict is revealed; begins with an inciting incident
Climax: the turning point of the story; the most intense, suspenseful part of the plot
Falling Action: explains the climax; when the story is starting to die down; the events that follow the climax and lead to the resolution
Resolution / Denouement: the ending; when the problem is solved

11. Plot Diagram

12. Point of View
Point of View: the perspective from which a story is told (who is telling the story) Fill in the following chart (with subject pronouns):
Singular
Plural
1st I we
2nd
you
3rd
he, she, it
they

13. Types of Point of View
1st-Person Point of View: uses “I”; told from the point of view of a character in the story
3rd-Person Limited Point of View: uses “he, she, or it” to refer to characters; told from the point of view of an outside narrator; the outside narrator has the ability to follow one character
3rd-Person Objective Point of View: uses “he, she, or it” to refer to characters ; the facts of a narrative are reported by a seemingly neutral, impersonal observer or recorder.
Omniscient Point of View: all-knowing narrator

14. Style
the literary element that describes the ways that the author uses words
the author's word choice
sentence structure
figurative language
sentence arrangement
how the author describes events, objects, and ideas

15. Style

16. Irony Irony: a contrast between expectation and reality
Verbal Irony: irony in which a person says or writes one thing and means another, or uses words to convey a meaning that is the opposite of the literal meaning
Situational Irony: irony in which an event or situation turns out differently than expected
Dramatic Irony: irony that is inherent in speeches or a situation of a drama and is understood by the audience but not grasped by the characters in the play

18. Symbol
something concrete (appeals to the senses) that represents something abstract (something that you can’t see)

19. Color Symbolism

20. Theme
the message the writer is trying to convey about life or people in general

21. Figurative Language
when words mean something other than their literal meaning

22. Simile a comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as”
Examples:
My brothers are as loud as cymbals clanging together.
You shine bright like a diamond.

23. Metaphor
a direct comparison between two unlike things (no “like” or “as”)
Examples:
The new baby was a bundle of joy.
She is the light of my life.

24. Hyperbole an extreme exaggeration that can’t possibly be true
Examples:
I walked a million miles to school this morning.
You could have knocked me over with a feather.

25. Personification
a type of metaphor that gives human qualities to something that isn’t human
Examples:
The morning sun smiled down on me as I walked to the bus stop.
My computer throws a fit every time I try to use it.

26. Alliteration the repetition of the same initial consonant sound
Examples:
He helped her hurt head heal.
Sally sells seashells down by the seashore.

27. Onomatopoeia a word that sounds like its meaning Examples:
A snowball whooshed past my ear during the snowball fight.
Boom!

28. Idiom
a word or phrase that means something other than its literal meaning
Examples:
After we won the soccer game, my team was on cloud 9.
He had a chip on his shoulder.

29. Allusion
a reference to a specific person, place, historical event, or work of art
Examples:
The gold medal winner was a Cinderella story.
The makers of the Scream movies alluded to Munch’s work of art The Scream in order to instill fear.

30. Oxymoron a phrase with contradictory words Examples:
The old, green couch was pretty ugly.
I have a love-hate relationship with my sister.