1. What parts make up a story?
Literary Elements
What parts make up a story?

2. Story Grammar Characters Setting Plot Theme Exposition Climax
Denouement
Theme

3. Types of Characters People or animals Major characters
Minor characters
Round characters
Flat characters
Static characters
Dynamic characters

4. Characterization
A writer reveals what a character is like and how the character changes throughout the story.
Two primary methods of characterization:
Direct- writer tells what the character is like
Indirect- writer shows what a character is like by describing what the character looks like, by telling what the character says and does, and by what other characters say about and do in response to the character.

5. Direct Characterization
“And I don’t play the dozens or believe in standing around with somebody in my face doing a lot of talking. I much rather just knock you down and take my chances even if I’m a little girl with skinny arms and a squeaky voice, which is how I got the name Squeaky.”
From “Raymond’s Run” by T. Bambara

6. Indirect Characterization
“The old man bowed to all of us in the room. Then he removed his hat and gloves, slowly and carefully.”
From “Gentleman of Rio en Medio” by J. Sedillo

7. Elements of Character

8. Factors in Analyzing Characters
Physical appearance of character
Personality
Background/personal history
Motivation
Relationships
Conflict
Does character change?

9. Definition: Time and place where the action occurs
Setting
Definition: Time and place where the action occurs
Details that describe setting:
Furniture
Scenery
Customs
Transportation
Clothing
Dialects
Weather
Time of day
Time of year

10. Elements of a Setting

11. The Functions of a Setting
“We left the home place behind, mile by slow mile, heading for the mountains, across the prairie where the wind blew forever.
At first there were four of us with one horse wagon and its skimpy load. Pa and I walked, because I was a big boy of eleven. My two little sisters romped and trotted until they got tired and had to be boosted up to the wagon bed.
That was no covered Conestoga, like Pa’s folks came West in, but just an old farm wagon, drawn by one weary horse, creaking and rumbling westward to the mountains, toward the little woods town where Pa thought he had an old uncle who owned a little two-bit sawmill.”
To create a mood or atmosphere
To show a reader a different way of life
To make action seem more real
To be the source of conflict or struggle
To symbolize an idea
Taken from “The Day the Sun Came Out” by D. Johnson

12. Plot
Plot is what happens and how it happens in a narrative. A narrative is any work that tells a story, such as a short story, a novel, a drama, or a narrative poem.

13. Parts of a Plot
Exposition/Introduction– provides background information and lays out the event that gives rise to conflict
Rising action- events that occur as a result of the central conflict
Climax- highest point of interest or suspense of story
Falling action-the climax has occurred but the final outcome may still be in doubt
Denouement/Resolution- when conflict ends and characters go back to their lives

14. Diagram of Plot Climax Falling action Rising Action
Resolution/ Denouement
Exposition
Inciting incident/ Opening situation

15. Special Techniques of Plot
Suspense- excitement or tension
Foreshadowing- hint or clue about what will happen in story
Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of events to tell about something that happened in the past
Surprise Ending- conclusion that reader does not expect

16. Conflict Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces
Every plot must contain some kind of conflict
Stories can have more than one conflict
Conflicts can be external or internal
External conflict- outside force may be person, group, animal, nature, or a nonhuman obstacle
Internal conflict- takes place in a character’s mind

17. Man/Woman vs. Man/Woman
Four Types of Conflict
Man/Woman vs.
Man/Woman
(problem with another character)

18. 2. Man/Woman vs. Society (Problem with the laws or beliefs of a group)
Types of Conflict
2. Man/Woman vs. Society
(Problem with the laws or beliefs of a group)

19. (problem with force of nature)
Types of Conflict
3. Man/Woman vs. Nature
(problem with force of nature)

20. 4. Man/Woman vs. Himself/Herself
Types of Conflict
4. Man/Woman vs. Himself/Herself
(problem with deciding what to do or think)

21. Theme
A central message, concern, or insight into life expressed through a literary work
Can be expressed by a one or two sentence statement about human beings or about life
May be stated directly or implied
Interpretation uncovers the theme

22. Example of Theme
Some simple examples of common themes from literature, TV, and film are:
- Things are not always as they appear to be
- Love is blind
- Believe in yourself
- People are afraid of change
Don't judge a book by its cover
Family comes first
Think before you speak
Racism causes people to be blind to the truth
-Good leaders do what is right, even if it is unpopular