Literary Elements

What parts make up a a story?

Modified from PowerPoint created by: jc-schools.net

Story GrammarPlot Exposition• Setting• Characters• Conflict (inciting incident)

Rising ActionClimaxFalling ActionResolution

Theme

SettingSetting

Details that describe:FurnitureSceneryCustomsTransportationClothingDialectsWeatherTime of dayTime of year

Time and place are where the action occurs

Elements of a Setting

Setting

Place

Atmosphere

Time

History

EraLife

Mood

Weather

Feelings

WordChoice

Location

Physical

Day

Use as activator to activate prior knowledge. Write the web on the board or overhead and students create one at their seats. Then as class share and fill in.

The Functions of a Setting

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

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.

Taken from “The Day the Sun Came Out” by D. Johnson

Types of Characters

People or animalsMajor charactersMinor charactersThree-dimensional characters (round)

One-dimensional characters (flat)

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 likeIndirect- 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.

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

Indirect Characterization

The old man bowed to all of us in the room. Then he removed his hat and gloves, slowly and carefully. Chaplin once did that in a picture, in a bank--he was the janitor.

From “Gentleman of Rio en Medio” by J. Sedillo

Elements of Character

Character

Main

Flat

Minor

Not Fully Developed

FriendsRelativesFully

Developed

Protagonist

AntagonistCo-Main

Enemy

Factors in Analyzing Characters

Physical appearance of characterPersonalityBackground/personal historyMotivationRelationshipsConflictDoes character change?

PlotPlot 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.

Parts of a Plot

Inciting incident – event that gives rise to conflict (opening situation)

Development- events that occur as result of central conflict (rising action)

Climax- highest point of interest or suspense of story

Resolution- when conflict endsDenouement- when characters go back to

their life before the conflict

Diagram of Plot

Inciting incident/

conflict

Exposition

Rising

Act

ion

Climax

ResolutionDenouement

Falling A

ction

Special Techniques of Plot

Suspense- building excitement within tense circumstances or moments

Foreshadowing- hint or clue about what will happen in story (allowing you to predict)

Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of events to tell about something that happened in the past

Surprise Ending- conclusion that reader does not expect

Conflict

Conflict is a struggle between opposing forcesEvery plot must contain some kind of conflictStories can have more than one conflictConflicts 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

ThemeA central message, concern, or insight

into life expressed through a literary work

Can be expressed by one or two sentence statement about human beings or about life

May be stated directly or impliedInterpretation uncovers the theme

Examples of Theme

Courage:

Charlotte stands up to Captain Jaggery when he tries to get her to leave the crew and go back to just being a passenger on the ship.

Examples of Theme

Friendship: Despite their differing backgrounds– including race, gender, and status– Zachariah and Charlotte form a friendship during the voyage. By the end of the novel, the two characters have built trust with one another.

Examples of Theme

Acceptance: It is evident at the end of the story that Charlotte learned that all people should be treated equally. This is illustrated by her helping Bridget, her parents’ servant.

Examples of Theme

Justice: Captain Jaggery made a habit of treating others cruelly and basically framed Charlotte for the murder of Hollybrass. Justice is served when he falls to his own death while trying to assault Charlotte.

Examples of Theme

Prejudice: In the beginning, Charlotte is afraid of the crew and chooses to trust Captain Jaggery primarily because of social status. (Captain Jaggery reminded her of her father– a gentleman.)

Examples of Theme

Self-Discovery:

Charlotte learns about her inner self and that she is really a more independent girl than she thought she could be. She learned that she did not have to live by the rules that she was taught by her parents.