MA. CLAIRE ANN S.

DUQUE
PPT 9
 Narrative Elements
1. Theme
2. Plot
3. Characters
4. Conflict
5. Setting
6. Point of View
7. Style
 Narrative Elements Explained

The purpose of this resource is to assist in the critical reading of narratives, and to
help students explore how the effect is created and meaning is made. Fiction is
best understood by breaking down and discussing terms common to most
stories, be they novels, short fiction, movies, TV shows, etc. These terms include:
plot, characters, point of view, setting, theme, conflict, and style. Understanding
how these elements work helps us better analyze narratives and to determine
meanings. Seven main elements of fiction are defined below followed by a
sample of questions to help readers uncover meaning of a given narrative.
Theme
Definition: Theme is perhaps the most important literary concept because it is the overarching idea
that the writer of the story wants the reader to understand. All other literary concepts are used to
create theme. The theme is the author’s commentary on a subject.
-The theme of a work should be clear. While this seems like a fundamental literary element, the
theme helps to focus a narrative. Additionally, having a focused and clear theme will help you and
publishers to market your book to the right audience.
-What lessons are your characters going to learn? At the end of the story or poem, what is the main
takeaway? This is your theme. The message which the author wants to get across.
For example, in Shakespeare’s Othello, one of the major themes is how easily human perception
can be manipulated when powerful emotions are at play. To determine the theme, examine other
literary elements of the story.
Questions to Consider: First identify the subject (s) of the story and then ask: what is the writer trying
to say about this subject? What literary tools does the writer use to create this theme?
Plot
Definition: Plot is the structure of the narrative as it moves through time. Most narratives
(but not all) follow this traditional plot structure. It consists of the exposition (introduction
of setting and characters), rising action (events that build conflict for the protagonist),
climax (tension of conflict reaches highest, most intense point), falling action (the events
following the climax), and denouement (the resolution of conflict).
-The plot is thought of as the sequence of events in your narrative. The plot includes
background information, conflict, the climax of the story, and lastly, the conclusion.
-Many writers use the plot to map out their stories before beginning the full writing
process. For fiction or non-fiction writing, this can work wonderfully as an outline. On a
smaller scale, poets can use the concept of plot to plan the flow of their poems.
Questions to Consider: What is the relationship between the events of the story? How do
the actions inform the theme of the story?
Characters
Definition: Characters are the people involved in the narrative. The process by which a
writer creates a character is called characterization. The main or central character,
often considered the hero, is called the protagonist. The main character who opposes
the protagonist is the antagonist, sometimes considered the villain. Literary analysis of
characters often focuses on whether or not and to what extent a character changes
throughout the story.
-Characters create your story. Characters are the reason your readers fall in love.
Characters keep you up at night.
-Invest time researching your character's identities, behaviors, circumstances, and
motivations. All of this will help you to create a world that readers (and you) are invested
in wholeheartedly.
Questions to Consider: What is the motivation of each character? How do characters
grow or transform throughout the story? Or do they fail to grow or change at all? What
does their growth or lack of growth say about the theme of the story?
Conflict
Definition: Conflict refers to the issue or problem characters in a story are confronted by. The narrative is structured
around how the characters face the conflict. The four general types of conflicts are:
1) person vs. person (a couple going through a divorce);
2) person vs. self (protagonist wrestling with depression);
3) person vs. nature (protagonist trying to survive a natural disaster); and
4) person vs. society (protagonist fighting for civil rights).
The interaction of character and conflict creates the central effect of the story and is the main indicator of
meaning.
Conflict motivates characters, affects the plot, and ultimately dictates the theme of a narrative. What is the
defining conflict in your story? What conflict inspired a poem?
Having a defined conflict allows your readers to better understand your work, sympathize with your characters or
narrator, and ultimately appreciate the complexity of the plot you've created.
Questions to Consider: How does the conflict affect the main characters in the story? How is the conflict resolved
and what does the resolution say about theme? How does the conflict change the main characters?
Setting
Definition: This element can refer to a time and place the story is set in. The location can
either work symbolically or it can simply be a backdrop for the story to take place in.
-When you're reading and feel like you've been transported to another universe - that's
setting. This element of the narrative is incredibly important. Setting establishes the time,
place, and environment in which the main characters or narrator operates.
-Crafting a high-quality setting is the difference between a believable story and one that
falls flat.
Questions to Consider: How does the location, time, and/or date of the story affect the
theme? How does the setting affect how the characters respond to conflict?
Point of View
Definition: Refers to the perspective the story is told from. This element includes first-person, third
person, and third-person omniscient narrators.
-Who is telling your story and why? Establishing a point of view in your story or poem is essential. This
allows readers to understand the motivations behind why the story is being told.
-While it can be challenging to craft a consistent point of view, mastering the narrative will provide
your work with the guiding voice reader's crave.
1. First-person narrator: Tells the story from the perspective of one or several characters with the
word “I” or “we.” The readers, as if from their own eyes, can envision the characters actions.
Examples of sentences written from the first person point of view:
Ex.: “I was only seven years old when my family moved to the United States. We took a vacation
that allowed us to explore our nation from east to west and north to south. My friend and I finally
relaxed once we got to the beach and waded into the ocean.”
A classic example of a first-person protagonist narrator is Charlotte Brontë's Jane Eyre (1847), in
which the title character is also the narrator telling her own story, "I could not unlove him now,
merely because I found that he had ceased to notice me".
2. Third-person limited narrator: Tells the story from an outside perspective from the
perspective of one of the characters (usually the protagonist). The third-person limited
narrator can relate events, thoughts, actions, but is limited to that single character. For
example, if the narration is from the point of view of the protagonist, the narrator cannot
relate events that are happening across town from where the protagonist is, nor can
they relate the interior thoughts of any other character. Third person limited narration
uses the pronouns “he,” “she,” or “they.”
Ex.: “But Ender knew, even as he thought it, that Peter wouldn't leave him alone. There
was something in Peter's eyes, when he was in his mad mood, and whenever Ender saw
that look, that glint, he knew that the one thing Peter would not do was leave him alone.
3. Third-person omniscient narrator: Also tells the story from an outside perspective but
this narrator is not limited to actions and thoughts of one character. This narrator knows
all of the information of the story and can relate the events of the story, the actions and
speech of each as well as the interior thoughts of any character. There are no limits for
this narrator.
-This is a common form of third-person narration in which the teller of the tale, who often
appears to speak with the voice of the author himself, assumes an omniscient (all-
knowing) perspective on the story being told: diving into private thoughts, narrating
secret or hidden events.
Ex.: When you read “As the campers settled into their tents, Zara hoped her eyes did not
betray her fear, and Lisa silently wished for the night to quickly end”—that's an example
of third person omniscient narration. Multiple characters' emotions and inner thoughts
are available to the reader.
Questions to Consider: Does the narrator reflect an inner or an outer perspective on the
story? Why did the author select this point of view? What would change if the story were
told from a different point of view?
Style
Definition: This element refers to the way the writer uses language including diction, voice,
tone, sentence style, etc. Paying attention to these details allows the reader to identify
how and why word choice and sentence style, etc. can help create the effect and
meaning of the story.
Questions to Consider: Is the diction hard or simple to understand? Are the sentences
short or complex? Why did the writer make these stylistic choices? How do these choices
add or detract from the effect of the story?
References:
• https://www.fromwhisperstoroars.com/blog-1/2018/1/11/understanding-the-7-key-elements-of-a-narrative
• https://lewisu.edu/writingcenter/pdf/narrative-elements-1.pdf
• https://study.com/academy/lesson/narrative-techniques-in-writing-definition-types-examples.html
• https://www.google.com/search?q=narrative+element+examples&sca_esv=585791324&rlz=1C1CHBF_enPH1041PH1041&
tbm=vid&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwieu5L-
yOWCAxVwhlYBHb6LCPQQ_AUoA3oECAEQBQ&biw=1043&bih=473&dpr=1.31#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:6c0f5fd4,vid:cU9IhMk
6doM,st:0
• https://www.google.com/search?q=narrative+element+examples&sca_esv=585791324&rlz=1C1CHBF_enPH1041PH1041&
tbm=vid&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwieu5L-
yOWCAxVwhlYBHb6LCPQQ_AUoA3oECAEQBQ&biw=1043&bih=473&dpr=1.31#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:e028b4b9,vid:ZXemI1
sbWbw,st:0
• https://www.google.com/search?q=narrative+element+examples&sca_esv=586179213&rlz=1C1CHBF_enPH1041PH1041&
tbm=vid&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjCsvXHvOiCAxVMklYBHfQ3APsQ_AUoA3oECAEQBQ&biw=1043&bih=473&dpr
=1.31#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:6c0f5fd4,vid:cU9IhMk6doM,st:0
• https://www.google.com/search?q=Narrative+writing+examples&rlz=1C1CHBF_enPH1041PH1041&sca_esv=586179213&c
s=0&tbm=vid&source=lnms&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjFz9CcveiCAxX0r1YBHQ4cA3YQ_AUoAnoECAEQBA&biw=1043&bih=473
&dpr=1.31#fpstate=ive&vld=cid:33ad5dc8,vid:98SsUs0mQyA,st:0