Studying a Piece of Literature

Authors Background.
Historical Background.
The Analysis of the Text itself

ELEMENTS OF
FICTION
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Elements of Fiction
A. CHARACTER: There are two meanings for this word.
1. The person in a work of fiction.
One character is clearly central to a story with all major
events having some connection to this character; she/he is
the PROTAGONIST.
The character in opposition to the main character is called
the ANTAGONIST.

Elements of Fiction
2. The characteristics of a person (Characterization).
It is the information the author gives the reader about
the characters themselves. The author may reveal a
character in several ways:
his/her physical appearance
what he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams
what he/she does or does not do
what others say about him/her and how others react to
him/her

Elements of Fiction
Characters are convincing if they are: consistent, motivated
and life-like (resemble real people).
Characters are...
1. Individual - round, many sided and complex personalities.
2. Developing - dynamic, many sided personalities that change
(for better or worse) by the end of the story.
3. Static Stereotypes; they have one or two characteristics
that never change and are often over-emphasized.

Elements of Fiction
B. THEME
Fable = Moral
Parable = Teaching

Fiction = Its view about life and how people

behave. You extract it from characters, actions,
and setting that make up the story.

Elements of Fiction
C. PLOT
It is a casual sequence of events, the why for the
things that happens in the story. The plot draws the reader
into the characters lives and helps the reader understand the
choices that the characters make.
A plot's structure is the way in which the story elements are
arranged. Writers vary structure depending on the needs of the
story.

Elements of Fiction
C. PLOT
Elements of a Plot:
1. Exposition: It gives the setting, creates the tone,
presents the characters, and presents other facts
necessary to understand the story.
2. Inciting Force: It is the event or character that
triggers the conflict.

Elements of Fiction
C. PLOT
Elements of a Plot:
3. Conflict: It is Conflict is the essence of fiction. It
creates plot.
4. Rising Action: It is the series of events that build
from the conflict. At this point, the opposing forces in
the story meet ad the conflict becomes most intense.

Elements of Fiction
C. PLOT
Elements of a Plot:
5. Climax: It is the result of the crisis. It is the high point of the story
for the reader. It is the moment of the highest interest and a
greatest emotion. It is the point at which the outcome of the conflict
can be predicted.
6. Falling Action: These are the events after the climax which close
the story.
7. Resolution (Denouement): Rounds out and concludes the action.

Elements of Fiction
D. POINT OF VIEW
.Objective Point of View: With the objective point of
view, the writer tells what happens without stating more
than can be inferred from the story's action and
dialogue. The narrator never discloses anything about
what the characters think or feel, remaining a detached
observer.

Elements of Fiction
Third Person Point of View: Here, the narrator does
not participate in the action of the story as one of the
characters, but lets us know exactly how the characters
feel. We learn about the characters through this outside
voice.

Elements of Fiction
First Person Point of View: In the first person point of
view, the narrator does participate in the action of the
story. When reading stories in the first person, we need
to realize that what the narrator is recounting might not
be the objective truth. We should question the
trustworthiness of the accounting.

Elements of Fiction
Omniscient Point of View: A narrator who knows
everything about all the characters is all knowing, or
omniscient.
Limited Omniscient Points of View. A narrator whose
knowledge is limited to one character, either major or
minor, has a limited omniscient point of view.

Elements of Fiction
E. SETTING
Writers describe the world they know. Sights, sounds, colors and textures are
all vividly painted in words as an artist paints images on canvas. A writer
imagines a story to be happening in a place that is rooted in his or her mind. The
location of a story's actions, along with the time in which it occurs, is the setting.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Place
Time
Weather Conditions
Social Conditions
Mood or Atmosphere

Elements of Fiction
F. CONFLICT
Conflict is the essence of fiction. It creates plot. The
conflicts we encounter can usually be identified as one of
four kinds.
1.
2.
3.
4.

Human VS Human
Human VS Nature
Human VS Society
Human VS Self

Elements of Fiction
G. TONE
In literature, tone is the emotional coloring or the emotional
meaning of the work and provides an extremely important
contribution to the full meaning. In spoken language, it is
indicated by the inflection of the speaker's voice.
In poetry, we cannot really understand a poem unless we have
accurately sensed whether the attitude it manifests is playful or
solemn, mocking or reverent, calm or excited. In spoken
language, the speaker's voice can guide us to the tone.

Elements of Fiction
H. SYMBOLISM
It is a person, place, or object which has a meaning in
itself but suggests other meanings as well.
Things, characteristics, and actions can be
symbolisms.

Work, Work, Work

A man was going through a forest. He was tired and
sat under a tree to rest.
Near the tree were some bushes. In the bushes he
heard a whistle. The man got up and went to look. He
saw a bottle lying under a bush. The whistle was coming
from inside the bottle.
The man opened the bottle to look inside. Immediately
a lot of black smoke came out from the bottle. The
smoke rose high in the sky. Then the smoke turned into a

Work, Work, Work

The ghost was red in color. He had red eyes, and
large golden earrings in his ears. He roared, Give me
some work or I shall eat you up. The man was very
frightened. W-what sort of work do you want ? he asked
the ghost.
Any kind of work, the ghost replied. You have let me
out from the bottle, so you have to give me work to do. I
must keep working, day and night. The moment you stop
giving me work, I shall eat you up.

Work, Work, Work

Take me to my house, the man said. The ghost
picked up the man. In half a second he reached the
mans house. Again he said, Give me some work to do
or I shall eat you up. Make me a big palace, the man
said.
In a few minutes the palace was ready. The ghost
again said loudly, Give me some work or I shall eat you
up.

Work, Work, Work

Get me plenty of gold and jewels, the man said.
Soon the gold and jewels were there. Give me some
work or I shall eat you up, the ghost said.
Get me nice clothes to wear. At once the ghost
brought the clothes. Give me some work or I shall eat
you up, the ghost said.

Work, Work, Work

Get me some food. In a second the man found the
table loaded with delicious food. He tried to eat, but he
got no time. The ghost again said, Give me some work
or I shall eat you up.
The man kept on giving work to the ghost. He could
not eat at all. When night came the ghost would not let
him sleep. Give me some work or I shall eat you up, he
said.

Work, Work, Work

In just a few minutes the ghost was back. The pillar is ready,
he said. Now give me some work or I shall eat you up.
Now listen carefully, the man said. Climb up the pillar till you
reach the top. Then climb down till you reach the earth. Then
climb up to the top and come down again. Keep on doing so till I
tell you to stop. And mind you dont waste anytime.
The ghost was very happy, for he now had plenty to do. He
went up the pillar, came down, went up, came down. He went on
doing so.

Work, Work, Work

The man watched for some time. Then he went inside and ate
the food the ghost had brought. After that he went off to sleep.
Next morning he got up and went outside. He saw the ghost
going up and down the pillar all the time. The man was very
happy.
Many days passed. The ghost kept on going up and down the
pillar. At the end of a month he was still doing it. He now felt a
little tired. Please sir, he said to the man, may I stop now ? I
have been going up and down the pillar for a month.

Work, Work, Work

How can you stop ? the man said. You cannot stop
till I tell you. So keep on going up and down the pillar.
Another three months passed. Now the ghost was
really tired. Sir, he said, I cant do it any more. I must
stop now.
You can stop on one condition, the man said. You
must go away from here, and never come back.
I promise, the ghost said.

Work, Work, Work

Very well, you may stop now. And take away that
pillar with you.
The ghost picked up the pillar and ran away. The man
never saw him again.