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Elements of Fiction

There are 7 basic literary elements in fiction

Setting

Where and when does the story take place?

Characters

Who or what is the story about?

Plot

What happens in the beginning, middle, and end of story?

Point of View

From what perspective is the story told?

Theme

What is the central idea or message of the story?

Symbolism

A symbol represents an idea, quality, or concept larger than itself.

Mood

What atmosphere does the author create?

The author uses setting, characters, images, and language to create the atmosphere or mood of the story. The mood can be suspenseful, joyful, silly, eerie, serious, etc.

"The restless urge of autumn, unsatisfying, sad, had put a spell upon them, and they must flock, and wheel, and cry; they must spill themselves of motion before winter came."

from "The Birds" by Daphne du Maurier

"During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country."

"The Fall of the House of Usher" by Edgar Allan Poe

The color green can symbolize jealousy or envy

A journey can symbolize life

Water can symbolize renewal

Protagonist: main character

The theme usually contains some insight into the human condition. It is rarely stated directly, but instead implied by the events and actions in the story.

Antagonist: Opposes or conflicts with the Protagonist

"Guys like us, that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family. They don’t belong no place... With us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk to that gives a damn about us."

from "Of Mice and Men" by John Steinbeck

Indirect characterization

Direct characterization

vs.

Developing a character's personality through thoughts, words, actions, and other character's comments

When the author develops the personality of a character by direct statements

"Mrs. Pratchett's eyes flicked over and settled on my own face. I looked down and studied the black asphalt surface of the playground."

from "Boy" by Roald Dahl

"His face was the face of a student, thin and ascetic, but his eyes had the cold gleam of the fanatic. They were deep and thoughtful, the eyes of a man who is used to looking at death."

from "The Sniper" by Liam O'Flaherty

First Person

Told from the viewpoint of one of the characters using the pronoun "I"

"The thousand injuries of Fortunato I had borne as best I could; but when he ventured upon insult, I vowed revenge."

Third Person Limited

Third person, told from the viewpoint of a character in the story

Third Person Omniscient

The author tells the story directly

"Old Mrs. Wang knew of course that there was a war. Everybody had known for a long time that there was a war going on and that Japanese where killing Chinese. But still it was not real since none of the Wangs had been killed."

from "The Old Demon" by Pearl S. Buck

"The two enemies stood glaring at one another for a long silent moment. Each had a rifle in his hand, each had hate in his heart and murder uppermost in his mind."

from "The Interlopers" by Saki

Climax

Resolution or Denouement

Rising Action

Plot Structure

Exposition

Conflict is the dramatic struggle between forces in the story. Without conflict, there is no plot. Conflict can be

external or internal.

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