FICTION NOTES
AEII
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*This information will be on both semester exams
so SAVE it in a safe place!
PLOT
Series of events (blueprints)
 What happens in the story
 Chronological order
EXAMPLE: Goldilocks and the Three Bears

Goldilocks is hungry
 She finds the bears’ house
 She tastes the porridge
 Etc.

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PLOT TERMINOLOGY

Exposition
Exposes characters and setting
 Background information is given


Inciting action


Beginning of the conflict
Rising action

Suspense/tension builds
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PLOT TERMINOLOGY (CONTINUED)

Climax
Highest point of action/tension
 Turning point


Falling action


Conflict starts to be resolved
Resolution
All conflict is resolved
 Loose ends are tied up

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CONFLICT – STRUGGLE OR PROBLEM

EXTERNAL CONFLICT

Occurs outside of the character
Man vs. man
1.
•
physical/verbal fight or argument
with another individual
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Man vs. nature
2.
•
form of nature such as
tornadoes, snowstorms, etc.
Man vs. society
3.
•
laws, social codes, etc.
vi.sualize.us
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CONFLICT (CONTINUED)

INTERNAL CONFLICT

Occurs inside the character
Man vs. self
•
Feelings, thoughts,
decision making
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SETTING – WHEN AND WHERE ACTION TAKES PLACE (A STORY
CAN HAVE MORE THAN ONE SETTING)

Mood
Feelings created by the story
 The reader’s emotions that are
a result of reading the story
(scared, happy, etc.)


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Tone

Author’s attitude toward the topic he
or she is writing about (serious,
sarcastic, lighthearted)
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POINT OF VIEW - THE EYES THROUGH WHICH THE READER
SEES/EXPERIENCES THE ACTION OF THE STORY

First person
A participant in the story
 I, me, we, us


Second person
An advisor (self-help books)
 You


Third person
An observer; the fly on the wall that watches everything and
everyone and reports on it
 They, he, she, it



limited-narrator knows one of the characters’ thoughts and feelings
Omniscient-narrator knows all of the characters’ thoughts and
feelings
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CHARACTERIZATION - METHODS OF REVEALING
CHARACTERS (HOW WE GET TO KNOW A CHARACTER)

Methods
1.
Narrator’s description (appearance of characters)
2.
Character’s own words, thoughts, and feelings
3.
Character’s own actions (what he or she does)
4.
Other characters’ words, thoughts, and feelings
5.
Other characters’ actions or reactions to the character
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TYPES OF CHARACTERS

Flat (minor character usually)

We see only one trait (ex: Sally skiing; that’s all, nothing
else is revealed about her)
OR

Round (major character)

We see many traits (we see Sally skiing, scuba diving,
bike riding, happy, sad)
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TYPES OF CHARACTERS (CONTINUED)

Static

Stays the same throughout
OR

Dynamic

Different: Changes on the inside; personality,
behavior, or opinions change
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TYPES OF CHARACTERS (CONTINUED)

Protagonist

Good guy; hero; keeps the action going
OR
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
Antagonist

villain; tries to stop action
from progressing; anything
the main character struggles
with or against
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THEME - MAIN IDEA OF THE STORY ABOUT LIFE OR HUMAN
NATURE (WHAT IS LIFE LIKE?
 Literary

WHAT ARE HUMAN BEINGS LIKE?)
techniques
used to illustrate theme

Figurative Language

Wording not meant literally (face value) Example: I hit the
books last night. (means I studied hard)
1. Simile - comparison using like or as (She was like a
rose.)
2. Metaphor – direct comparison; does not use like or 13
as (He is a bear!)
LITERARY TECHNIQUES (CONTINUED)
3. Personification – giving human traits to
something that is not human (The wind
screamed.)
4. Imagery – language that creates a mental
picture using the senses (sight, smell, hearing,
taste, touch)
5. Symbol – object stands for/represents more
than it is (American flag=freedom)
6. Flashback – relive past as if it were the
present (The movie Scrooged.)
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LITERARY TECHNIQUES
(CONTINUED)
7. Foreshadowing – hints about what will
happen later in the story
8. Allusion – reference to a famous person,
place, event, or work of literature (Harriet
Tubman was called the Moses of her time.)
9. Onomatopoeia – word sounds like the sound
it represents (hiss, drip, buzz)
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LITERARY TECHNIQUES (CONTINUED)
10. Irony – opposite of the expected (A Shriner
on a motorcycle who works to save kids’ lives,
hits a child and injures him at the parade.)



Situational irony – event that happens that is an
unexpected twist at the end of the story
Dramatic irony – audience knows something a
character doesn’t know (Friday the 13th “ch ch ch”)
Verbal irony – spoken words are the opposite of what
is actually meant, felt, or true (“I love kids,” said the
mom as she locked them out of the house all day.)
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