ELEMENTS OF FICTION
World Literature
LSAngeles
What is a plot?
• It is the selection of events based on
relevance and suggestiveness
• It is the basic pattern of events that
constitutes the essential action of
the play
• It is the fundamental development
through which the rise, progress,
and resolution of the conflict are
revealed to the audience.
Story vs. Plot
• The King died and then the
Queen died of grief.
• The King died and then the
Queen died.
Story vs. Plot
• Story is the sequence of events
told in chronological order.
• Plot is the arrangement of these
events into a pattern that shows
their relationships and
causation.
CONFLICT
• “complications”
• “development”
TYPES OF CONFLICT
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Man vs. man
Man vs. himself
Man vs. nature
Man vs. society
Man vs. technology
Man vs. circumstance
Other styles in the plot
• Flashback
• Foreshadowing (scenes,
objects, persons, etc that
function as clues to what
could possibly happen in the
succeeding scene/s
CHARACTER
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Round (well-described)
Flat (minimally described)
Dynamic (changes)
Static (does not change)
Protagonist (faces the conflict)
Antagonist (representation of the conflict)
Foil (opposite of the main character,
magnifies main character’s personality)
• Stereotype (character defined by the
society)
SETTING
• It is the scene or atmosphere of the story.
It is the fixed locale in the story.
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Functions of the setting:
Setting as a symbol
Setting as an idea
Setting as an atmosphere
Setting as a motive force
HOMEWORK
• Read “The Cask of Amontillado”.
• You may find it on the class’ website:
worldli2012.wordpress.com
• Click on the link “Complete Tales of E. A.
Poe”
• Additional homework in preparation for the
Midterm Exam: Watch Romeo and Juliet
(Leonardo Di Caprio). The play will be
discussed on the final week of the
midterms.
IRONY
• Shows contrast between what seems and
what could be.
• Types:
• Dramatic discrepancy (character vs the
reader/audience)
• Situational discrepancy (illusion vs reality,
expectation vs result, intention vs
outcome)
• Verbal discrepancy (what is said vs what is
meant)
POINT OF VIEW
• Point of View means that the
story is told through the eyes
and mouth of a certain person;
• the story can change
considerably, depending on
who is telling it.
Seven Kinds of POV
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First person
First person observer
Third person
Objective
Omniscient
Limited Omniscient
Second person
First Person POV
• Story is told from the inside; narrator is a
participant in the action
• Narrator is often the protagonist or minor
character; we see only what he/she sees, in
the way that he/she sees it.
• Advantage: first person narrator has
immediacy and a sense of life.
• Disadvantage: the author may be frustrated
in that he/she can only include things that
the narrator would be expected to know;
also, we are locked within the mind of the
narrator.
First Person POV Sample
• As I walked up the hill, I realized that the
atmosphere was just too quiet. There was
no sound from the cardinal who was nearly
always singing from the top of the maple
tree. I thought I saw a shadow move high
up on the slope, but when I looked again it
was gone. Still, I shuddered as I felt a silent
threat pass over me like a cloud over the
sun.
First Person Observer POV
• Story is told from the inside; BUT
narrator is NOT a participant in the
action.
• The narrator is telling the story first
hand but is not related nor
connected to the story.
First Person Observer
Sample
Third Person POV
• Usually, a nameless narrator who
can be identified with the author.
• 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.
Third Person POV Sample
• The girl walked up the quiet hillside.
• In the top of the maple tree, the cardinal
tipped his head back and drew breath to
sing. A dead branch cracked on the ground
below the bird's perch.
• The man stepped on the branch and rattled
the blades of grass as he moved behind the
tree. He watched the girl come up the
hillside toward him.
• Her gaze shifted quickly and warily from one
shadowy area high on the slope to another,
and she shuddered.
Objective POV
• 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.
• It has limited narrative, like a drama; narrator
can only describe words and actions that can
be seen objectively and cannot get into
character's thoughts
Objective POV Sample
• The ant tugged over the snow a piece of corn he had
stored up last summer, perspiring in spite of the cold.
• A grasshopper, its feelers twitching and with a tic in its left
hind leg, looked on for some time. Finally, he asked,
“Please, friend ant, may I have a bite of your corn?”
• The ant looked the grasshopper up and down. "What were
you doing all last summer?” he snapped.
• “I sang from dawn to dark,” replied the grasshopper, not
changing his tone.
• ”Well,” said the ant, and a faint smile crept into his face,
“since you sang all summer, you can dance all winter.”
Omniscient POV
• A narrator who knows everything about all
the characters is all knowing, or
omniscient.
• the story is told by the author, not one of
the characters, acting as an outside
observer and using the 3rd person (e.g.
"she/he")
• The author's knowledge of the characters'
actions and thoughts is unlimited. can look
inside minds & hearts of characters.
Omniscient POV sample
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Weary in every limb, the ant tugged over the snow a piece of corn he
had stored up last summer. It would taste might good at dinner tonight.
A grasshopper, cold and hungry, looked on. Finally, he could bear it
no longer. “Please, friend ant, may I have a bite of corn?”
”What were you doing all last summer?” asked the ant. He looked the
grasshopper up and down. He knew its kind.
“I sang from dawn till dark,” replied the grasshopper, happily unaware
of what was coming next.
”Well, said the ant, hardly bothering to conceal his contempt, “since
you sang all summer, you can dance all winter.”
HE WHO IDLES WHEN HE'S YOUNG
WILL HAVE NOTHING WHEN HE'S OLD.
Limited Omniscient POV
• the author narrates the story in 3rd
person, but restricts the viewpoint to
that of one character.
• This point of view is usually seen
through the eyes of a main
character.
Limited Omniscient POV
Sample
• Weary in every limb, the ant tugged over the snow a piece
of corn he had stored up last summer. It would taste mighty
good at dinner tonight. It was then that he noticed the
grasshopper, looking cold and pinched.
• “Please, friend ant, may I have a bite of your corn?” asked
the grasshopper.
• He looked the grasshopper up and down. “What were you
doing all last summer?” he asked. He knew its kind.
• ”I sang from dawn till dark,” replied the grasshopper.
• “Well,” said the ant, hardly bothering to conceal his
contempt, “since you sang all summer, you can dance all
winter.”
Second Person POV
• turns the reader into the character
Second Person POV
Sample
• As you walk up the hill, you realize that
the atmosphere's just too quiet.
There's no sound from the cardinal you
know is almost always singing from the
top of the maple tree. You think you
see a shadow move high up on the
slope, but when you look again it's
gone. You shudder as you feel a silent
threat pass over you. You feel cold,
like a cloud just passed over the sun.
SYMBOLISM
• Designation of something
concrete in the story and
something intangible and
valuable.
ACTIVITY
• On a piece of paper, draw a
table with two columns. On the
first column, write 10 objects in
the story The Cask of
Amontillado
• You have 3 minutes to complete
your list.
• On the right column give the
idea that the objects stand for.
• You have 5 minutes to complete
your list.
THEME
• It is the meaning that surfaces and is
communicated with clarity and intensity
• It shouldn’t be obvious or simply a moral
• The theme of a piece of fiction is its view
about life and how people behave.
• In fiction, the theme is not intended to
teach or preach. In fact, it is not presented
directly at all. You extract it from the
characters, action, and setting that make
up the story. In other words, you must
figure out the theme yourself.
How does one find the
theme?
1. Check out the title. Sometimes it
tells you a lot about the theme.
2. Notice repeating patterns and
symbols. Sometimes these lead
you to the theme.
3. What allusions are made
throughout the story?
4. What are the details and particulars
in the story? What greater meaning
may they have?
Common Themes
• Love will conquer all.
• Marriage is a natural and desirable institution.
• Man is alienated from society.
• The family is often dysfunctional.
• Men and women cannot get along.
• Life is not always as it seems.
• Believe in yourself.
• People are risk adverse.
• First impressions are often wrong.
• War is hell.
• Society socializes humankind to behave in a just
and righteous manner.
ACTIVITY
• Watch the short films silently.
• Afterwards, think of the theme
of each movie.
• You are given 2 minutes (after
each film) to write down the
theme.
• Be ready to share the themes to
the class later.
STYLE
Implies control of material through different
devices
ELEMENTS OF DRAMA
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Plot
Character
Conflict
Irony
Language
Spectacle
LANGUAGE
• Emphasizes the theme and idea of the
play
• Dialogue
• The words of the actors affect the essence
of the play.
SPECTACLE
• The visual elements of
theater/drama that shows the
relationships of script, actor,
audience, author, producer, society,
genre, stage and theater to each
other.
SPECTACLE
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Lights (mood and time)
Sounds (mood)
Background (setting)
Costume and Make up
(characterization)
• Stage Directions (footwork)