•
– the plan, scheme, or main story of a literary or dramatic work, as a play, novel, or short story.
– Revolves around a conflict (or problem)
•
– Exposition
– Rising Action
– Climax
– Falling Action
– Resolution

(Exposition/Rising Action/Climax)
•
– Introduces characters, setting, and conflict
•
– Builds suspense as conflict becomes clear
•
– Point of greatest suspense
– Point when conflict is solved

– Shows the effects of the climax
– Describes what happens to characters next
– Answers any remaining questions related to the plot

• Irony
– The effect created when there is a sharp contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually happens.
• Example: a fire at the fire station
– How was the ending of “The Turtle” ironic?
– How about “The Dinner Party”?

• Conflict
– The struggle between opposing characters or forces that is central to the action of a literary work.
• Two kinds
– External
• Character struggles against another character, society, or force of nature.
– Internal
• Character struggles with an issue or problem within his or her own mind.

• In August of 2005, Hurricane Katrina was making its way toward New Orleans.
Residents faced both kinds of conflict.
– Internal: As the storm got closer, residents had to make a decision whether or not to pack up and leave their homes or stay and ride out the storm.
– External: Once the storm hit, the residents were battling nature for survival as flood waters rose and wind battered their houses.

• Direct Characterization
– When an author tells you how a character looks, behaves, and thinks.
• Example: Mark is a generous person.
• Indirect Characterization
– When an author lets the audience draw their own conclusions about a character by the way they speak or act or how others react to the character.
– Audience needs to make an inference.
• Example: Mark spent his weekend working at a soup kitchen.

• There are two kinds of characters:
– Dynamic
• A character is one who changes throughout a story.
– Ebenezer Scrooge is an example because he was a miserly and miserable at the beginning of A
Christmas Carol.
– Static
• A character is one who stays the same throughout a story.
– Bob Cratchit is a static character because he was a friendly, hard working guy at the beginning of the story and he still is when the story ends.

– The underlying idea the writer wishes to convey about that subject.
• In A Christmas Carol, one possible theme could be:
– It’s never too late to make a change in your life.

• Dialect
– The form of a language spoken by people in a particular region or group.
• Example: In Ohio, people don’t refer to soda as soda, they call it pop.
– Writers use dialect to make writing more authentic.
– An author may use dialect to help provide characterization for his/her characters in a story.
• If you want a 14 year old kid (Theodore Boone, for example) to sound very smart, the author will have him using a large vocabulary. This lets the reader know that the kid is smarter than average.

• Tone
– An author’s attitude towards a subject.
• During your Book Talks, many of you wrote about how you couldn’t wait to read another book by this author.
That reveals a positive tone towards the subject (in this case, your book).

• Mood
– The emotional effect or feeling that an author creates in a literary work.
• Think about “Lather and Nothing Else”
– Mood of that story was tense and suspenseful
– Hernando Tellez kept you on the edge of your seat waiting to find out what was going to happen.

• Foreshadowing
– The author’s use of clues to hint at what might happen later in the story
– builds the readers’ expectations and creates suspense
– Example: When Paul woke up this morning, he had no idea this would be the most important day of his life.

• Turning Point
– a point in time when something happens that causes a shift or a permanent change in direction
• Example: What if Mr. White had never taken the monkey’s paw, or if he had never made a wish? Mr.
White accepting the monkey’s paw and wishing on it was a turning point in the story.
– What was a turning point in “Lather and Nothing
Else?”