Name:_______________________________________________
Elements of Fiction Review Packet
Example 1 CORE book
Book:
Term
Definition
Protagonist
The main character in a
story
Antagonist
Character or force (nature,
society, one’s conscience)
that blocks the protagonist.
Conflict
x
Struggle or clash between
opposing characters or
forces
One character clashing with
another.
Example: Argument between
parent and child; physical
fight between two people
Man vs.
Man
Man vs.
Nature
Character struggles against
or with his surroundings,
weather, animals
Example: Being shipwrecked
on a deserted island; facing a
hurricane
9(1) English
Example 2 The Prince and the
Pauper
x
vs.
Character challenges what is
accepted by a majority
Example: Facing any type of
prejudice; teen excluded for
telling his parents about
dangerous activity at a party
Man vs.
Self
(internal
conflict)
Internal struggle between
opposing needs, desires, or
emotions within a character
Example: Having to choose
whether or not to tell your
friend that her boyfriend is
cheating on her; trying to
beat an addiction or
breaking a bad habit
Plot
x
Series of events that make
up a story or drama; what
happens
Opening of a story in which
we are exposed to the
protagonist and the basic
situation
Example: Red’s mother gives
her a basket to Bring Granny.
She warns her to stay on the
path and avoid wolves.
Man
Society
Exposition
x
Rising action
Climax
Falling action
Conflict begins and increases
in intensity; things get
complicated
Example: As the Wolf
suggests, Red stops to pick
flowers, and the Wolf runs
ahead to Granny’s house.
The Wolf gobbles up Granny,
dresses as her, and awaits
Red’s arrival. Red arrives
and is suspicious.
The turning point of the
action in which the conflict is
decided one way or another;
usually the most suspenseful
and emotionally intense
moment in a story.
Example: Wolf gobbles up
Red.
Events occurring after the
climax and lead to the story’s
conclusion
Example: The huntsman stops to
check on Granny and spots the
Wolf. He cuts open his stomach to
find Red and Granny.
Resolution/
Denouement
A story’s conclusion; the
“tying together” of loose
ends.
Example: Wolf is killed and Red
promises to listen to her mother
in the future.
Setting
The time and place of the
story; it also includes the
mood created by the
atmosphere (gloomy,
threatening, hopeful…).
Theme
Central idea that can be
inferred in a work of
literature; the idea the
writer wishes to reveal
about the subject of a story.
Note: Subject is expressed in
a word or two (love,
childhood), but theme is
expressed in at least one
complete sentence.
Example: Romantic love is
more powerful than family
ties; childhood is when
innocence is slowly
destroyed. *Do not confuse
theme with a story’s moral
(a lesson)
Symbol
Person, place or thing that
represents itself and
something beyond itself.
Example: In Moby Dick the
whale symbolizes evil and
mystery.
Irony
Contrast or difference
between expectation and
reality: between what is
expected to happen and
what actually occurs; what is
said and what is meant;
what appears to be true and
what is real.
Example: Professor Snape,
who seems to hate Harry,
was the one who was
secretly protecting him.
Flat
character
Character who is not
described or developed.
Example: In “Red Riding
Hood,” Granny’s personality
is never revealed. We only
know that she is sick.
Round
character
Character whose personality
is fully developed; he
possess various positive and
negative qualities, some of
which may even contradict.
Universal or
stock
character
Character who represents a
“type” recognizable in many
stories.
Example: The supportive
best friend; the carzy
professor.
Static character
Character who does not
change in a meaningful way.
Example: Granny in “Red
Riding Hood” does not
change as result of the
experience
Dynamic character
Character who changes in
meaningful ways.
Example: Red. She vows
to listen to her mother and
to be less trusting.
Point of View
First person
Perspective from which
the story is told or
narrated.
A character narrates the
story. We see the events
form his perspective.
Clue: “I”
Example: A story about a
car accident told from the
perspective of one of the
drivers.
Third limited An unknown outside
narrator (not a character)
tells the story, focusing
mainly on one character’s
perspective.
Example: A story about a
car accident told from a
narrator who can tell the
reader what one of the
drivers was seeing,
thinking, and doing.
X (Describe which apply to your
respective books)
x
Third
Omniscient
(omni= “all”)
Foreshadowing
An all-knowing or “godlike” outside narrator (not
a character) tells the story
with the ability to tell the
reader what all characters
are thinking
Example: A story about a
car accident told from a
narrator who can tell the
reader what all of the
drivers were seeing,
thinking, and doing.
The use of clues to hint at
future action
Example: Mother warning Red
about the Wolf perhaps
foreshadows that Red will have
a problem with the Wolf.