Elements of Narration
This graphic
organizer is called a
Plot Pyramid – it
helps us
learn the 5
parts to
Rising
plot more
Action
easily.
Exposition
Climax
Falling
Action
Resolution
or
Denouement
We can enhance this
plot pyramid to
include subject
and
theme,
too!
Rising
Action
Climax
Subject
Theme
Exposition
Falling
Action
Resolution
or
Denouement
Plot
Before discussing elements of
plot, we should define the
term.

Plot is a series of related
events.
Exposition

Exposition
 sets
up the basic situation
 establishes characters,
setting, and plot
Rising Action
any action between the
exposition and climax
 in this action, we find conflict
and complications

Rising Action

Conflict - a struggle or
problem between opposing
forces
Conflict
1.
Internal – the conflict takes
place within the main
character.
Man vs. himself
2.
External - the conflict
involves an outside force.
Man vs. man
Man vs. nature
Man vs. society
Rising Action

Complication – any action
that interferes with
resolving the conflict
Climax
the height of suspense
 the turning point
 highest point of interest

Falling
Action
 the
part of plot after the
climax which contains
events that contribute to
the resolution
 essentially,
it is any event
between the climax and
the denouement
Resolution
or
Denouement
The end of the story
 resolving the conflict

Subject

The topic of the short story
usually stated in a word or
two.
theme
the main idea of a story
stated in a sentence or two
 can be true of story and
human nature . . . a universal
truth

The difference between
subject and theme . . .

The theme is the idea that
an author wants to reveal
about a subject.
Characterization

the process of making characters
come alive through the written
word
Methods of Characterization

Direct
 when
an author tells what a
character is like
Methods of Characterization
(cont.)

Indirect
 when
an author shows us what
a character is like through
context clues
A writer has 5 different
ways to indirectly
characterize his/her
characters . . .
1. Character’s appearance
(physical description)
 the way a character looks
When she entered class she was
wearing a long, blue print skirt and
matching sweater, her brown hair
framed her smiling, oval face.
2. Character’s speech
 what a character says
After giving back the tests she joyfully
said, “Wow! I am so proud of you guys
for doing such a great job.”
3. Character’s actions
 the way a character behaves
 what a character does
She bounced into class with such
energy it frightened some of the
students. When she began the
lesson on plot by dancing, she
frightened the rest of them!
4. Character’s inner thoughts
and feelings
 what a character is thinking
I wonder if anyone has figured out I
can’t sing yet? That’s o.k., I can do
anything – I’m the teacher.
4.
Opinions and reactions of
other characters towards a
particular character
Mrs. Nardelli’s not so bad once you get
to know her. I actually learned a
lot from her and had some fun
along the way.
Characters may be described
as being a static character or
a dynamic character.
Static vs. Dynamic

Static Character


A character who doesn’t change,
a character who stays the same.
Dynamic Character

A character who changes as a
result of something that happens
in the story.
Characters may be
described as being a round
character or a flat
character.
Round vs. Flat

Round Character
A
multi-dimensional, complex
character.

Flat Character
A
character with few
characteristics.
Point of View

point of view is also referred
to as the narration technique

it is who is telling the story
Recognition of Point of View

First Person
 character is telling the story
 limited to knowing only what the
character knows
 may slant the presentation of
events
 (I)

I took the subway to Clancy Street, found a
spot in front of Park View Apartments, and
started to play my sax. I was hoping to
attract an audience and, if I was lucky, earn
some money. The morning started out great.
This girl opened her window and applauded
madly. Later, I had a duet with this big
howling dog – what a riot! I had to move on,
however, when a guy slammed his window
shut and called the police – not a music lover.
He said I was disturbing the peace. Give me
a break!
EOL 218
Recognition of Point of View
(cont.)

Third Person (Limited)
 narrator is not a character
 limited to knowing thoughts and
feelings of a select character
 (He/She)
The man couldn’t take any more. It was noon,
but he had just fallen asleep, because he had
worked the night shift. He had trouble
getting to sleep because he was worried – he
had just lost his job at the warehouse. And
why was he fired? Because he fell asleep on
the job. And why had he been so sleepy?
Because a barking dog had kept him awake
the day before. And here it was again, a
barking, howling dog right outside his window!
And some beggar playing a horn besides. The
man picked up his phone and dialed 911.
EOL 219
Recognition of Point of View
(cont.)

(Third Person) Omniscient
 narrator is not a character
 we know the thoughts and
feelings of all the characters
 literally means “all-knowing”
One sunny day, a young woman looked down from her
apartment window and saw a young man playing a sax.
“Cool,” she thought as she swayed in time with his
tune. Shortly, a large brown dog sauntered up, sat in
front of the musician, and howled along with the
music.
Then a man in his pajamas yelled from another window.
He said that the noise woke him up and he was going
to call the police. This man worked the night shift
and had to sleep all day and like cats better than
dogs anyway. The young saxophonist left. Soon the
young woman appeared in the street and hurried off
in the direction taken by the departed horn player.
In a year’s time, the young woman married the
talented saxophonist, he had a hit CD, and they
adopted the large brown dog.
EOL 218
Setting
it is the time and place of the
story
 It can include the location of
the story, the weather, the
time of day, and the time
period (past, present, future)

Functions of Setting

Source of conflict
 man
vs. nature
In “The Perfect Storm” the fishermen
are caught out in the Atlantic Ocean
in the middle of a hurricane.

Reveals character
 background
is important to
understand the entire
character
Roald Dahl sets “Poison” in colonial
India. Without this information,
Harry Pope’s actions may not seem
realistic.

Creates mood
 setting
mood
manipulates reader’s
If a writer wants us to be afraid, she
may set a scene on a darkened street
without lights in the middle of the
night with a graveyard nearby. In a
screenplay, scary music would be
added.

Provides background
 gives
readers a backdrop
(frame) for the story
Imagine a morning in late November.
A coming of winter morning more
than twenty years ago. Consider the
kitchen of a spreading old house in a
country town, with a black stove, a
round table, a fireplace with two
rocking chairs – and in the fireplace,
the season's first roaring fire.
“A Christmas Memory”
Irony
it is a contradiction of the
expected
 built on the element of surprise

Purposes of Irony

Verbal Irony

when you say one thing, but mean
something else
When your favorite English teacher walks
into class Monday morning after a
disastrous visit to the hair salon and you
say, “Lovely hairdo this morning, Ms. M.”

Situational Irony
 when
the reader expects one
thing to happen, but the
opposite occurs
From a famous song about the subject
“You win the lottery . . . and die the
next day”

Dramatic Irony
 when
the audience/reader
knows something that the
character does not
In fairytales like “Little Red Riding
Hood” – we know that the “grandma”
is really the wolf in disguise, but
Little Red Riding Hood does not.
Misc. Terms

Antagonist: character in

Protagonist: the main character
conflict with the main
character
Misc. Terms

Foreshadowing: the use of clues

Flashback: an interruption of
to hint at events that will occur
later in the plot
plot to tell about something
that happened at an earlier
time
Misc. Terms


Allusion: an indirect/implied
reference to another work of
literature, historical event, famous
quote, etc.
Image: a mental picture created
with words that appeals to one or
more of the senses
Misc. Terms

Suspense: the quality in a
story that makes the reader
eager to discover what happens
next and how it will end (it
“hooks” the reader)