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Syed Daanish Hasnain
Prof. Dan Anderson
Introduction to Fiction
22 July 22, 2010
Differentiating between Fiction and Novels
In the realm of literature, fiction has a vast range. Yet many believe that fictional
literature is synonymous with novels. While novels do make up some of fiction, fiction contains
so much more. Fiction can be sufficiently described as any media form, constructed with
imagined aspects. This definition allows fiction to encompass a range of different literary works
and types. Common examples of fiction include short stories, comic books, and even film. Even
stories with partial falsehood are considered fiction. It is important to note that novels fall into
the realm of fiction. By examining the commonality in its different components, an accurate
description of fiction can be attained. The essential difference is that novel, is a type of fictional
prose, while fiction, in a broad sense, is any medium or work with created aspects.
The most pervasive form of media in society today, film partially falls within the
category of fiction as well. Film primarily uses vision and sound to convey meaning and ideas. In
the same manner a book can tell a true story, films can also tell true events as well. However,
imagined books are called novels or short stories, while film and movies based on real events are
labeled documentaries or non-fiction film. In fact, most known films are fictional, like Shrek or
Rush Hour. A perfect example, The Road demonstrates a fictional story of a man and his son
and their effort to survive after some earth-shattering event. By using color, and visual images,
like a broken church, The Road conveys the same feeling of desperation and hope. Though the
movie is an adaption from the book of the same name, it still represents a created story. Thusly,
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the industry and critics alike label The Road as a fictional film. It is important to note that film is
a medium, and not entirely encompassed by fiction. As with all works, the determining aspect
of fiction is whether the movie is true or not.
Comics is an interesting medium. Their roots extend all the way back to the 1930’s.
Despite being almost as old as film, comics have never garnished the same popular appeal as
film. All the same, comics show how far reaching the term fiction is. Out of their superhero
roots, almost all comics are entirely fictional. Comics use images and text to convey the theme
of the piece. Using said technique, Alan Moore and Dave Gibbons created the graphic novel
Watchmen. The relationship between graphic novels and comic books is analogous to novels and
short stories. Because graphic novels are longer in length, Watchmen is an amazing piece of
work, examining the world’s evils, its leaders, and the people who decide to do something about
it. Furthermore, the beauty that is comics can also show the trivialities of growing up, a la
“Peanuts”. Though it may be written off by society, the diversity and complexity of comics
compete with many other mediums of communication.
One of fiction’s more succinct forms, short stories is prose that is short in length and
untrue. More often than not, short stories focus on one central event or moment that usually
helps convey the theme, as seen by Raymond Carver’s” Cathedral”. In one encounter with a
blind man, the narrator grows in many ways, which in turn, shows how short stories convey
theme. Some event, whether amazing or trivial, spells out the theme to the reader. In the case of
“Cathedral”, the man, as well as the reader is left with the idea that “seeing” isn’t vision.
Because of the efficiency that short stories display, some themes hinge on the reader’s
interpretation of the work. Other stories are more direct, and less susceptible to multiple
readings.
Short stories vary with narrating techniques as well. Some have a memoir-like feel,
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like “Cathedral” while others implement the third-person omniscient, like “The Yellow
Wallpaper”. Narrating in a memoir-like fashion helps provide more of an emotional appeal, as
the reader experiences and feels based on the narrator’s emotion. Short stories implementing the
third person demonstrate much more of a logical appeal, as everything is revealed to the reader,
revealing the fallacy or truth of the theme. Topics range from traditional bedtime stories to the
sad realities of war. As this is one of the more traditional forms of fiction, authors have explored
short stories well, increasing their diversity through new techniques and formatting. With all its
variation, most short stories share several characteristics. For one, they are all considerably
small in length.
Most short stories also focus on one central event to convey the ideas and
theme in the story. Lastly, yet the most true fact, all short stories are false.
Probably the biggest element of fiction, and certainly the longest, and oldest, novels are
the perception and identity of fiction for most people. In reality, novels are fictional prose that
happens to be longer than short stories. Novels contain many examples of narration, and plot
variation. They have touched on almost every subject. With their guaranteed length, novels
often include many significant events to convey the theme. While novels do contain climaxes in
plot, more often than not, it is the culmination of the entire story that brings the theme to the
reader. Often times, novels will use non traditional methods to convey meanings like non-linear
narratives. Another manner in which novels add emphasis is through narration shifts. Novels
also have a lot more dynamic characters, as much more depth and background can be added to
each individual character. All the same, static characters found in novels can signify the
meaning as well. Their lack of change throughout the plot can symbolize or represent some idea.
Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, a novel, implements many of these strategies in order to
convey the central idea. The novel is about a boy, and his journey to find his father, and the
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healing he experiences along the way. The novel juxtaposes 9/11 to the bombing of Dresden, to
show the universal human experience with death, and how to move on from it. But like any
other work of fiction, it spins the story of an imaginary tale.
In reality, with all the mediums, topics, techniques, and time frames, the only similarity
found throughout all fiction is that it is all made up of imagined stories. This fact is the essence
of fiction, and it’s only defining characteristic. Novels, on the other hand, are confined only to
printed material, that comes in prose form, which must be made up. Though it may seem
strange, it can be easy to mix the two criteria. As famous novels like Crime and Punishment,
War and Peace, to more modern novels like Harry Potter or Twilight are few recognized
exposures to fiction that people have, one can understand how this misconception can come
about. But in limiting fiction to novels does the category as a whole a great injustice, for fiction
spans through several mediums and represents much more than just written work.
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Works Cited
Carver, Raymond. “Cathedral.” The Hudson Book of Fiction: 30 Stories Worth Reading. 2002.
Ed. Philip A. Butcher. New York: McGraw Hill, 1981. 260-271. Print.
Gilman, Charlotte. “The Yellow Wallpaper.” The Hudson Book of Fiction: 30 Stories Worth
Reading. 2002. Ed. Philip A. Butcher. New York: McGraw Hill, 1899. 16-28. Print.
McCarthy, Cormac. The Road. New York:Vintage, 2006. Print
Moore, Alan and Dave Gibons. Watchmen. New York: DC Comics, 1986,1987. Print.
Safran, Jonathan. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close. New York: Mariner Books, 2006. Print.
The Road. Dir. John Hilcoat. Perf. Viggio Mortensen. Dimension Films and 2929 Productions.
2009. Film.