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MIND MAP –FICTION Raffaella Mannori 2015-2016
FICTION
SHORT
STORIES
NOVELS
a)storyline
FICTIONAL
b)plot
WORLD
EVENTS
a)place
b)time
c) social
milieu
WORLD
SETTING
a)place
b)time
a)
b)
c)
d)
EVENTS
CHARACTERS
SETTING
NARRATIVE
TECHNIQUES
e) NARRATOR
CHARACTERS
CHARACTERS
NARRATIVE TECHNIQUES
c) social
milieu
WORLD
G
a)first person
b)third person :omniscient/nonomniscient
c) Point of view: fixed /shifting point of
view
a) MAIN/MINOR
CHARACTERS
b) ROUND/FLAT
CHARACTERS
c) “by telling”-“by
showing”
NARRATOR
a) NARRATION
b) DESCRIPTION
c) DIALOGUE: main
aspects of speech
and thought
 direct
speech
and
thought
 indirect
speech
and
thought
 free
indirect
speech
and
thought
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MIND MAP –FICTION Raffaella Mannori 2015-2016
LEARNING ABOUT FICTION
SHORT
STORIES
NOVELS
a) a brief period of time
a) longer than short
stories witha variety of
structures
b)crucial moment in
characters'lives
b)it presents a major
conflict which must be
resolved
3)not complex plot ; few
key events
c) a period of rising
action or development
which can lead to a
limatic moment: the
apex of a parabola
4)it begins in medias res
5)it has a specific
structure
d) this apex is followed
by a "falling action".and
then the novel reaches
its conclusion
STRUCTURE OF A SHORT STORY/ NOVEL
3) MOMENT OF
“CRISIS” or CLIMAX
2) DEVELOPMENT
4) FALLING ACTION
1)INITIAL
SECTION:introduces
characters and
setting
5) CONCLUSION:the
key issue is resolved
or left unresolved
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MIND MAP –FICTION Raffaella Mannori 2015-2016
CHECKLIST : while reading you should ask yourself a number
of questions on the text. The checklist below is meant to help
you.
STORY & PLOT
NARRATOR
POINTS of VIEW
What is the subject of the story?
How are events organized?
Chronologically? Does the author decide
to postpone some essential information
or to anticipate possible consequences?
Why? ( to create a certain effect? to
arouse the reader’s curiosity? to give
prominence to a particular event?)
How is the story narrated? (by a first
person narrator, by a third person
narrator..)
To what effect? For what purpose?
(FIRST PERSONto make events
narrated more convincing through the
adoption of and autobiographical note?
to give the reader’s a unique insight into
the mind of the narrator?to involve the
reader emotionally as it first-person
narration deals with subjective and
personal problems? )
( OMNISCIENT THIRD PERSON
NARRATOR to offer the reader a wide
view over the fictional world? to direct
the reader’s interpretation of the story?)
(NON-OMISCIENT THIRD PERSON
NARRATORto leave much to the
reader’s interpretation and judgment?
How is the story mainly
narrated?(through narration, dialogue ,
description)
To what effect? For what purpose?
What point/s of view are adopted? Is the
point of view fixed ? Is is fixed but wide (
omniscient narrator) or fixed but
restricted ( first-person narrator)? Is it
shifting, moving from one character to
another ?
CHARACTERS
What kind of characters are
presented?(flat/round)
How are they created?(by “showing” or by
“telling”?)To what effect? ( “showing”
reader left to interpret and draw
conclusions – “telling”it allows the
reader little liberty to form an opinion )
SETTING
What kinds of settings are described?
(physical, social,atmosphere …)
How does the setting contribute to the
general meaning of the short story/novel?
(for example in thrillers it can add to the
general atmosphere of suspense; social
setting can contribute to understand the
behavior and motivations of the
characters)
What aspects of language seem more
significant?
(figurative language, repetition,
personification…)
How are all the elements mentioned
above related to the overall meaning of
the novel or short story?
Which areas of the context would you
like to learn about?(historical, social ,
cultural background? the author’s
biography?)
LANGUAGE
THEME
CONTEXT