Literary Devices: Fiction
Fiction terms (most from Bedford 9th edition: all pg. #’s
are from this unless otherwise noted)
PLOT section
Plot is the author’s arrangement of incidents in a story
(73)
-chronological (linear) arrangement happens first, then
second, and so on (“Rip Van Winkle” for example)
-arrangement can be different however; nonlinear structure,
back and forth between past and present (Faulkner’s “A Rose
for Emily”) or circular, (Vonnegut’s Slaughterhouse Five)
in media res: latin term for when stories begin in the
middle of things (Updike’s “A&P”) (73)
flashback: a device that informs us about events that
happened before the opening scene of a work (73)
character: an imagined person in the story (73)
exposition: background information the reader needs to make
sense of the situation in which characters are placed (78)
rising action: complication that intensifies the situation
(78)
conflict: struggle between opposing forces (79)
--external conflicts may place the protagonist in
opposition to another individual, nature, or society (80)
-internal conflicts: in such a case, some moral or
psychological issue must be resolved within the protagonist
(80)
foreshadowing: a suggestion of what is yet to come (79)
protagonist (or sometimes hero): central character who
engages our interest and empathy (79)
antagonist force that opposes the protagonist (79)
suspense when the story creates emotional tension for the
reader (79)
climax is the moment of greatest emotional tension (79)
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resolution (aka denouement: which is French for “untying of
the knot”): …the…well, resolution, of the conflict (79)
CHARACTER section
Characterization methods by which a writer creates people
in a story (121)
Some of these methods are:
Direct characterization: the author tells us the traits
Indirect characterization: the author shows us the traits
--using names to hint at character traits
--what characters say (or what others say about them) or do
--physical description
(124)
Characters whose actions are motivated have reasons for how
they behave and what they say. (125)
If adequate motivation is offered, we find their actions
plausible, believeable. (125)
And when what they do and say works together in these ways,
we find them to be consistent characters.
In Absurdist literature, characters are often alienated
from themselves and their environment in an irrational
world. In this world there is no possibility for
traditional heroic action. Characters often do not behave
in realistic or consistent fashion.
And in this type of lit, we often find an antihero who has
little control over events. (Billy Pilgrim from SH5)
(125)
a dynamic character undergoes some kind of change because
of the action of the plot (Huck Finn in response to Jim)
a static character does not change (Tom Sawyer just loves
adventure) (also, the protagonist in Faulkner’s “A Rose for
Emily” is static, but this serves a reinforcing purpose in
the story…she resists all change)
(125)
a foil helps reveal by contrast the distinctive qualities
of another character (Tom is a foil to Huck)
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a flat character embodies only one or two qualities, ideas,
or traits that can be readily described in a brief summary.
One-dimensional. (126)
Some flat characters are stock characters; types rather
than individuals, such as the loyal servant, the mean
stepfather, the henpecked husband, the sadistic army
officer.
Round characters are more fully developed than flat
characters. Multi-dimensional, many traits. (126)
SETTING terms
Setting is the context in which the action of a story
occurs. Major elements of setting are time, place, and the
social environment that frames the characters. (184)
Mood or atmosphere is the feeling created in the reader by
a passage (“somber”, “threatening”, etc.). Setting can
contribute to this.
POINT OF VIEW terms
Point of view refers to who tells us the story and how it
is told (212)
Narrator is the teller of a story (212)
THIRD-PERSON NARRATOR (nonparticipant) (213-214)
1. Omniscient p.o.v.: all-knowing; the narrator takes us
inside the character(s)
a. editorial omniscience is when the narrator
evaluates a character for the reader
b. neutral omniscience is when the narration allows
characters’ actions and thoughts to speak for
themselves
2. Limited omniscient p.o.v.: narrator takes us inside
one or two characters (Ernest Hemingway’s “Soldier’s
Home”
a. Stream-of-consciousness technique takes a reader
inside a character’s mind to reveal perceptions,
thoughts, and feelings on a conscious or
unconscious level. Complete sentences may give
way to fragments and free associations (see
Joyce’s Ulysses)
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3. Objective p.o.v.: narrator is outside the
character(s). Does not see into the mind of any
character. Narrator reports action and dialogue
without telling us directly what the character feels
and thinks. We observe the characters in much the
same way as we would a film.
FIRST-PERSON NARRATOR (participant) (215)
The I presents the p.o.v. of only one character’s
consciousness; reader is restricted to perceptions,
thoughts, and feelings of that single character.
1. Major character
2. Minor character
Unreliable narrator
-might lack self-knowledge, or might be innocent and
inexperienced: a naïve narrator such as Holden Caulfield
from Catcher in the Rye. Might be biased. Might be
mentally “unfit”.
SYMBOLISM terms
A symbol is a person, object, or event that suggests more
than its literal meaning (262)
Conventional symbols are those widely recognized by a
society or culture. The Christian cross, the Star of
David, a swastika, a nation’s flag, a wedding ring, all
have meanings understood by large groups of people.
Recognize that individual cultures sometimes have their own
conventions (some Eastern cultures associate white rather
than black with death and mourning).
(263)
A literary symbol can include traditional, conventional, or
public meanings, but it may also be established internally
by the context of the work in which it appears. (In Ernest
Hemingway’s “Soldier’s Home”, Hemingway overturns the
traditional associations of home with safety and security;
instead, the soldier’s home becomes symbolic of erroneous
presuppositions due to blind innocence, ssentimentality,
and smug middle-class respectability).
A literary symbol can be a setting, character, action,
object, name, or anything else in a work that maintains its
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literal significance while suggesting other meanings.
Symbols cannot be reduced to one meaning; they are
suggestive rather than definitive.
When a character, object, or incident indicates a single,
fixed meaning, the writer is using allegory rather than
symbol.
(264)
THEME terms
Theme is the central idea or meaning of a story. It
provides a unifying point around which the plot,
characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other
elements of a story are organized. Distinguish between the
theme of a story and its subject; they are not equivalents.
THEME STATEMENTS
(from Klinge/Perrine p.195-197)
1. Theme should be expressible in the form of a statement
with a subject and a predicate. “War” and
“Disillusionment” are subjects in Ernest Hemingway’s
“Soldier’s Home”; a thematic generalization of the
story is more like this: “the brutal experience of war
can alienate a person from those—even family and
friends—who are innocent of war’s reality.”
2. The theme should be stated as a generalization about
life. In stating theme we do not use the names of the
characters or refer to precise places or events, for
to do so is to make a specific rather than a general
statement.
3. We must be careful not to make the generalization
larger than is justified by the terms of the story.
Use some, sometimes, may rather than every, all,
always.
4. Theme is the central and unifying concept of a story.
Therefore:
(a) it accounts for all the major details of the
story. If we can’t explain the bearing of an important
incident or character on the theme, our interpretation is
probably partial and incomplete.
(b) The theme is not contradicted by any detail of the
story. If we have to overlook or “force” the meaning of
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some significant detail in order to frame our statement,
then our statement is defective.
(c) The theme cannot rely upon supposed facts—those
not actually stated or clearly implied by the story. The
theme exists inside, not outside, of the story. The
statement of it must be based on the data of the story
itself, not on assumptions supplied from our own
experience.
5. There is no one way of stating the theme of a story.
The story is not a guessing game that is supposed to
yield some magical verbal formula; as long as the above
conditions are fulfilled, the view may be stated in more
than one way.
6. We should avoid any statement that reduces the theme
to some cliché saying, such as “You can’t judge a book by
its cover”. This is reductive and wastes the possibility
of a fresh perception.
7. Use quotes/key terms/phrases (perhaps the title) from
the story. Ground your statement in the language of the
story.
KLINGE’S FORMULA FOR THEME STATEMENT
Klinge’s Theme Statement Formula
When <define the protagonist>
comes in conflict with/encounters <define the
antagonists/antagonistic forces>
in a situation in which <define the relevant
circumstances/conditions/setting>
the result may be <explain/define the outcomes, ending
points, epiphanies, dynamic changes in character,
resolutions, conclusions>
“When a person like the protagonist encounters a
challenge like this one under these conditions the result
may be that something significant occurs.”
The final section is the most analytical and most
important. Often, your statement will extend into another
sentence (or more) with that portion. It is less
important that your statement be elegant than it be
comprehensive. Since it is a formula, the result will be
formulaic. Ultimately, you should go beyond the formulaic
phrasing and structure.
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STYLE, TONE, IRONY terms
Style refers to the distinctive manner in which a writer
arranges words to achieve particular effects. Individual
word choices, length of sentences, structure, tone, and the
use of irony.
(329)
Diction refers to a writer’s choice of words.
(330)
Tone is the author’s implicit attitude toward the people,
places, and events in a story. Dependent on the context in
which a statement appears. (Consider if, in real life, I
told you “you’re going to fail the next exam”; this could
be cruel, indifferent, or humorous depending on the context
and the way I say it)
Irony is a device that reveals a reality different from
what appears to be true
Verbal irony consists of a person saying one thing but
meaning the opposite. Sarcasm is a common example in
everyday life, but in literature is often more subtle and
restrained.
Situational irony exists when there is an incongruity
between what is expected to happen and what actually
happens.
Dramatic irony creates a discrepancy between what a
character believes or says and what the reader understands
to be true.
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