Narrative Elements: The Parts of a Story
Narrative
Element
Characters
What it is
Protagonist: the character whom the
story is about
Antagonist: a character that is in conflict
with the protagonist
Background
Name/Date/Hour:
Who/What/Where it is in the story
(include page #)
Protagonist: Rainsford (p. 3)
Antagonist: General Zaroff (p. 9)
The things you learn about a character’s Rainsford is a hunter (pgs. 1, 5)
past and/or personality
Rainsford has been in “tight” spots
before (p. 3)
Setting
Where and when the story takes place
“Ship Trap Island” in the
Caribbean (p. 1)
Conflict
The protagonist’s struggle in the story:
-Man vs. Man
-Man vs. Nature
-Man vs. Self
-Man vs. Society
-Man vs. Technology
Man vs. Man:
The parts in a story when the conflict
becomes more complex and the tension
grows
Rainsford heard multiple gun
shots (p. 3)
Rising
Action
Zaroff attempts to hunt and kill
Rainsford (pgs. 14-18)
He fell off the boat (p. 3)
He finds empty cartridge and
castle on the island (pgs. 4-5)
Climax
The turning point in the story where
everything changes for the protagonist,
for better or worse
Rainsford learns that Zaroff hunts
men, not just animals (p. 10)
Narrative
Element
Falling
Action
Resolution
What it is
The parts in a story where the
complexities of the conflict begin to
unravel
Who/What/Where it is in the story
(include page #)
Zaroff tracks Rainsford to his
hiding spot in the tree (p. 15)
Rainsford sets three traps for
Zaroff: the log, the pit and the
knife (pgs. 16-18)
The end of the story:
Closed ending:
Closed ending: all of the story’s
“unknowns” are revealed
Rainsford wins the game (p. 18)
Open ending: the story ends with some
“unknowns” remaining a mystery
Dialogue
Two or more characters talking with one
another
Rainsford expressed his surprise.
“Is there big game on the island?”
The general nodded. “The
biggest.” (p. 7)
Narration
1st person: when the storyteller is also a
character in the story
3rd person (p. 4 and throughout)
2nd person: when the storyteller speaks
directly to the reader (“you”/”your”)
3rd person: when the storyteller is not a
character in the story
Foreshadowing
When an author provides hints to the
reader about upcoming events in the
story
“We were drawing near the island
then. What I felt was a—a mental
chill; a sort of sudden dread.”
(p. 2)
Flashback
A scene that takes the story back in time
to revisit a character’s memory
Paragraph starting with:
“He had not been entirely
clearheaded when…” (p. 14)