Name______Date______

Elements of Fiction Notes

1. ______- the people / characters in a story

(Ex: Cinderella…Big Bad wolf…Batman…)

* Protagonist - the main ______of the story

* Antagonist - the character that ______or is against the ______

a)  Round characters - complex and multidimensional, like real people

b)  ______characters - one dimensional and superficial; can be described in a single sentence; minor characters

c)  Dynamic characters - make an important change during the course of the story

d)  ______characters - do not change much or at all during a story

e)  Stock characters are predictable stereotypes of people.

*______is the underlying force(s) that causes a character to act a certain way.

2. PLOT - the series of related ______that make up a story

3. ______- ______and ______where the story happens

(Ex: 1945…England…winter…Middle Ages...haunted mansion…)

4. ______- the real meaning of the story that can usually be stated in one sentence and

makes a statement about life or human nature; can be traced throughout

the story

5. ______of ______- ______is telling the story/ whose ______

a) 3rd Person Omniscient - the narrator knows ______that’s going on in the story

b) 1st Person - the narrator is a person in the story/ the narrator reveals his/her own experiences

and thoughts, but can’t tell any other character’s private thoughts

c) 3rd Person Limited - the narrator is ______the story, but tells the story from only ______

character’s vantage point

6. CONFLICT - the ______that is present in the story

* ______Conflict - conflict that happens ______the character

* ______Conflict - conflict that happens between one or more character or between a

character and some other element in the story

Types of Conflict

* Person vs. ______- A struggle between _____ or more people (verbal OR physical)

(Ex: Hitting, Yelling, etc…)

* Person vs. ______- A struggle between man and some part of ______

(Ex: Hurricane, Tornado, Rain, etc…)

* Person vs. ______- A struggle between man and some sort of ______or ______

(Ex: car, hairdryer, computer etc…)

* Person vs. ______- A struggle between man and his ______or setting

(Ex: being cold in a classroom, being locked out of your house, etc…)

* Person vs. ______- A struggle between man and society’s ______of an issue

(Ex: people expressing their views against abortion, racism, war, etc…)

* Person vs. ______- A struggle between man and some supernatural ______

(Ex: God, a ghost, the devil/demons, etc…)

* Person vs. ______- A struggle within one’s ______

(Ex: deciding what to do in a certain situation, dealing with guilt, etc…)

7. ______- the ______a writer takes toward the reader, a subject, or a character

(shown through a writer’s choice of words or details)

(Ex: sarcastic, angry, sad, lonely)

8. FORESHADOWING - the use of clues to ______at what is going to happen ______later in

the plot

(Ex: a storm comes on the night before the character is to die, [in a movie] the

suspenseful music starts to play)

9. FLASHBACK - when the present action of a story is interrupted to ______to an

earlier time to tell what happened

10. ALLUSION - a ______to another work of art, person, place, or thing (outside

of the text); usually refer to history, the Bible, mythology, or pop culture

(Ex: She is the Mother Theresa of our family because of her kindness and

caring attitude.)

11. IRONY - the difference between what you ______to happen and what

______occurs

* ______Irony - When one expects one thing to happens, but the opposite occurs

[a situation]

(Ex: if a fireman’s house caught on fire)

* ______Irony - When someone ______something, but they mean the opposite (Sarcasm)

(Ex: the teacher tells her wildest class that they are her little “angels”)

* ______Irony - When the ______what is going to happen, but the

______does not

(Ex: when the audience knows that there the killer is behind the

door that the woman is about to open, but the woman does not.)

Elements of Fiction

1. CHARACTER - the people / characters in a story

(Ex: Cinderella…Big Bad wolf…Batman…)

* Protagonist - the main character of the story

* Antagonist - the character that opposes or blocks the protagonist

a)  Round characters - complex and multidimensional, like real people

b)  Flat characters - one dimensional and superficial; can be described in a single sentence; minor characters

c)  Dynamic characters - make an important change during the course of the story

d)  Static characters - do not change much or at all during a story

e)  Stock characters are predictable stereotypes of people.

*Motivation is the underlying force(s) that causes a character to act a certain way.

2. PLOT - series of related incidents that make up a story

3. SETTING - Time and Place where the story happens

(Ex: 1945…England….Middle Ages...haunted mansion…)

4. THEME - the real meaning of the story/ the story beneath the

surface

5. POINT of VIEW - who is telling the story/ whose perspective

a) 3rd Person Omniscient - the narrator knows everything that’s going on in the

story

b) 1st Person - the narrator is a person in the story/ the narrator reveals

his/her own experiences and thoughts, but can’t tell any

other character’s private thoughts

c) 3rd Person Limited - the narrator is outside the story, but tells the story from

only one character’s vantage point

6. CONFLICT - the problem that is present in the story

* Internal Conflict - conflict that happens within the character

* External Conflict - conflict that happens between one or more

characters…or between a character and some other

element in the story

Types of Conflict

* Person vs. Person - A struggle between two or more people (verbal OR

physical) (Ex: Hitting, Any type of Competition, Yelling, etc…)

* Person vs. Nature - A struggle between man and some part of nature

( Ex: Hurricane, Tornado, Rain, etc…)

* Person vs. Machine - A struggle between man and some sort of machine or

device (Ex: car, pencil sharpener, hairdryer, computer etc…)

* Personn vs. Environment - A struggle between man and his

surroundings/setting

(Ex: being cold in a classroom, being locked out of your house, etc…)

* Person vs. Society - A struggle between man and society’s view of an

issue

(Ex: people expressing their views against abortion, racism, war, etc…)

* Person vs. Supernatural - A struggle between man and some supernatural force

(Ex: God, a ghost, the devil/demons, etc…)

* Person vs. Himself - A struggle within one’s own self

(Ex: deciding what to do in a certain situation, dealing with guilt, etc…)

7. TONE - the attitude a writer takes toward the reader, subject, or a character (shown

through a writer’s choice of words or details)

(Ex: sarcastic…angry…sad…lonely…)

8. FORESHADOWING - the use of clues to hint at what is going to happen

later in the plot

(Ex: a storm comes on the night before the character is to die,

[in a movie] the suspenseful music starts to play)

9. FLASHBACK - when the present action of a story is interrupted to

look back to an earlier time to tell what happened

10. ALLUSION - a reference to another work of art, person, place, or

thing (outside the text)

(Ex: She is the Mother Theresa of our family because of her

kindness and caring attitude.)

11. IRONY - the difference between what you expect to happen

and what actually occurs

* Situational Irony - When one expects one thing to happens, but the

opposite occurs (Ex: if a fireman’s house caught on fire)

* Verbal Irony - When someone says something, but they mean the

opposite (Sarcasm)

(Ex: the teacher tells her wildest class that they are her little “angels”)

* Dramatic Irony - When the reader knows what is going to happen, but the

character does not

(Ex: when the audience knows that there the killer is behind the door that

the woman is about to open, but the woman does not.)