Elements of LiteratureMrs. HochReading

Characters

Characters

• In some instances, such as in historicalfiction, there may be real human beingswho lived during the time period of thestory. A good writer creates charactersthat the reader cares about. The readermay love them or hate them, respect them,or hold contempt for them, but the writerhas created and evoked those emotionsby the selection of details provided aboutthe characters.

Example

Abby loved to play basketball. She towered over all of the boys in her seventh grade class and they often teased her about that. Everyday after school, Abby would pull her long blonde hair into a ponytail and go out to practice in the driveway of her Grandmother’s house.

What can you tell me about the character I just described?

List all of the characteristics you can remember.

SettingSetting is the times and places in which the eventsof the story occur. Most stories have multiplesettings which have been created by the author totell the story.

Setting of Place

• The setting is theplace where thestory happens, suchas a town, a city, anisland in the Pacific,Wyoming, Peru,London, Cairo andHolcomb.

Setting of Time• The setting of time

tells when the storytakes place. It canbe in the past oreven into the future.The time may bespecific such as1861, or vague likeone sunny day inJuly.

Example

It was a cool day in late October. The sky was a dreary gray and the chill of the first snowfall of the year could be felt in the air. The leaves rusted in the trees as the wind blew off Lake Cample. Abby and her family were nestled closed to the fireplace in the cabin they had rented for this much need retreat.

What can you tell me about the setting?

List everything you can remember.

Plot:• The plot of a story is the series of

events created by the author to tellthe story.

Plot• The exposition is the beginning of

the story that gives details about thesetting, the characters, etc . beforethe action starts.

Rising Action

• The term rising action refers to theevents before a climax

RisingAction

Climax• The climax may be defined as the

highest point of interest in a storyand it is the point at which one (ormore) of the conflicts is resolved. Ifthere is more than one conflict in thestory, there may be more than oneclimax.

RisingAction

Climax

Falling Action

• The term falling action refers to theevents which occur after the climax.

RisingAction

FallingAction

Climax

Resolution• The resolution takes place when the

climax has reached its peak and theproblem has been resolved.

• Following the resolution of the conflict,a new conflict may begin.

Theme

• Theme is the central unifyingelement of the story which tiestogether all of the other elements offiction used by the author to tell thestory. It indicates the pivotal ideasaround which the author was writing.In order to identify a theme of a story,one must know the whole story.

Literary Genres• Realistic Fiction• Historical Fiction• Science Fiction/Fantasy• Biography• Autobiography• Non-Fiction• Legends/Myths/Tall Tales• Fairy Tales and Fables• Drama• Poetry

Wanted PosterRealistic Fiction

Due September 22, 2006

Requirements:•Title and author of book•Description of the setting•Description of the main character(s)•Summary of the book•Discuss how it is realistic fiction•Recommendation•MLA Heading•Creative and neat

Thanks for watching!The End