THE ELEMENTS OF FICTIONLiterature-Based Research

WHAT IS LITERATURE?

Compositions which… Tell stories Dramatize situations Express emotions Analyze and

advocate ideas Stems from the

oral tradition Often set to music

Ex: Ballads

Depiction of The Decameron (c. 1350)

MODERN FICTION The essence of fiction is narration (storytelling). Rooted in ancient legends and myths. Starting about 800 years ago, storytelling in Western Civilization

developed into a fine art by writers such as…

Fiction spread during the 17th and 18th centuries. The rise of the novel as literary form largely credited to late

1600s – early 1700s. Poe created the concept of the short story – early 19th century.

Marie de France

France 12th century

Poet

Giovanni Bocccaccio

Italy 1313-1375

The Decameron

Geoffrey Chaucer England

c. 1340-1400 The Canterbury

Tales

William Shakespeare England

1564-1616 Poet & Playwright

WHY READ FICTION?

Literature nourishes our emotional lives. Literature broadens our perspectives on the

world. Literature helps us grow personally and

intellectually. Literature enhances and sharpens our

perceptions. Both the reader and the

author create a literary work.

LITERARY GENRES

Prose Fiction

Drama

Poetry

Nonfiction Prose

PROSE FICTION (NARRATIVE FICTION)

ParablesMyths

Romances Novels

Short Stories

POETRY

BalladsSonnets

Blank Verse Elegies

HymnsLimericks

Odes Epic Poems

DRAMA

Designed for the stage, to be enjoyed by an audience.

The development of character and situation…

…through speech and action.

NONFICTION PROSE

News Reports

Feature Articles & Editorials

Essays

Creative Nonfiction

Textbooks

Historical & Biographica

l Works

ALICE WALKER (B. 1944)

Born in 1944 to share-croppers in Eatonton, GA

1963 – Participated in the March on Washington

1965 - Graduated from Sarah Lawrence College, NY

Pioneered one of the first Women’s Studies courses in the country at Wellesley College

1982 – Won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for The Color Purple

Continues to be active in national and international women’s rights

Alice Walker in Gaza

"You Confide in Me"

Novelist / PoetHumanitarian /

Political Activist

“EVERYDAY USE” (1973) What type of fiction is

“Everyday Use”? First reading – basic

comprehension of events in story

First reading – first impressions, reader reactions & responses

Second reading – trace development of ideas, write expanded notes, memorize important or interesting passages, write down questions you have about the text

Lone Star Pieced Quilt Pattern

WHAT ARE THE ELEMENTS OF FICTION?

Verisimilitude & Donnée

Plot

Point of View

Characters

SettingStructure

Tone & Style

Symbolism & Allegory

Theme

VERISIMILITUDE & DONNÉE

Fiction is based in realism or verisimilitude: the situations or characters ring true; they are similar to those that many human beings experience or know.

Authors establish ground rules for the characters and situations present in their works.

Donnée (something given) is the premise of a story. Allows an author to lead

readers into natural, remote, fanciful, magical, or symbolic worlds.

Ex: Futuristic or Science Fiction Growth or Apprenticeship story Detective story

Verisimilitude & Donnée

Plot

Point of View

Characters

Setting

Structure

Tone & Style

ART SPIEGELMAN (1948 - )

Swedish born Worked professionally

as a cartoonist before becoming writing the graphic novel Maus.

Founded the comic magazine Raw.

What is the correlation between the title Maus and the characters?

How does this personification of animals as as the story’s c aracter characters function function in the text text?

Cartoonist Graphic Novelist

PLOT

Verisimilitude & Donée

Plot

Point of View

CharactersSetting

Structure

Tone & Style

The author’s arrangement of incidents in a story

The motivation and causality of fiction

Conflict is the major element of plot – opposing forces arouse curiosity, create tension, and produce interest.

Without conflict, there is no motivation for the plot or the characters

WILLIAM FAULKNER (1897-1962)

Born in Mississippi; lived his entire life in the South

Created an imaginary county in Mississippi – many works are based there

Won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1949

Major works include The Sound and the Fury (1929), As I Lay Dying (1930), Absalom, Absalom! (1936)

Southern Writer Canonical Works

“A ROSE FOR EMILY” (1931) What type of narration is

at work in the text?

What type of person is Miss Emily?

What information do we learn about her relationship with her father? With Homer Barron?

What role does the town’s southern location play in the story?

Does it matter that Homer is a Northerner?

Did you feel sympathy for Emily because of her history of tragic personal events?

Based on her actions, did you anticipate the ending of the story?

What is the pattern of conflict in the story? Is there any conflict resolution?

POINT OF VIEW

Refers to the speaker, narrator, persona, or voice of the story and how it is told

The author’s choice of point of view shapes how we feel about the events of the story

The narrator affects our understanding of the characters’ actions

If the narrative voice is changed, the story changes

Verisimilitude & Donée

Plot

Point of View

Characters

Setting

Structure

Tone & Style

• The I presents the point of view of only one character’s consciousness

• The narrator tells about events he or she has personally witnessed.

First-Person

• The narrator is speaking to someone else who is addressed as “you”

• The least common and most difficult for authors to manage

Second-

Person• Does not appear as a character in the

story• Three variants – (1) dramatic or

objective, (2) omniscient, and (3) limited omniscient

Third-Person

NARRATIVE PRESENCE Dramatic or Objective

point of view Does not allow the narrator

to see inside the mind of any character

Limited to only what is said and what happens

Omniscient point of view All-knowing, can take the

reader inside the minds of each character

Limited or Limited Omniscient point of view Focuses on the thoughts

and deeds of one major character

Unreliable narrator Interprets events differently

from the way those events are suggested by the author

Naïve narrator Lacks the

sophistication to interpret events accurately

Stream of Consciousness Allows the reader to see the

flow of thoughts from a character

SHERMAN ALEXIE (1966 - )

Native American of the Spokane Coeur d’ Alene Nation.

Educated on the reservation & at Washington State U.

Success as a writer was virtually immediate

Has won numerous awards

The Lone Ranger and Tonto Fistfight in Heaven (1993)

Smoke Signals (1998) The Absolutely True Diary

of a Part-Time Indian (2007)

War Dances (2009)

Writer / Poet Screenwriter / Director

“THIS IS WHAT IT MEANS TO SAY PHOENIX, ARIZONA” (1993)

What point of view is at work in this text? 1st - 2nd - 3rd

What type of narrative presence is suggested? Dramatic or

Objective Omniscient Limited or Limited

Omniscient

Is the narrator knowledgeable, unreliable, naïve

CHARACTER

Plot and characterization are interrelated

Characters are usually, although not always, human

The Protagonist or hero / heroine is the central character who engages our interest and sympathy

The Antagonist is the force that opposes the protagonist

Characters exhibit traits = qualities of mind or habitual behaviors that are evident in both positive and negative ways.

Verisimilitude & Donée

Plot

Point of View

Characters

Setting

Structure

Tone & Style

What’s in a Name?

Authors sometimes put much time and

effort into selecting names

for their characters

Names can suggest a character’s

nature or qualities

Likewise, an unnamed character lacks an individual

identity

Authors reveal

characters by showing and

telling

Characters reveal themselves

indirectly through what they say, do,

and think

Characters are revealed directly through what the

writer tells us about them …

their appearance, their background,

their thoughts, their attitudes

Characters can be

dynamic or static, flat or

round

Dynamic characters change

throughout the text – for better or

worse

Static characters stay the same with

no significant realizations or

personality change

The reader knows much about round characters – but very little about flat characters

Characters should be

convincing

We may be able to identify with the characters or see

ourselves or others in them

We do not necessarily need to like the characters,

But we should understand their

motivation

CHARACTERIZATION

WHAT IS A STOCK CHARACTER?

Usually considered flat characters Prominent in certain types of literature:

Cowboy stories Police investigation stories Private eye stories

In these instances, character is lively and engaging although he or she does not undergo significant change during the story

Because they have common traits, stock characters are representative of their particular group.

T. CORGHESSAN (T.C.) BOYLE (1948 - )

Born in New York Professor of English

at University of Southern California

Has won numerous awards, including 6 O. Henry Awards

Descent of Man (1979) Greasy Lake and Other

Stories (1985) Talk, Talk (2006) The

Women

(2009)• BIOGRAPHICAL

NOVEL OF FRANK LLOYD WRIGHT‘S LIFE AS TOLD THROUGH HIS RELATIONSHIPS WITH FOUR WOMEN

Novelist / Short-Story Writer

Professor of English

“GREASY LAKE” (1985)

How would you characterize each of the main characters from the story?

SETTING

Setting is the “natural, manufactured, political, cultural, and temporal environment, including everything that characters know, own, and otherwise experience” (Roberts 224).

The major elements: Time Place (both public and private

spaces) Social Environment that

frames the characters (cultural or historic)

Used to evoke a mood or atmosphere for what is to come, or to contradict the action.

Verisimilitude & Donée

Plot

Point of View

Characters

Setting

Structure

Tone & Style

THE LITERARY USES OF SETTING

Authors use setting to create meaning: Usually essential and vital in a story Enhances a work’s realism and credibility Accentuates qualities of character

Underscores the influence of place, circumstance, and time on human growth and change

Shapes the structure of a work Framing or Enclosing Setting – the work opens and

closes in the same setting Provides symbolic meaning Creates atmosphere or mood Underscores a work’s irony

CHARLOTTE PERKINS GILMAN (1860-1935)

Began writing after the birth of her daughter and a nervous breakdown in the 1880s.

Left her husband in 1890 to seek her independence.

Distinguished career as an advocate for women’s rights

Championed the need for women’s financial independence

In 1930s, became incurably ill – took her own life in 1935

“The Yellow Wallpaper” (1892) Women and Economics (1898) Concerning Children (1900) Human Work (1904) His Religion and Hers (1923)

Women’s Rights Activist

Lecturer / Author

THE “REST CURE” Gilman was a patient of Philadelphia physician, Dr. S. Weir

Mitchell and his famous “rest cure.” Prescribed almost exclusively to women, the rest cure enforced

(1) isolation, (2) rest, and (3) feeding, with electrotherapy and massage to counteract muscle atrophy – patients were made infant-like.

Treatment included strict limits on “brain work” which he felt interfered with “womanly duties.”

After writing the story, Gilman sent a copy to him as criticism. Dr. Mitchell later modified his methods.

“THE YELLOW WALLPAPER” (1892)

How is setting used to evoke the mood or atmosphere?

How much time elapses? How does the passage of time explain what is happening to the narrator?

How does setting accentuate the main character? What change occurs as a result of setting in the story?

What is the narrator’s connection to the wallpaper?

Discuss the narrator’s feelings regarding the room (private) vs. gardens, paths, (public) settings she encounters. Do her feelings change?

Can a case be made that the “rest cure” the narrator receives is actually the cause of her mental disturbance?

STRUCTURE

Structure = the Organization of Stories

Formal Categories of Structure: The Exposition

Provides materials necessary to put the plot into operation

Provides background information the reader needs to make sense of the story

The Complication Marks the beginning and the

growth of the conflict Conflict - the necessary struggle

that the characters undergo, can be external or internal

Verisimilitude & Donée

Plot

Point of View

Characters

Setting

Structure

Tone & Style

Rising Action - the plot gains momentum through a complication that intensifies the situation

The Crisis Marks the decisions

made to end the conflict

The Climax The moment of

greatest emotional tension in the story

The conclusion of the conflict

The Resolution (Dénouement) The victory or resolution of

the conflict Finishes the work and

releases the tension

CREATING INTEREST WITH STRUCTURE

Writers use various techniques to create interest: Chronological order Flashback In medias res (in the middle of the action) Non-linear (back-and-forth, not chronological) Foreshadowing = a sometimes subtle

suggestion of what is to come Suspense = anxiety built over the outcome

JOYCE CAROL OATES (1938 -)

Attended a one-room school as a child

Currently is Distinguished Professor in the Humanities at Princeton University.

Has written 30+ novels, short story collections, poetry, and criticisms

Solstice (1985) Foxfire (1993) Missing Mom (2005) Awarded a Guggenheim

Fellowship, O. Henry Award, National Book Award, and 3 nominations for the Pulitzer Prize

Novelist / Literary CriticPoet / Short Story Writer

“WHERE ARE YOU GOING, WHERE HAVE YOU BEEN? (1970) Public Space vs. Private

Space: In public, Connie is

ostentatious, out-going, flirtatious, sexually curious, adult-like, feels in control

In private, Connie is cynical, withdrawn, child-like, feels out of control

Interesting then that Arnold Friend comes to her home to “get her” Inspiration for the story was

serial killer Charles Schmid, who abducted and killed 3 young women near Tuscon, AZ.

What is Connie’s connection with music that permeates the story? How does it play into the structure?

What happens in that odd scene when Connie goes to make a phone call?

Why does she leave with Arnold Friend?

STYLE AND TONE

Style. The distinctive manner in

which a writer arranges words to achieve particular effects…

Including individual word choices, the length of sentences, sentence structure and tone, and the use of irony.

Diction refers to a writer’s choice of words. Levels of Diction Concrete & Abstract

Language

Verisimilitude & Donée

Plot

Point of View

Characters

Setting

Structure

Tone & Style

Tone. Style reveals tone, the

author’s implicit attitude toward the people, places, and events in a story.

Because there is no voice to put with the words, we must rely on the context in which a statement appears to determine its meaning.

Denotation = the actual, literal meaning of a word

Connotation = the meaning of a word as it includes cultural meanings

Irony. Verbal Irony occurs when

someone says one thing but means another…think sarcasm

Situational Irony occurs when what is expected to happen differs from what actually happens

Dramatic Irony occurs when the author gives the reader more information about a situation than a character knows

Double Entendre = double meaning

Humor. Slapstick, Dark, Adult

KATE CHOPIN (1851-1904)

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, lived in LA

Began to write after her husband’s death

Published just 2 collections of short stories and 1 novel

Criticism drove her to stop writing

Bayou Folk (1894) Night in Acadie (1897) The Awakening (1899)

Short-Story Writer Novelist

“THE STORY OF AN HOUR” (1894)

How would you characterize Chopin’s style of writing?

What would you say is the tone at work on this story?

Consider Tone and Irony? Is it present? If so, what type? Which lines indicate irony best?

Consider Tone and Humor? Is it present? If so, what type? Which lines indicate humor best?

SYMBOLISM & ALLEGORY

A symbol is a person, object, or event that suggests more than its literal meaning

Cultural symbols reinforce meanings because their symbolic meaning is widely known Derived from our cultural and historical

knowledge Contextual / Literary symbols can

be a setting, character, action, object, name, or anything else in a work that maintains its literal significance while suggesting other meanings – can have multiple meanings Only symbolic in individual works

An allegory broadens meaning like symbolism, but is more sustained than symbolism Often concerned with morality,

especially religion

Verisimilitude & Donée

Symbolism & Allegory

Point of View

Characters

Setting

Structure

Tone & Style

FABLE, PARABLE, & MYTH Closely related to symbolism and allegory Fable = a short tale with a pointed moral Ex: Aesop’s Fables, The Brothers Grimm, fairytales Parable = a short narrative illustrating a religious

concept Ex: “The Prodigal Son,”

“The Good Samaritan” Myth = a tale with social,

political, religious, or philosophical meanings

Usually the protagonists are heroes, gods, and demigods

Some are based in historical truth Ex: Adventures of the Greek Gods, urban myths

ALLUSION

Cultural or universal symbols and allegories often allude to other works: from our cultural heritage, the Bible ancient history and literature, works of the British and American

traditions current politics current events

NATHANIEL HAWTHORNE (1804-1864)

Born in Salem, Mass. to a Puritan family proud of practical, legal, commercial accomplishments

Creates complex characters who suffer from inner conflicts caused by sin, pride, secrecy, guilt, passion, isolation, etc.

Plots are ambiguous, especially the endings – suggests there is no simple solution to some problems

Works include: The Scarlet Letter (1850), The House of the Seven Gables (1851), The Blithedale Romance (1852)

Novelist Psychological Writer

“YOUNG GOODMAN BROWN” (1835)

What cultural or universal symbols can you discover in names, objects, places, situations, or actions in the story? The character Faith, the woods, the walking stick

What contextual symbolism can be found in the work? What is being symbolized? Is the symbolism necessary to the work?

How clearly does the author point you toward an allegorical reading? Through names and allusions?

THEME

The central idea or meaning of a story

Provides a unifying point around which the plot, characters, setting, point of view, symbols, and other elements of a story are organized

Is not always easy to detect

The subject is not always the theme

Theme is not always discovered until a second or third reading

Theme

Symbolism & Allegory

Point of View

Characters

Setting

Structure

Tone & Style

SEARCHING FOR THE THEME Pay attention to the title of a story. It often

provides a lead to the theme of the work. Look for details in the story that have potential for

symbolic meanings – these can lead to the theme. Decide whether the protagonist develops some

important insight as a result of the action. Study the:

authorial voice. first-person speaker. statements made by characters. work’s figurative language. way that characters stand for ideas. work itself as an embodiment of ideas.

EXPRESSING THEME

Make sure that your expression of the theme is a generalized statement and not overly specific to a particular plot point.

Be wary of using clichés as a way of stating theme.

Be aware that some stories emphasize theme less than others – don’t try to force what just isn’t there.

EDGAR ALLAN POE (1809-1849)

Inventor of the Detective Story

Pioneer of Science Fiction Master of the

Psychological Horror Story America’s First Great

Literary Critic Museum of Edgar Allan Po

e Poe’s use of Literary Devi

ces

Poet, Novelist, Writer Literary Critic

“THE BLACK CAT” (1843)

Common Themes in Poe’s Works Include…

Love and Hate Self vs. Alter-Ego The power of the dead

over the living Murder as a

fundamentally animalistic, inhuman act

Eyes as the essence of human identity vs. the curse of the Evil Eye