Name:______Elements of Fiction Review Packet 9(1) English

Term / Definition / Example 1 CORE book
Book: / Example 2 The Prince and the Pauper
Protagonist / The main character in a story
Antagonist / Character or force (nature, society, one’s conscience) that blocks the protagonist.
Conflict / Struggle or clash between opposing characters or forces / x / x
Man vs. Man / One character clashing with another.
Example: Argument between parent and child; physical fight between two people
Man vs. Nature / Character struggles against or with his surroundings, weather, animals
Example: Being shipwrecked on a deserted island; facing a hurricane
Man vs. Society / Character challenges what is accepted by a majority
Example: Facing any type of prejudice; teen excluded for telling his parents about dangerous activity at a party
Man vs. Self
(internal
conflict) / Internal struggle between opposing needs, desires, or emotions within a character
Example: Having to choose whether or not to tell your friend that her boyfriend is cheating on her; trying to beat an addiction or breaking a bad habit
Plot / Series of events that make up a story or drama; what happens / x / x
Exposition / Opening of a story in which we are exposed to the protagonist and the basic situation
Example: Red’s mother gives her a basket to Bring Granny. She warns her to stay on the path and avoid wolves.
Rising action / Conflict begins and increases in intensity; things get complicated
Example: As the Wolf suggests, Red stops to pick flowers, and the Wolf runs ahead to Granny’s house. The Wolf gobbles up Granny, dresses as her, and awaits Red’s arrival. Red arrives and is suspicious.
Climax / The turning point of the action in which the conflict is decided one way or another; usually the most suspenseful and emotionally intense moment in a story.
Example: Wolf gobbles up Red.
Falling action / Events occurring after the climax and lead to the story’s conclusion
Example: The huntsman stops to check on Granny and spots the Wolf. He cuts open his stomach to find Red and Granny.
Resolution/
Denouement / A story’s conclusion; the “tying together” of loose ends.
Example: Wolf is killed and Red promises to listen to her mother in the future.
Setting / The time and place of the story; it also includes the mood created by the atmosphere (gloomy, threatening, hopeful…).
Theme / Central idea that can be inferred in a work of literature; the idea the writer wishes to reveal about the subject of a story. Note: Subject is expressed in a word or two (love, childhood), but theme is expressed in at least one complete sentence. Example: Romantic love is more powerful than family ties; childhood is when innocence is slowly destroyed. *Do not confuse theme with a story’s moral (a lesson)
Symbol / Person, place or thing that represents itself and something beyond itself.
Example: In Moby Dick the whale symbolizes evil and mystery.
Irony / Contrast or difference between expectation and reality: between what is expected to happen and what actually occurs; what is said and what is meant; what appears to be true and what is real.
Example: Professor Snape, who seems to hate Harry, was the one who was secretly protecting him.
Flat character / Character who is not described or developed.
Example: In “Red Riding Hood,” Granny’s personality is never revealed. We only know that she is sick.
Round character / Character whose personality is fully developed; he possess various positive and negative qualities, some of which may even contradict.
Universal or stock character / Character who represents a “type” recognizable in many stories.
Example: The supportive best friend; the carzy professor.
Static character / Character who does not change in a meaningful way.
Example: Granny in “Red Riding Hood” does not change as result of the experience
Dynamic character / Character who changes in meaningful ways.
Example: Red. She vows to listen to her mother and to be less trusting.
Point of View / Perspective from which the story is told or narrated. / X (Describe which apply to your respective books) / x
First person / A character narrates the story. We see the events form his perspective. Clue: “I”
Example: A story about a car accident told from the perspective of one of the drivers.
Third limited / An unknown outside narrator (not a character) tells the story, focusing mainly on one character’s perspective.
Example: A story about a car accident told from a narrator who can tell the reader what one of the drivers was seeing, thinking, and doing.
Third
Omniscient (omni= “all”) / An all-knowing or “god-like” outside narrator (not a character) tells the story with the ability to tell the reader what all characters are thinking
Example: A story about a car accident told from a narrator who can tell the reader what all of the drivers were seeing, thinking, and doing.
Foreshadowing / The use of clues to hint at future action
Example: Mother warning Red about the Wolf perhaps foreshadows that Red will have a problem with the Wolf.