LITERARY

ELEMENTS

FAMILIAR ELEMENTS:
Plot
Setting
Tone
Point of View
Characterization
Theme

PLOT

Series of events that

make up a storyline.

TYPES OF LINEAR PLOTS

Plots can be told in
Chronological order

Flashback
In media res (in the middle of things)
when the story starts in the middle of the
action without exposition

DIAGRAM OF PLOT
Climax
l i ng
Fal on
i
Act

in
Ris
cti
gA

In c

itin
gI

nci
den
t

on

Exposition

Resolution

PARTS OF A PLOT
Exposition (opening situation) the reader is

introduced to the setting, characters, and general

circumstance of the story

Inciting Incident event that kicks off the action of

a story; it is usually connected to the climax.

Rising Action -events that occur as result of central

conflict

Climax- highest point of interest or suspense of

story- turning point

Falling Action- leads to final resolution of problem

Resolution- when conflict ends, and characters go

back to their life before the conflict

SUBPLOTS
plots that are part of the larger story but not as

important.

PARALLEL EPISODES
occur when the storyteller repeats the main outline of an

episode several times (example: 3 Little Pigs)

OTHER ASPECTS OF
PLOT
Suspense- excitement or tension
Foreshadowing- hint or clue about what will happen in

story

Flashback- interrupts the normal sequence of events to

tell about something that happened in the past

Surprise Ending- conclusion that reader does not expect

CONFLICT
Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces
Every plot must contain some kind of conflict
Stories can have more than one conflict
Conflicts can be external or internal
External conflict- outside force may be person, group, animal,

nature, or a nonhuman obstacle

Internal conflict- takes place in a characters mind

COMMON FUNCTIONS
OF
A
SETTING
To create a mood or
atmosphere

To show a reader a

different way of life

To make action seem more

real

To be the source of conflict

or struggle

To symbolize an idea

We left the home place behind, mile by

slow mile, heading for the mountains,
across the prairie where the wind blew
forever.
At first there were four of us with
one horse wagon and its skimpy load. Pa
and I walked, because I was a big boy of
eleven. My two little sisters romped and
trotted until they got tired and had to be
boosted up to the wagon bed.
That was no covered Conestoga, like Pas
folks came West in, but just an old farm
wagon, drawn by one weary horse,
creaking and rumbling westward to the
mountains, toward the little woods town
where Pa thought he had an old uncle
who owned a little two-bit sawmill.

Taken from The Day the Sun Came Out by D. Johnson

SETTING
SETTING

Time, place, and circumstances

under which the action occurs
Details that help to create
the setting:
Basics
Time
Place
Atmosphere
Perspective
Tone/Mood

ATMOSPHERE
The general feeling of the story.
Tide directly to tone
Tone is the attitude the writer
takes toward subject matter of a
work
Tone is created through word
choice
Tone creates the mood of the

ANALYZING SETTING USING

TPAP?
Time: What is the general time period in

which the story takes place? (i.e. year,

month, or day)
Place: Where does the story generally take

place? (Country, city/town)

Atmosphere: What is the feeling

(atmosphere) of the setting? (relaxed,

intense, volatile)
Perspective: From whose perspective is the

story told? (someone in the action of the

story; someone outside the action?)
? : Why does this matter? How does it

influence the story?

We left the home place behind, mile by

slow mile, heading for the mountains,
across the prairie where the wind blew
forever.
At first there were four of us with one
horse wagon and its skimpy load. Pa and I
walked, because I was a big boy of eleven.
My two little sisters romped and trotted
until they got tired and had to be boosted
up to the wagon bed.
That was no covered Conestoga, like Pas
folks came West in, but just an old farm
wagon, drawn by one weary horse,
creaking and rumbling westward to the
mountains, toward the little woods town
where Pa thought he had an old uncle who
owned a little two-bit Taken
sawmill.
from The Day the Sun Came Out by D. Johnson

 Time:

Place

Atmosphere

Perspective

CHARACTERIZATION
The process by which the
writer reveals the personality
of a character.

FACTORS IN ANALYZING
CHARACTERS
Physical appearance of

character
Personality
Background/personal history
Motivation
Relationships
Conflict
Does character change?

METHODS OF
CHARACTERIZATION
A writer reveals what a character is like and how the

character changes throughout the story.

Two primary methods of characterization:

Direct- writer tells what the character is like; it tells

the reader

Indirect- writer shows what a character is like by

describing what the character looks like, by telling what the

character says and does, and by what other characters say
about and do in response to the character. It shows the
reader.

DIRECT
CHARACTERIZATION
And I dont play the dozens or believe in
standing around with somebody in my face
doing a lot of talking. I much rather just
knock you down and take my chances even if
Im a little girl with skinny arms and a
squeaky voice, which is how I got the name
Squeaky.
From Raymonds Run by T. Bambara

STEAL (ANALYZING
INDIRECT
CHARACTERIZATION)

Speech :What does the character say? How does the

character speak?
Thoughts: What is revealed through the characters
private thoughts and feelings?
Effect: on others toward the character.
What is revealed through the characters effect on
other people? How do other characters feel or
behave in reaction to the character?
Actions: What does the character do? How does the
character behave?
Looks What does the character look like? How does
the character dress?

INDIRECT
CHARACTERIZATION
The old man bowed to all of us in
the room. Then he removed his hat
and gloves, slowly and carefully.
Chaplin once did that in a picture, in
a bank--he was the janitor.
From Gentleman of Rio en Medio by J. Sedillo

METHODS OF
CHARACTERIZATION,
CONTINUED
Static: characters that do not experience basic

character changes during the course of the story.

Dynamic: characters that experience changes

throughout the plot of a story. Although the

change may be sudden, it is expected based on
the storys events.

Taken from ReadWriteThink.org

ROUND AND FLAT

CHARACTERS
Flat characters: two dimensional,
basic characters, that generally do
not change over the course of the
story
Round characters: complex characters
that undergo a change over the course
of the story

MOTIVATION
an element that influences a

character's actions and/or

personality; for instance,
greed or fear could motivate
a character to behave in a
certain manner.

POINT
OF
VIEW
the mode of narration that an
author employs to let the readers
hear and see what takes
place in a story, poem,essayetc.

POINT OF VIEW
First Person- Character Tells us a story
using I and We. Reader only
knows what the character telling the
story knows.
Third Person Limited- Story is told
from a watchers stand point.
Reader only knows what the
watching narrator knows.
Third Person Omniscient- Literally
means All-knowing. The reader
knows everything, including the
characters thoughts.

WRITE A PHRASE THAT

BEGINS WITH THIS WORD

Love

THEME IS

a central message, concern, or

insight into human life revealed in

the story. It is the point of the story.
expressed as a sentence.
stated directly or implied.
a general truth* that applies to
life.
*This does not mean that everyone will agree with it!

SOURCES USED
Readwritethink.org
Encylopedia Brittanica
Literarydevices.net