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Steps in narrative structure:
- 1. Exposition
- 2. Conflict or rising action
- 3. Climax
- 4. Falling action
- 5. Denouement/resolution
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Elements of fiction:
- 1. Plot
- 2. Character
- 3. Setting
- 4. Point of View
- 5. Language, Tone and Style
- 6. Theme
- 7. Symbol
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Points of View (Examples):
- 1. First Person (Participant) Narrator- I want to study
- 2. Second Person Narrator- You want to study
- 3. Third Person (Non-Participant) Narrator
- a. Omniscient- They want to study
- b. Limited Omniscient- He wants to study
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c. Objective P.O.V. Narrator- She looks like she is studying
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Point of View (Definition)
The perspective from which the story is told to the reader
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Exposition:
The narrative pressentation of necessary information about the character, setting, or character's history provided to make the reader care what happens to the characters in the story.
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Conflict / rising action:
- Conflict: The central problem in the story. The source of tension between the protagonist and the antagonist.
- Rising action: Story events that increase tension and move the plot toward climax.
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Climax:
The narrative turning point in a struggle between opposing forces. The point of highest conflict in a story.
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Falling action:
The events following the climax and leading up to the resolution. These events reveal how the protagonist has been impacted by and dealt with the preceding conflicts of the story.
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Denouement/resolution:
- Denouement: The period after the story’s climax when conflicts are addressed and/or resolved. Includes the falling action and resolution of the story.
- Resolution: The end of the story, where the conflict is ultimately resolved and the effects of the story’s events on the protagonist become evident.
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Character:
The depiction of human beings (and nonhumans) within a story.
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Plot:
The artful arrangement of incidents in a story, with each incident building on the next in a series of causes and effects.
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Setting:
The time and place where the story occurs. Setting creates expectations for the types of characters and situations encountered in the story.
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Theme:
The central or underlying meanings of a literary work.
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Motivation:
A character’s reason for doing something.
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First-Person (Participant) Narrator:
The story is narrated by a character in the story, identified by the use of the pronoun I or the plural first person, we.
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Second-Person Narrator:
A narrator who addresses the character as you, often involving the reader by association.
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Third-Person (Non-Participant) Narrator
A narrator who is outside the story. The narrator refers to all the characters in the story with the pronouns he, she, or they.
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Omniscient narrator:
A third person narrator who observes the thoughts and describes the actions of multiple characters in the story. The omniscient narrator can see beyond the physical actions and dialogue of characters and is able to reveal the inner thoughts and emotions of anyone in the story.
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Limited Omniscient narrator:
A third person narrator who enters into the mind of only one character at a time. This narrator serves more as an interpreter than a source of the main character’s thoughts.
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Objective Point of View:
The story is told by an observer who relates only facts, providing neither commentary nor insight in the character’s thoughts or actions.
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Allegory:
A story in which major elements such as characters and settings represent universal truths or moral lessons in a one-to-one correspondence.
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Symbol:
Any object, image, character, or action that suggests meaning beyond the everyday literal level.
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Style:
The Characteristic way in which any writer uses language.
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Tone:
The author’s attitude toward his or her characters or subject matter.
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Parable:
A short narrative that illustrates a lesson using comparison to familiar characters and events. The characters and events in parables often have obvious significance as symbols and allegories
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Allusion:
A reference to another work of art or literature, or to a person, place or event outside the text.
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Irony:
A tone characterized by a distance between what occurs and what is expected to occur, or between what is said and what is meant.
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Narrative:
No textbook definition. Leap of faith- A narrative is the same thing as a story.
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Novel:
A long fictional work. Because of their length, novels are typically complex and follow more than one character or plot.
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Short story:
A brief fictional narrative that attempts to dramatize or illustrate the effect or meaning of a single incident or small group of incidents in the life of a single character or small group of characters.
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Protagonist:
The main figure (or principal actor) in a work of literature. A story’s plot hinges equally on the protagonist’s efforts to realize his or her desires and to cope with failure if and when plans are thwarted and desires left unfulfilled.
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Antagonist:
A character in conflict with the protagonist. A story’s plot often hinges on a protagonist’s conflict with an antagonist.
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Deus ex machina:
Latin for God from the machine; a literary device, often seen in drama, where a conflict is resolved by unforeseen and often far-fetched means.
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Epiphany:
A sudden realization or new understanding achieved by a character or speaker. In many short stories, the character’s epiphany is the climax of the story.
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Flashback:
The device of moving back in time to a point before the primary action of the story.
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