Elements of Fiction Analysis

Character

The purpose of literature is not to simply reveal information, but to reveal something about the characters and their lives – to reveal the human condition. The protagonist is the central character, or hero, and is considered dynamic. In other words, the character grows as a person, learns a vital lesson, or becomes something else. A static character, despite credibility, does not change in the story.

Point of View (POV)

Stories are told from the point of view of a narrator. When the narrator is a character it is referred to as first-person narration. If we have reason to doubt the information we are getting, we call the narrator unreliable. In third person narration, the narrator can have omniscience (all-knowing) or limited omniscience (narrator tells us the feelings/thoughts of only one character). Stream of consciousness narration shows us the continuous stream of inner feelings and thoughts of one character.

Plot & Conflict

Plot is a linked chain of events. A narrator may present these events out of chronological order through a flashback. A complication in the character’s lives introduces the story’s conflict, which occurs when the protagonist struggles against an antagonist or opposing force. There are four different kinds of conflict:

Person-against-self - an internal conflict of feelings. Person-against-person - the typical protagonist vs. antagonist scenario. Person-against-society - the protagonist battles against the larger organizations of

society (or a system of beliefs held by society). Person-against-nature - the protagonist is threatened by a component of nature.

The chain of events, known as the rising action, builds to a climax, the point in a story where the conflict is decided. Sometimes a writer will use the technique of foreshadowing by planting clues about the outcome or about conflict that will occur later in the story. Following the climax is a resolution, or denouement. In a closed ending, loose ends are tied up – the fate and perhaps the future of the characters is revealed. An open ending does not offer a complete resolution – the reader is left to imagine the fate of the characters.

Theme

Theme in literature is the idea that holds the story together, such as a comment about society, human nature, or the human condition. It is the main idea or central meaning of a piece of writing.

Symbol/Motif

The writer may use a symbol, a person, object, situation, or action that operates on two levels of meaning. A motif is an image, object, character, situation, theme, or word that the writer uses repeatedly throughout a story – many times it carries a symbolic meaning.

Setting