Elements of a Narrative

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Elements of a Narrative

• Knowing these elements makes us better readers
  and analyzers of what we read.

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Elements of a Narrative

• Point of View
• Setting
• Characterization
• Theme
• Conflict
• Plot

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POINT OF VIEW
http//www.brainpop.com/english/writing/pointofvie
w/
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The point of view is the perspective of the story.
I was framed! I just wanted to borrow a cup of
sugar!
That rotten wolf tried to eat us!!!!
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Types of Point of View

• 1st Person
• 3rd Person

• Limited
• Omniscient

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First Person Point of View

• The narrator does participate in the action of
  the story.
• When reading stories in the first person, we need
  to realize that what the narrator is recounting
  might not be the objective truth.
• Always subjective.
• Pronouns used I, me, we, ours, etc.

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Third Person Point of View

• The narrator does not participate in the action
  of the story as one of the characters, but lets
  us know exactly how the characters feel. We learn
  about the characters through this outside voice.
• Pronouns used he, she, they, them, etc.
• Can be objective or subjective

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Omniscient
Limited

• The narrator only shares thoughts and feelings of
  one character.

• The narrator shares thoughts and feelings of any
  and all characters. All-knowing

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Consider

• What point of view does the author use in the
  story we read?
• Is it limited or omniscient?
• How do you think the point of view affected the
  way you feel about the story?

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SETTING
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Setting
Time and place where action occurs

• Details that describe
• Furniture
• Scenery
• Customs
• Transportation
• Clothing
• Dialects
• Weather
• Time of day
• Time of year

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Elements of a Setting
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Functions of Setting

• To create a mood or atmosphere
• To make action seem more real
• To show a reader a different way of life
• To be the source of conflict or struggle
• To symbolize an idea

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Time to Apply

• What was the setting of the story we read?
• What evidence can you find in the story that
  shows how
• the setting affects the action?
• the setting affects the storys mood?
• the setting is related to the conflict?

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CHARACTERIZATION
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Types of Characters

• Major
• Cinderella
• Minor
• Ugly Stepsister

Round
Flat
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Types of Characters

• ? Protagonist - the leading character, hero, or
  heroine
• ? Antagonist - the adversary of the hero or
  protagonist
• Dynamic changes or develops
• Static not changing

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Protagonists Antagonists
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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
• 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.

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Example of 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
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Example of 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
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Factors in Analyzing Characters

• Personality
• Background/personal history
• Motivation
• Relationships
• How he/she handles conflict
• Physical appearance of character

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Time to Apply

• Was there a protagonist in the story we read? If
  so, was he/she static or dynamic ?
• Was the author mainly using direct or indirect
  characterization? Example?
• What evidence from the story can you cite to show
  that the author made the main characters round?
• Describe a flat character in the story.

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THEME
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Theme

• A central message, concern, or insight into life
• Can be expressed with a short statement
• About human beings or about life
• May be stated directly or implied
• Uncovered by reader through interpretation

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A Theme Is
A universal message or truth about life
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A Theme Is
sometimes implied through simile

• Or crust and sugar over
• like a syrupy sweet?
• Maybe it just sags
• like a heavy load
• Or does it just explode?
• - Langston
• Hughes

• Dream Deferred
• What happens to a dream deferred?
• Does it dry up
• like a raisin in the sun?
• Or fester like a sore
• and then run?
• Does it stink like rotten meat?

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Time to Apply

• What is the theme of the story we read?
• What evidence from the story can you use to
  support your ideas?
• Is the theme stated or implied? Cite passages.

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CONFLICT
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Conflict

• Conflict is the dramatic struggle between two
  forces in a story. Without conflict, there is no
  plot.

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Types of Conflict
External
Internal
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Time to Apply

• What conflicts are important to understanding the
  point of the story we read?
• Are these conflicts internal or external?
• How are the conflicts important to the theme of
  the story?

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PLOT
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PLOT

• describes the structure of a story.
• shows the causal arrangement of events and
  actions within a story.

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Plot Components
Climax the turning point, the most intense
momenteither mentally or in action
Rising Action the series of conflicts and crisis
in the story that lead to the climax
Falling Action all of the action which follows
the climax
Exposition the start of the story, the
situation before the action starts
Resolution Denoument/catastrophe the conclusion,
the tying together of all of the threads
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Plot Jack the Beanstalk
Jack steals giants goose which lays a golden egg.
Climax
Rising Action
Falling Action
4. Jack climbs beanstalk and discovers giants
castle.
Jack is chased by the giant.
3. Jack plants beans and beanstalk grows.
Jack chops down the beanstalk, causing the giant
to fall to his death.
2. Jack trades cow for magic beans.
1. Jacks mother sends him to town to trade cow
for food.
Resolution/denouement
Exposition
Jack and his mother live happily in comfort
thanks to the golden egg.
Jack and his mother live in poverty.
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Time to Apply

• What is the exposition in the story we read?
• How does action build-up?
• What is the climax of the story?
• Describe the falling action.
• What is the resolution?
• How is the story told chronological, flashback,
  or in media res?