1. The elements of fiction notes English 1102 Online Exam Prep

2. Plot The sequence of events or incidents of which the story is composed

3. Conflict Clash of actions, ideas, desires or wills Person against person Person against environment Person against herself/himself

4. Protagonist/Antagonist Protagonist is the central character Antagonists work against the protagonist

5. Character Types Flat character: known by one or two traits Round character: complex and many sided Static character: remains the same from the beginning of the plot to the end Dynamic character: undergoes permanent change

6. Theme The controlling idea or central insight

7. Point of Views Omniscient: story told by the author, using the third person Limited Omniscient: story in which the author associates with a major or minor character First Person: author identifies with or disappears in a major or minor character Objective or Dramatic: the opposite of the omniscient

8. Symbol A literary symbol means more than what it is. It has layers of meanings. Two types of symbols are fixed and contextual. Fixed symbols have the same meaning inside the story as they do outside of it. Contextual symbols rely completely on the story for their meaning.

9. Irony A term with a range of meanings, all of them involving some sort of designed to cause pain; used to suggest the difference between appearance and reality, expectation and fulfillment, the complexity of experience, to furnish indirectly an evaluation of the author’s material, and at the same time to achieve compression.

10. Types of Irony Verbal: opposite is said from what is intended. Dramatic: the contrast between what a character says and what the reader knows to true. Irony of situation: discrepancy between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment, or between what is and what would seem appropriate. (An unexpected twist in the action)

11. Tone The attitude a writer conveys toward his subject.

12. Mood The emotional atmosphere created by the setting Ex: gloomy, romantic, carefree, etc.

13. Setting The time and place of the action