Contains elements of a story: Setting, Plot, Characters, Conflict, POV, and Theme

1. Elements of a Story
Subtitle

2. The Elements of a Story:
1. Setting
2. Plot
3. Conflict
4. Character
5. Point of View
6. Theme

3. Setting
• The time and location in which a story takes place.
• For some stories the setting is very important, while for
others it is not.
• There are several aspects in the story’s setting to consider
when examining how setting contributes to a story (some
or all may be present in a story)
a) Place- Where does the story take place? (geographical
location)
b) Time- When is the story taking place? (historical
period, time of the day, year, etc.)
c) Weather Condition- Is it sunny? Rainy? Stormy?

4. Setting
d.) Social Conditions- What is the daily like of the
character like? Does the story contain local color (e.g.
speech, dress, mannerism, customs etc. of a particular
place)
e.) Mood or Atmosphere- What feeling is created at
the beginning of the story? Is it bright and cheerful or
dark and gloomy?

5. Plot
• How the author arranges events to develop his basic idea
• The sequence of events in a story or play
• It is a planned, logical series of events having a begging, middle and end.
• Short stories has one plot that can be read in one sitting.

6. Five Essential Parts of a Plot
1. Introduction- the beginning of the story where the characters and
the setting are revealed
2. Rising Action- the events in the story become more complicated
and the conflict in the story is revealed
3. Climax- the highest point of interest and the turning point of the
story
4. Falling Action- the events and complications begin to resolve
themselves
5. Denouement- the final outcome or untangling of events in the
story
Plot

7. It is helpful to consider climax as a three-fold
phenomenon:
1. The main character receives information
2. He/She accepts the information (realizes it
but does not necessarily agree with it)
3. He/She acts on the information (makes a
choice that will determine whether or not
he/she gains his/her objective)
Plot

8. Conflict
• This is essential to the plot because without conflict, there would be no plot.
• It is the opposition of forces which ties one incident to another and makes the
plot move.
• Conflict is not merely limited to open arguments, rather it is any form of
opposition that faces the main character.
• Within a short story there may be only one
central struggle, or there may be one dominant
struggle with many minor ones.

9. Two Types of Conflict
1. External- A struggle with a force
outside of one’s self
2. Internal- A struggle within one’s
self, a person must make some
decision, overcome pain quiet their
temper, resist an urge, etc.
Conflict

10. Four Kinds of Conflict
1. Man vs Man- (physical) The main character struggles with his
physical strength against other men, animals or forces of nature
2. Man vs Circumstances- (classical) The main character struggles
against fate or the circumstances of life facing him/her
3. Man vs Society- (social) The leading character struggles against
ideas, practices, or customs of other people
4. Man vs Himself- (psychological) The main character struggles
with himself/herself, with his/her own soul, ideas of right and
wrong, physical limitations, choices and etc.
Conflict

11. Character
There are two meanings for the word character:
1. The person in a work of fiction
2. The characteristics of a person
• In order for a story to seem real to the reader its characters
must seem real. Characterization is the information the
author gives the reader about the characters themselves.
The author may reveal a character in several ways:
a) his/her physical appearance
b) what he/she says, thinks, feels and dreams
c) what he/she does or does not do
d) what others say about him/her and how others react to
him/her
• Characters are convincing if they are: consistent, motivated,
and life-like (resemble real people)

12. The Types of Characters In A Story:
1. Protagonist- the main character, the central character or leading figure
2. Antagonist- the character who opposes the protagonist
3. Major Characters- characters are vital to the development and resolution of
the conflict
4. Minor Characters- serve to complement the major characters and help move
the plot events forward.
5. Flat Character - a character who reveals only one, maybe two, personality
traits in a story or novel, and the trait(s) do not change
6. Round Character - a well developed character who demonstrates varied and
sometimes contradictory traits. Round characters are usually dynamic
Character

13. The Types of Characters In A Story:
7. Dynamic Character - a character which changes during the course of a story
or novel. The change in outlook or character is permanent. Sometimes a
dynamic character is called a developing character.
8. Static Character – a character that remains primarily the same throughout a
story or novel. Events in the story do not alter a static character’s outlook,
personality, motivation, perception, habits, etc
Character

14. Other Character Types
1. Hero- main character who, in the face of danger, combats adversity through
impressive feats of ingenuity, bravery or strength, often sacrificing his or her
own personal concerns for some greater good.
2. Villain- usually is the antagonist (though in some cases, can be
the protagonist), and he/she is the character who tends to have a negative
effect on other characters
3. Anti-Hero - A major character, usually the protagonist, who lacks
conventional nobility of mind, and who struggles for values not deemed
universally admirable
4. Anti-Villain- a villain with heroic goals, personality traits, and/or virtues.
Their desired ends are mostly good, but their means of getting there are evil.
Character

15. Other Character Types
5. Confidante- someone in whom the central character confides, thus revealing
the main character’s personality, thoughts, and intentions. The confidante
does not need to be a person
6. Symbolic - A symbolic character is any major or minor character whose very
existence represents some major idea or aspect of society.
7. Stock Character - a special kind of flat character who is instantly
recognizable to most readers. Possible examples include the “ruthless
businessman”, “shushing old librarian” or “dumb jock.” They are not the
focus nor developed in the story.
8. Foil - a character that is used to enhance another character through contrast.
Character

16. Things to Remember:
• Literary characters may embody more than one of
these character types at the same time. A dynamic
character may also be the antagonist, and a
protagonist can also be, say, a flat and stock character
(i.e. the one-dimensional hero).
• Here's a very common mistake: while characters are
often round and dynamic, that does not mean these
two terms mean the same thing. The former refers to
a character's complexity, while the latter refers to a
character's development over time. Students also
make this mistake with flat and static characters. The
same also happens with anti-hero and anti-villain
Character

17. Kinds of Presentation or Characterization
1. Direct presentation (or characterization) - This refers to what the speaker
or narrator directly says or thinks about a character. In other words, in a direct
characterization, the reader is told what the character is like
2. Indirect presentation (or characterization) - This refers to what
the character says or does. The reader then infers what the character is all
about. This mimics how we understand people in the real world, since we
can't "get inside their heads". In other words, in an indirect characterization,
it's the reader who is obliged to figure out what the character is like. And
sometimes the reader will get it wrong
Character

18. Ten Ways in which a Character Can Be Revealed
a. By psychological description.
b. By physical description.
c. By probing what s/he thinks.
d. By what s/he says.
e. By how s/he says it.
f. By what s/he does.
g. By what others say about him or her.
h. By his or her environment.
i. By her reaction to others.
j. By his reaction to himself.
Character

19. Points of View (P.O.V.)
• The angle from which the story is told or narrated
Different Types of P.O.V.
1. Innocent Eye - The story is told through the eyes of a child (his/her judgment
being different from that of an adult) .
2. Stream of Consciousness - The story is told so that the reader feels as if they
are inside the head of one character and knows all their thoughts and reactions.
3. First Person - The story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters
who interacts closely with the protagonist or other characters (using pronouns
I, me, we, etc). The reader sees the story through this person's eyes as he/she
experiences it and only knows what he/she knows or feels.

20. Points of View (P.O.V.)
Different Types of P.O.V.
4. Omniscient- The author can narrate the story using the omniscient point of
view. He can move from character to character, event to event, having free
access to the thoughts, feelings and motivations of his characters and he
introduces information where and when he chooses.
a) Omniscient Limited - The author tells the story in third person (using
pronouns they, she, he, it, etc). We know only what the character knows
and what the author allows him/her to tell us. We can see the thoughts
and feelings of characters if the author chooses to reveal them to us.
b) Omniscient Objective – The author tells the story in the third person. It
appears as though a camera is following the characters, going anywhere,
and recording only what is seen and heard. There is no comment on the
characters or their thoughts. No interpretations are offered. The reader is
placed in the position of spectator without the author there to
explain. The reader has to interpret events on his own.

21. Theme
• The theme in a piece of fiction is its controlling idea or its central insight.
• It is the author's underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to convey.
• The theme may be the author's thoughts about a topic or view of human
nature.
• The title of the short story usually points to what the writer is saying and he
may use various figures of speech to emphasize his theme, such as: symbol,
allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony.
• Some simple examples of common themes from literature, TV, and film are:
a) Love is blind
b) Believe in yourself
c) People are afraid of change
d) Don't judge a book by its cover
e) Things are not always as they appear to be