Introduction to Novels

Introduction to Novels

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• They can take you to ...

  1. Places you've never been.

  2. Times long ago.

  3. Times in the future.

  4. Into the hearts and minds of other.

​

Novels can open up new Worlds!

1. A fictional text work.

2. Usually divided into chapters.

3. Relatively long and often has a complex plot.

4. traditionally develops through the thoughts and actions of its character.

​

What is a Novel?

​Types of Novels

​Mystery

Science Fiction

Fantasy

Horror

Westerns

Thrillers

Romance

Historical

Novel Elements

​What makes up a novel?

When reading a novel, we need to understand ...

• who is telling the story? (Point of View)

• where and when does the story take place? (Setting)

• who are the main characters? (characters)

• what are the main characters like? (Character Traits)

• what happens? (Plot)

• what is the author's main idea? (Theme)

• how does the author express his\ her ideas? (Style)

​Setting

​The time and place in which a story occurs.
There are TWO types of settings:
1. stated - time and place are directly stated by the author.

2. implied - time and place are determined by clues given by the author

Multiple Choice

Is the setting in the passage below stated or implied?

"On a rainy November morning in 1776, a soldier trod a solitary path along a road in western Virginia. His gait was slow, and his face - barely visible beneath untold layers of grime - betrayed an anguished, exhausted expression."

• Stated

• Implied

Multiple Choice

Is the setting in the passage below stated or implied?

"One night, the king was holding a grand feast. Sneaking around behind the lords and ladies, Prince Brat tied their powdered wigs to the backs of their oak chairs."

• Stated

• Implied

​Characters

​The people, animals, or creatures that the story is about.
There are TWO types of characters:
1. Main characters - the characters directly involved with the conflict.

2. Secondary characters - characters added to the story to create interest (NOT directly involved with the conflict)

Bad characters - the villain

Antagonist

Good characters - the hero or heroine

Protagonist

Main Characters

Plot

​All of the events that make up a story.
There are SIX main parts of a plot:
1. Exposition
2. Conflict
3. Rising action
4. Climax
5. Falling action
6. Resolution

Point of View

​The author's choice of narrator or speaker.
There are TWO types of point of views used in novels\stories:
1. First person POV - a character inside the story is telling the story; uses the pronouns I, or we.

2. Third person POV - the speaker, or narrator, is outside the story; uses the pronouns he, she, it, or they.

Multiple Choice

Determine the point of view:

"Once upon a time, there was an old man with three little puppies, and as he had not enough to keep them, he sent them out to seek their fortune."

• First person point of view

• Third person point of view

Multiple Choice

Determine the point of view:

"Everybody thinks they know the story of the three little puppies. But I'll let you in on a little secret. I will tell you my side of the story. I'm a wolf and I don't know how this whole Big Bad Wolf thing got started, but it's all wrong."

• First person point of view

• Third person point of view

Theme

​A lesson or message the author is trying to send the reader.

There are TWO types of themes:

1. stated - lesson or message is directly stated by the author.

2. implied - lesson or message that is merely suggested.

Open Ended

What is the mood created in the passage below?

"It was a cold and cheerless evening. The fog seemed to hover the street, clutching the buildings, the street lamps - the entire city - in a damp, icy grip. if one were to stand still, passersby would emerge briefly from the gloom, only to disappear from view after taking just a few steps."