Story Elements

Elements of a Story

by Lexi Sutkus

​Elements of a Story:

• Setting – The time and place a story takes place.

• Characters – the people, animals or creatures in a story.

• Plot – the series of events that make up a story.

• Conflict – a problem or struggle between two people, things or ideas.​

​Setting

• The setting describes where and when the story takes place.

• It helps build background  and create images in the mind.

• It helps set the tone or mood of the story.​

​Your Turn…

• On the next slide, there is a picture of a setting.  

• In your own words, write a detailed description of the setting in your picture.  Include many adjectives and don’t forget to include descriptions for each of the five senses: see, hear, feel, smell, taste 

• Extension:  Draw your own setting and then write about it.  

• Extension:  Your teacher will give you a magazine to look through.  Find a picture that could be a setting for a story.​

​Characterization

Characterization is the way in which an author shows the personality of a character

Characterization is a technique writers use to make characters “come to life.”​

​The Functions of a Setting

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

​Mood

Mood is the feeling that the author tries to convey throughout the story. The atmosphere or emotional condition created by the piece, within the setting. Does the author want the reader to be frightened or sad, or does the story make the reader laugh and think happy thoughts? • To figure out mood, examine how you feel while reading the story. Often mood is conveyed by the story’s setting​

1. Exposition​

This usually occurs at the beginning of a short story. Here the characters are introduced. We also learn about the setting of the story. Most importantly, we are introduced to the main conflict (main problem).​

​2. Rising Action

This part of the story begins to develop the conflict(s). A building of interest or suspense occurs and leads to the climax. Complications arise​

3. Climax​

This is the turning point of the story. Usually the main character comes face to face with a conflict. The main character will change in some way. This is the most intense moment.​

​Conflict

External conflict- outside force may be person, group, animal, nature, or a nonhuman obstacle

✓ Internal conflict- takes place in a character’ s mindConflict is a problem that must be solved; an issue between The protagonist and antagonist forces. It forms the basis of the plot.

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​Types of External Conflict

Character vs Character

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​Character vs Nature

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​Character vs Society

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​Character vs Fate

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​Theme

The theme is the central message/life lesson about life or people the author wants to get across through a literary work

➢ To discover the theme of a story, think big. What big message is the author trying to say about the world in which we live?

➢ What is this story telling me about how life works, or how people behave?​

​Practice!!!!

Last week you read “Duffy’s Jacket” in your literature book. Using your notes, identify as many literary elements in the story (i.e. the setting, conflict, main characters, etc.)​

​THE RESOLUTION

The final workings of a story’s conflict All of the loose ends are tied up (usually) Narrative Twist: a surprise ending​

​Conflict

refers to the central problems of a text. Most works are animated by some form of conflict. Literary theorists have suggested that there are five primary types of conflict that to different degrees and in different combinations show up: Man vs. man Man vs. himself Man vs. society Man vs. technology Man vs. mythical/paranormal force An even easier way to think about this is that some conflicts are internal (someone struggling with two different feelings inside of themselves) and some conflicts are external (someone struggling against a person or situation)​

Open Ended

Literary Elements/Techniques Practice Please choose four of the literary elements from the page above about which you feel the most confident. For each element, write me one to three sentences about a work of literature you have read that employs that element or technique in an interesting or significant way. Example: Running through almost all of the short stories in Jhumpa Lahiri’s Interpreter of Maladies is the motif of food. Lahiri uses food imagery to demonstrate the interior states of the characters and also to show the difficult process of assimilation that her immigrant characters undergo.