Literary Terms
Some terms you’ll learn in this presentation:
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Protagonist
Antagonist
Major character
Minor character
Static character
Dynamic character
Point of view
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first -person
second-person
third-person
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Conflict
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Internal (inside)
■ Man vs. Self
External (outside)
■ Man vs. Man
■ Man vs. Society
■ Man vs. Nature
Protagonist
The protagonist is the main character in a story,
often a good or heroic type. This is the character the
story most revolves around.
Major and Minor Characters
There may be lots of other characters in a story, and
some are more important than others.
We sometimes call these major and minor
characters.
Static and Dynamic Characters
Characters may also be described as static or
dynamic.
Static characters don’t change much.
Dynamic characters are complicated. They are the
ones encountering problems, overcoming obstacles,
and changing in a big way.
Antagonist
The antagonist is the character or force that acts
against or opposes the protagonist. There can be
more than one antagonist, and the antagonist doesn’
t have to be human.
The antagonist causes conflict, and without conflict,
there is no story!
Conflict
A problem or struggle between two opposing forces in a story.
There are 4 basic types of conflicts:
1.
Man vs. Man:
2.
Man vs. Self: A problem within a character’s own mind.
3.
Man vs. Society: A problem between a character and society, school, the law, or some tradition.
4.
Man vs. Nature: A problem between a character and some element of nature (a blizzard, a
A problem between two or more characters.
hurricane, a mountain climb, etc.).
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Conflict: Internal or External?
Conflicts can be divided into internal conflict and external
conflict.
External conflict includes the following because the problems are all OUTSIDE the
character:
1.
Man vs. Man:
2.
Man vs. Society: A problem between a character and society, school, the law, or some tradition.
3.
Man vs. Nature: A problem between a character and some element of nature (a blizzard, a
A problem between two or more characters.
hurricane, a mountain climb, etc.).
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Conflict: Internal or External?
Conflicts can also be divided into internal conflict and
external conflict.
Internal conflict can only be one category--Man vs. Self--because the problem is
INSIDE the character’s mind. Examples:
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A really hard decision: How to react? How to pick sides? Who to be loyal to?
Fear? Guilt? Shame? (any troubling emotion)
A struggle with identity: Are they trying to figure out who they really are?
Mixed emotions: two or more conflicting emotions at the same time (“Well, on
the one hand...but on the other hand…”)
Conflict: Internal or External?
More examples of internal conflict, a.k.a. Man vs. Self:
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Faction before blood?
Who to trust?
When to lie?
Battling grief over the dead
Battling anger over being lied to
Point of View
The point of view is the perspective from which the story is
told. Stories can be told in 3 main ways:
● First-person point of view
● Second-person point of view
● Third-person point of view
Point of View: How is the story being told?
In the first-person point of view, the narrator is telling a story
and is a character in the story. He or she is directly involved in
the events that happen.
Stories written in first-person will use words like I, me, my, we,
and our.
Point of View: How is the story being told?
In second-person point of view, the narrator tells the story to
another character using the word 'you.' The author could be
talking to the audience, which we could tell by the use of 'you,'
'you're,' or 'your.'
To be honest, it’s almost never found in literature, but it might be in self-help books
(“You can do it!”) or how-to essays or instruction manuals (“First, you need to gather
all your ingredients…”).
Point of View: How is the story being told?
In third-person point of view, the narrator is completely
outside of the story. For instance, The Giver is written in thirdperson.
Example: “Jonas smiled back at his sister.” Neither character is telling the story. The
narrator is not involved and does not use I, me, my, we, our, you, you're, or your.
Formal school essays or research papers will almost always be
written in third-person.
Point of View: WHO is telling the story?
Sometimes, when discussing point of view, we simply mean
“Who is telling the story? Whose perspective and opinions are
we seeing? Who is narrating the story?”
Usually, an author sticks to one character’s point of view--but
sometimes, they switch it up, like with Tris and Tobias.
Theme
When teachers ask about themes, they may be asking about
either or both of the following:
● A thematic IDEA (a general topic in the book)
● A thematic STATEMENT (what the book says about that
topic)
Theme
This website explains the difference between a thematic idea (or concept) and a
thematic statement: http://www.literarydevices.com/theme/
For example, the novel To Kill a Mockingbird is about
discrimination (a thematic idea).
However, the book’s message about discrimination is that
discrimination is wrong and all people should be treated with
respect (a thematic statement).
Sources:
Wordle.net
Glossary of Lit Terms
http://www.literarydevices.com/theme/
Allegiant by Veronica Roth
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