Name: ________________________________________
Ms. Salsman ELA
Literary Elements Tracker
Directions: Keep track of all literary element terms, definitions, and examples below.
Term
Definition
Setting
The time and place of a story.
It helps to create the mood of the story.
Character
A person or animal in a story.
- protagonist
- the main character in a literary work
- antagonist
- a character or force in conflict with the main
character (protagonist)
- major character
- the most important character(s) in the story
- minor character
- one who take part in the action, but is not the
focus of attention
- dynamic character
- one who changes or grows during the course of
a story
- static character
- one who does not change
Example(s)—include page #s whenever possible
When You Reach Me​
is set during the 1970s (1978-1979 school
year) in New York City (Upper West Side)
- round character
- fully developed and exhibits many traits (good
and bad)
- flat character
- one-sided, often stereotypical
Characterization
The methods an author uses to create and
develop a character.
- direct characterization
- a writer states the character’s traits or
characteristics
- indirect characterization
- the reader draws conclusions about the
character’s traits
5 ways an author reveals character:
1. How the character looks
2. How the character acts
3. What the character says (how they speak)
4. What the character thinks and feels
5. How other characters respond to the character
Conflict
A struggle or clash between opposing characters
or opposing forces.
Types of conflict:
man vs. man
man vs. society
man vs. nature
man vs. self
- External conflict
- Character struggles against some outside force
(another person, bitter cold weather, society,
shark)
- Internal conflict
- Takes places within a character’s own mind (to
make a decision, to take action, or overcome a
feeling— i.e. fear, loneliness, guilt)
Plot
The action or series of events that make up a
story. The plot tells “what happens” in the story.
Parts of plot:
1. Exposition (Introduction): Begins the plot,
introduces the setting, characters, and basic
situation
1. 2. 3. 4. 5. Exposition
Rising action
Climax
Falling action
Resolution
2. Rising action: Introduces the central conflict,
events which lead up to the climax
3. Climax: The most exciting moment in the story,
the turning point, when the outcome of the
conflict is decided one way or another
4. Falling action: Events that lead to the end of
the central conflict
5. Resolution: The final part of the story. The
characters problems are solved and the story is
closed
Tone
The writer’s attitude toward a subject.
Tone is the author’s attitude toward the writing
(his characters, the situation) and the readers.
Examples: serious, sarcastic, playful
​
Mood
The feeling(s) a story gives readers.
Examples: happy, peaceful, sad
Point of view
The perspective or angle from which a story is
told.
- First person
- One of the characters in the story is telling it.
They use the pronoun “I”.
- Third person:
- Someone outside the story is telling it. They use
the pronouns “he” or “she”.
“I read the note over and over again” (WYRM, P.68)
“He ran outside and watched as the storm rolled in.”
omniscient—
​
limited—
Theme
- The narrator knows and tells about each
character thinks and feels
- The narrator relates the inner thoughts and
feelings of one character. Everything is viewed
from this character’s perspective
The author’s purpose for writing the story. It’s the
statement about life or human nature that an
author wants to make to the reader. It’s often the
lesson or central message of the story.
Harry Potter
Foreshadowing
The use of clues or hints suggesting events that
will occur later in the story. It builds suspense or
anxiety in the reader.