The Study of Fiction: Elements and
Terms
Designed and created by Professor Martha Tolleson
Plot
The sequence of events that comprise a
story
Frank Wright, Don Quixote Reading
Plot often follows a certain pattern
of action:
•
•
•
•
•
Exposition
Inciting moment
Complication
Climax
Denouement
Exposition: the beginning stage of the plot that
provides background information and introduces the
setting and characters.
“It was December—a bright frozen day in the
early morning. Far out in the country there was an
old Negro woman with her head tied in a red rag,
coming along a path through the pinewoods. Her
name was Phoenix Jackson.” --first lines from “A
Worn Path” by Eudora Welty
Incentive Moment: the first point of conflict in the
story (sometimes referred to as “inciting action”)
“She started down [the hill] gently. But before she got to the bottom of
the hill a bush caught her dress.
Her fingers were busy and intent, but her skirts were full and long, so
that before she could pull them free in one place they were caught in
another. It was not possible to allow the dress to tear. ‘I in the thorny
bush,’ she said. ‘Thorns, you doing your appointed work. Never want
to let folks pass—no, sir.’” -- from “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty
Complication: the story continues to develop through a
series of entanglements
“A white man finally came along and
found her—a hunter, a young man, with
his dog on a chain.
'Well, Granny!' he laughed. 'What are
you doing there?'
'Lying on my back like a June bug
waiting to be turned over, mister,' she
said, reaching up her hand.
He lifted her up, gave her a swing in the
air, and set her down. 'Anything broken,
Granny?‘ -- from “A Worn Path” by Eudora
Welty
Climax: moment of greatest intensity or the turning point
of the story
“At last there came a flicker and then a flame of comprehension across her
face, and she spoke. . . .
‘It was my memory had left me. There I sat and forgot why I made my long
trip.’ -- from “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty
Denouement: the resolution of the story, or how the
final details of the story are worked out
“…She gave a tap with her cane on the floor. . . .‘I going to
the store and buy [him] a little windmill they sells, made out
of paper. He going to find it hard to believe there such a
thing in the world. I’ll march myself back where he waiting,
holding it straight up in his hand.’
She lifted her free hand, gave a little nod, turned around, and
walked out of the doctor’s office. Then her slow step began
on the stairs, going down.” -- from “A Worn Path” by Eudora Welty
Theme
• The main or controlling idea of a story
• Theme is usually implied rather than
directly stated.
(Tom Hanks in Cast Away, dir. Robert Zemeckis, writer
William Broyles, Jr., 2000)
Conflict: without conflict, there is no story
• The struggle between
opposing forces: a clash of
action, ideas, desires or
wills
• Sometimes divided into
types:
– Man vs. man
– Man vs. nature (or the
environment)
– Man vs. himself
(William H. Macy, and Joan Allen, Jeff Daniels and Toby
Maguire in Pleasantville, dir. and writer Gary Ross, 1998)
Protagonist
• the main character of a story
• often called the “hero” although this does
not necessarily mean he’s the “good guy”
• may be sympathetic or unsympathetic
Al Pacino in The Godfather, dir. Francis Ford
Coppola, writer Mario Puzo, 1972.
Vin Diesel Paul Walker in The Fast and the Furious, dir. Robert Cohen,
Writers Ken Li and Gary Thompson, 2001.
Antagonist
• the force against the protagonist
• not necessarily the “bad guy”
Michael Clarke Duncan in The Green Mile, dir.
Frank Darabont , writer Stephen King, 1999)
John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson in Pulp
Fiction, dir. and written by Quentin Tarantino,
1994
Character
Ed Harris in The Truman Show, dir. Peter Weir, writer Andrew
Nichol, 1998
Robin Williams in The Final Cut, dir. and writer Omar Naim, 2004
Reading for character is more challenging than
reading for plot. Character is more complex,
ambiguous, and multi-dimensional. It is through a
story’s characters that we gain insight into our
own humanity.
Presentation of Characters
An author may present his characters either
directly or indirectly.
• Directly: the author tells us straight out, by
exposition or analysis, what a character is like
• Indirectly: the author shows us the character in
action; we infer what a character is like from what
he thinks or says or does
Three principles of characterization:
• Characters must be consistent in their
behavior
• Characters must be clearly motivated in
whatever they do
• Characters must be plausible or believable
Three types of character
• Flat: a character whose traits can be summed up in
a sentence or two
• Stock: a type of flat character, this is a character
that is an easily recognizable stereotype (the
strong, silent sheriff, the buxom dumb blonde, the
mad scientist’s assistant)
• Round: a complex character with many layers
All characters can be classified as
either developing or static
• A developing character
undergoes a permanent change
in behavior, personality, or
outlook.
• A static character remains the
same within the confines or the
story.
Brad Pitt as Tyler Durden in Fight Club, dir.
David Fincher, writer Chuck Palahniuk, 1999)
Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch in To Kill a
Mockingbird, dir. Robert Mulligan, writer
Harper Lee, 1962
Point of View
• The angle of vision from which a story is
told
–
–
–
–
Omniscient
Limited omniscient
First person
Objective (dramatic)
Omniscient
Told in the 3rd person, this narrator is
“all-knowing” or “all-seeing.” The
narrator can go in and out of the mind
of any character he chooses; he can
tell us what a character is feeling and
thinking and can comment on
behavior.
Limited omniscient
Uses a 3rd person narrator, but tells
the story from one character’s point
of view. We know everything that
character is thinking or feeling, but
are not allowed into the mind of any
other character.
First Person
The story is told using the first
person. “I” tells the story.
J. Michael Moncrief and Will Smith in Legend of Bagger
Vance, dir. Robert Redford, writer Steven Pressfield, 2000
Objective (or dramatic)
Again using the 3rd person narrator,
this point of view is often called the
“roving camera” technique or the
“fly-on-the-wall” technique. The
narrator simply describes the scene
and reports what happens, but does
not go into the mind of any character,
nor does he comment on behavior.
Symbol
• Something that has a
literal meaning in the
story but suggests or
represents something
else as well.
Satire
• Putting something up
to ridicule
• Usually uses biting
wit, irony,
exaggeration, or
sarcasm to achieve
its goal
Irony: an apparent contradiction
• Dramatic irony: the discrepancy between
what a character says and what the reader
knows to be true
• Irony of Situation: the discrepancy between
appearance and reality, between what one
expects and what really happens, or
between what is and what would seem
appropriate
• Verbal irony: the discrepancy between
what a character says and what he means
Tone
• The attitude of the author towards his
material as reflected in his writing
Jack Nicholson in As Good as It Gets, dir. James L. Brooks,
writer Mark Andrus
Style
Noral Ephron
• That quality of an author’s writing that
distinguishes his writing from that of any
other writer
Stephen King
Ernest Hemingway