Session i

Studies in Literary Genre Cambridge College Lit 311 Instructor: Christina Brownell

Reading with or without a Theory
How do you read?
Why do you read?
The “situated reader”

Narration
The telling of a story
Recounting of the sequence of events

The Elements of Story
Narration
Exposition
Characters (Protagonist, Antagonist)
Conflict
Dialogue
Action
Interpretation
Symbol

Exposition
Details and background needed to understand the characters and the circumstances in the story

Characters
Protagonist
The central character
Antagonist
The character who is in opposition to the central character

Conflict
The struggle between ideas, characters or groups that are essential to the story

Dialogue
The verbal interplay between characters that provides us with information about the characters or conflict

Action
The primary event or occurrence in the story

Interpretation
The active engagement with the story to determine what it is really about

Symbol
A word or object that stands for something else

The Structure of Story
Story –
The whole arc of what happens; every detail from beginning to end
A story can have many different plots
Plot –
The ordering of events
Includes what happens but deals with why and how events unfold
How the story is told by a storyteller’s shaping of the details

Plot
Chronological
Told from beginning to end
Flashback –
an intentional break in the chronology of the story switching to past events
Foreshadowing-
Gives clues to readers what lies ahead
Twists a clever surprise in the plot

Kate Chopin’s “The Story of An Hour”
What is the plot structure of this story?
Why does Chopin choose to tell the story in this way?
How is this effective?
What would happen if this story were told from the beginning of the journey?

Talking about the Text
What changes does Louise Mallard experience in the story?
When in the story do we get an account of what is happening inside Louise’s mind?

Character
The people in the story
Protagonist—the leading character; the main character
Antagonist—the force acting against the main character
Flat character—a one-dimensional representation
Round character—a multi-dimensional representation
Dynamic character—one who changes or grows from beginning to end
Static character—one who never changes or grows from beginning to end

Characters in “Stockings”
What do we know about Dobbins’ character traits based upon what the narrator tells us directly in the first paragraph, as well as what you can determine from the details in the second and third paragraphs?
What type of character is he? (dynamic, static…)

Setting
The time and location in which a story takes place
a) place - geographical location. Where is the action of the story taking place? b) time - When is the story taking place? (historical period, time of day, year, etc) c) weather conditions - Is it rainy, sunny, stormy, etc? d) social conditions - What is the daily life of the character's like? Does the story contain local color (writing that focuses on the speech, dress, mannerisms, customs, etc. of a particular place)? e) mood or atmosphere - What feeling is created at the beginning of the story? Is it bright and cheerful or dark and frightening?

Session i

by cbrownell

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Session i

by cbrownell

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Session i Presentation Transcript

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