1. NOTES: ELEMENTS OF FICTION YOUNGBLOOD: ENGLISH
Page 1 of 2
NOTES: ELEMENTS OF FICTION
I. TYPES of FICTION
a. ACTION: any literary narrative which is created in the author's mind
b. PROSE: It is often used as an inclusive term for all discourse, spoken or written, which is not patterned into
the lines and rhythms either of metric verse or of free verse.
c. SHORT STORY: A short piece of prose fiction (generally 1-50 pages) which is unified around a single effect;
each element of the story-character, plot, theme, setting, tone, imagery, etc.--contributes to that effect.
d. NOVELLA (NOVELETTE): a prose fiction story of medium length (generally 50-125 pages)
e. NOVEL: an extended piece of prose fiction (generally 125+ pages) which usually has many characters and
develops complex plot
i. CHAPTER: a major division of the novel
f. ALLEGORY: It is a story in which people, things, and actions represent an idea or generalization about life;
allegories often have a strong moral or lesson.
g. PARABLE: a short, descriptive story which illustrate a particular belief or moral
II. CHARACTER
a. CHARACTER: A person (sometimes a group of people, an animal, or a physical force) invented by an author
who has an impact on the outcome of the story. Character motivation must be consistent; the character must
be convincing and lifelike.
i. PROTAGONIST: the main character (often the hero) or force in the work which the reader wants
to succeed (NOT always the good guy)
ii. ANTAGONIST: a force or character opposing the protagonist who tries to stop the protagonist
from reaching his desired goal
b. FOIL: a character who serves by contrast to emphasize the qualities of another character
III. CONFLICT
a. CONFLICT: The relationship between the protagonist and the antagonist. The conflict can be threefold: 1)
conflict between individuals, 2) between the character and circumstances intervening between him and a goal
he has set himself, and 3) conflict of opposing tendencies within a single individual's mind.
There are five basic types of conflict:
i. MAN vs. MAN: One character in the story has a problem with one or more of the other characters.
ii. MAN vs. SOCIETY: A character has a conflict or problem with some element of society--the
school, the law, the accepted way of doing things, and so on.
iii. MAN vs. HIMSELF: A character has trouble deciding what to do in a particular situation.
iv. MAN vs. NATURE: A character has a problem with some natural happening: a snowstorm, an
avalanche, the bitter cold, or any of the other elements common to nature.
v. MAN vs. FATE: A character has to battle what seems to be an uncontrollable problem. Whenever
the problem seems to be a strange or unbelievable coincidence, fate can be considered the cause of
the conflict.
IV. PLOT
a. UNITY OF ACTION: The plot has unity if it is a single, complete, and ordered action in which none of the
parts is unnecessary. The parts are so closely connected that without one of the parts the work would be
disjointed.
b. PLOT is a system of actions in a purposeful sequence represented in a work. Aristotle defines plot as that
which has a beginning, middle, and an end.
i. EXPOSITION: background information on the characters, setting, and situation, usually found at
the beginning of a story
ii. RISING ACTION: begins when the conflict between the protagonist and antagonist is set in motion
and ends with the climax

2. NOTES: ELEMENTS OF FICTION YOUNGBLOOD: ENGLISH
Page 2 of 2
iii. CLIMAX: the turning point or moment of highest intensity in the work when either the protagonist
or antagonist must succeed
iv. FALLING ACTION (DENOUMENT): the action which works out the decision made in the
climax--the story unravels
v. RESOLUTION: the portion of the play or story where the problem is solved, providing closure
c. SUSPENSE: an anxious uncertainty about what is going to happen to characters with whom the reader has
established bonds of sympathy
d. SURPRISE: Surprise occurs when the events that occur in a literary work violate the expectations we have
formed. The interplay between suspense and surprise is a prime source of the power of plot
e. INTRIGUE: a scheme set up by a character which depends for its success on the ignorance of the person(s)
against whom it is directed
f. FLASHBACK: The writer interrupts the chronological sequence of a story to relate an incident which
occurred prior to the beginning of the story.
g. FORESHADOWING: A writer's use of hints or clues to indicate events that will occur later in the story. The
use of this technique both creates suspense and prepares the reader for what is to come.
V. POINT OF VIEW
a. POINT OF VIEW is the outlook from which the events in a work are told.
The methods of narration are:
i. OMNISCIENT NARRATOR: The third person narrator is all-knowing and relates the thoughts,
feelings and motivations of all the characters.
ii. LIMITED OMNISCIENT NARRATOR: The third person narrator relates the thoughts and
feelings of only one character.
iii. FI RST PERSON NARRATOR: A character, often the protagonist, narrates the story in the first
person.
iv. OBJECTIVE NARRATOR (detached observer): The third person narrator sees and records the
information from a neutral or unemotional viewpoint.
VI. SETTING
a. SETTING: the time and place in which the action of a literary work occurs
b. LOCAL COLOR: the use of details which are characteristic of a certain region or section of the country
VII. THEME
a. THEME: It is a statement about life or universal truth that a particular work is trying to get across to the
reader. In stories written for children, the theme is often spelled out clearly at the end when the author says
"...and so, the moral of the story is "
In more complex literature, the theme may not be so moralistic in tone, or at least not so clearly spelled out.
b. MOTIF: It is a term for an often-repeated character, incident, idea or image in literature that is used to
convey themes.
c. AMBIGUITY: the deliberate use of a word or expression to convey two or more diverse attitudes or feelings
VIII. TECHNIQUE
a. TONE: is the author's attitude toward his subject matter. The tone might be solemn, formal, playful, or
serious; it is created through word choice and sentence structure.
b. MOOD: It is the feeling a piece of literature evokes in the reader. happy, sad, peaceful, etc.
c. ATMOSPHERE: Created by the tone pervading the literary work, atmosphere shapes the reader's
expectations about the plot (whether the events will be happy, sad, disastrous, etc.).
d. STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS: a style of writing in which the thoughts and feelings of the writer are
recorded as they occur
e. VERISIMILITUDE: an illusion of reality created in a fictional work