This document defines and explains the basic elements of a story, including the title, author, setting, characters, conflict, point of view, tone, plot, climax, and resolution. The setting refers to the time and place where the story takes place. The characters are the people or animals that drive the story's action, with the main character being most important. There are different types of conflicts that can occur, such as person vs. person, person vs. self, person vs. society, person vs. nature, and person vs. fate. The point of view influences how the story is told, through first person or third person perspectives.

1. Analyzing Stories
Introducing the
Elements of a Story

2. The following presentation includes
many terms used to describe the
elements or parts of a story. You will
find this information helpful when you
write or talk about short stories,
novels, etc.

3. The Basic Elements of a
Story are:
The title of the
story
The author
The setting
The Characters
The Conflict

4. The Point of View
The Tone
The Plot
The Turning
point or climax
The Resolution

5. The Title of the Story
The title of the story usually
provides the reader a hint or clue
of what the story will be about.
Most of the time, the title appears
in the initial page of the story.
The title is usually written in
bigger letters.

6. The Author
Most of the stories that are
written have explicit authors.
The author is the person that
writes the story, article or literary
work.
The stories that do not have
explicit authors are said to be
anonymous or that the author is
unknown.

7. The Setting
The setting of the story refers to the
specific time and place of development
of the story.
To identify the setting of a story, the
students must ask themselves the
following questions:
Where does the story take place?
When does the story take place?

8. Setting
Place
Where?
Time
When?

9. The characters
The characters are the
persons or animals that
perform the action in a story.
The most important character
in a story, novel, or play is
called the main character or
protagonist. A piece of
literature may have more than
one main character.

10. The other characters
that are necessary for
the development of the
story's plot but are less
important are called the
secondary
characters.

11. The Conflict
A problem or struggle between two
opposing forces in a story. There are
five basic types of conflicts:
Man vs. man ( person against person)
Man vs. himself ( person against self)
Man vs. society
Man vs. nature
Man vs. fate ( God)

12. Man vs. man
One character has a problem with
another character or characters

13. Man vs. himself
A character
struggles with
him- or herself

14. Man vs. Society
A character has a
problem with
society, the school,
the law, or a
tradition.

15. Man vs. Nature
A character
struggles against
an element of
nature: a
blizzard, a
hurricane,
extreme heat,
etc.

16. Man vs. Fate (God)
A character
struggles with
a problem that
seems
beyond his or
her control

17. Point of View
The angle from
which a story is
told, which
depends upon
who is telling
it.The different
types of point of
view are:

18. First Person
In first person
point of view,
one of the
characters tells
the story.

19. Third Person
In third person point of
view, someone on the
outside of the story is
telling it.
There are actually
three third-person
points of view:

20. Third-Person Omniscient
(All Knowing)
The narrator is able
to tell about the
thoughts and
feelings of all the
characters in the
story.

21. Third-Person Limited Omniscient
The narrator is able
to tell about the
thoughts and
feelings of one
character only.

22. Camera (Objective) View
The narrator tells
the story, but
shares no thoughts
or feelings of the
characters.

23. Tone
The writer’s
attitude toward his
or her subject. A
writer’s tone can
be serious, funny,
and so on.

24. Plot
The story’s
action, which is
a series of
events is called
the plot.

25. Climax
The most
exciting or
important part
in a story. The
climax is often
called the
turning point.

26. Resolution
The end part of
the story, when
the problem is
solved.

27. Prepared by
Jeanette Carrasquillo
Isabel Flores School
Juncos, P.R.
2014