Elements of Fiction

1. Setting 4. Point of View

2. Plot 5. Characters

3. Conflict 6. Theme
 1.Setting
*The Setting is the physical
location of a story and its
temporal location.
Physical location?
Its geography: country, city,
natural environment, etc.)
 The physical setting can be a
general physical setting (a city like
London) or a particular physical
setting (a specific location like the
library at a university).
Temporal location?
Its time period: historical
period, year, time of day,
season
 The temporal setting can be a
general temporal setting (the 19 th

Century, the Medieval Age, the

Stone Age) or a particular time
setting (the year 1830, summer of
2030, 2 September 1666).
The setting can also denote the
social circumstances in which
the action of a narrative occurs
(high-class, middle-class, low-
class; rich or poor, etc.).
The setting is important in
establishing the mood or
atmosphere of a work of fiction.
The mood of a narrative can be
either: gloomy, foreboding, joyful,
etc.
A Plot is the careful arrangement of
incidents in a narrative by the
author to achieve a desired effect.
The short story typically has one
plot, so it can be read in one sitting.
A novel or novella often has a main
plot and subplot(s).
Gustav Freytag is a German critic who argued that a plot was
like a pyramid in shape consisting of five parts:
(1) exposition,
(2) rising action,
(3) climax,
(4) falling action,
(5) resolution.
(1) Exposition:
Exposition is the first section of the plot. In
it the audience is introduced to important
background information such as: the
setting (or time and place) of events, the
characters and their relationships to one
another, and any other relevant ideas, details,
or historical context.
(2) Rising Action:
The rising action begins with the inciting incident
which is
that sets a conflict for the protagonist. It starts the
chain of events that lead to the climax.
Thus, the rising action is a series of increasingly
intense events that occur because of the inciting
incident.
(3) Climax:
The climax is the point of highest interest and
emotion in a plot.
It is usually the turning point in a narrative when the
change either for the better
or for the worse.
It is followed by falling action and then the resolution
which ends the story.
(4) Falling Action:
The part of the plot that comes after the climax and
before the resolution. The opposite of falling action is
rising action, which occurs before the climax.

decreases, the complications begin to resolve themselves,

and answers are given to the troubling questions. Thus,
enabling the narrative to move toward its conclusion.
(5) Resolution (Dénouement) [day-noo-mo]:
The resolution comes after the falling action. It
is the conclusion of the narrative. Usually, in it
all complications have ceased and all questions
have been answered. Sometimes, an account is
given to what happens to the main characters.
However, this is not the case in many narratives
especially those with open endings.
However, while Freytag's pyramid is
very handy, not every work of literature
fits neatly into its structure. In fact, many
modernist and post-modern writers
intentionally subvert the standard
narrative and plot structure that Freytag's
pyramid represents.
Conflict refers to the struggle
between opposing forces in a
narrative.
 Conflict is essential to plot.

Without conflict there is nothing

to propel the story forward.
There are two types of conflict:
external and internal.
External Conflict:
1. Character against Character.
2. Character against Society.
3. Character against Nature.
4. Character against the Supernatural.
5. Character against Technology.
6. Character against Disease.
1. Character against Character.
Here, the conflict pits the main character against one
or more characters.
The most common example of this type is the
conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist.
2. Character against Society.

Here, the conflict pits the main character

against the beliefs, ideas, practices, or
customs of other people (a society).
 3. Character against Nature.
Here, the conflict pits a character against nature.
The leading character struggles against elements of
nature such as storms at sea, wild beasts, insects; or
experiences difficulties surviving in nature such as
being stranded on a desert island or in the middle of a
desert.
4. Character against the Supernatural.

Here, the conflict is between a character and

the supernatural.
The leading character struggles against a
supernatural being or force such as vampires,
ghosts, monsters, zombies, etc.
5. Character against Technology.
Here, the conflict is between a character and
technology.

In this type of conflict, the main character tries to find a

way to save her/his own life or to save the whole world
from technology that has become destructive. Sometimes
this involves robots, alternate universes, or scientific
catastrophes.
 6. Character against Disease.
Here, a character is in conflict with a
disease that they try to overcome. For
instance, battling cancer or trying to
overcome a physical disability.
Internal Conflict:
1. Character against herself/himself.

-doubts,
conflicting beliefs, choices, ideas or with a moral dilemma, or
with their own nature.
Point of View
Point of view is the perspective from
which the story is told. It is the eye and
mind through which the action is
perceived and filtered.
There are three narrative points of view:
(1) First-Person (I) Point of View.
(2) Second-Person (You) Point of View.
(3) Third-Person (He, She, They) Point of View.

And each of these general viewpoints has several

variations.
1. First-Person (I) Point of View
In a first-person narrative, the reader

as she/he experiences it and only knows

what she/he knows or feels. That is why
first-person narration is
Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift is a novel told from the
first-person point of view. Lemuel Gulliver is a sea captain
who explores the world, and we see his adventures
through his perspective.
"I lay down on the grass, which was very short and soft,
where I slept sounder than ever I remember to have done
in my life, and, as I reckoned, above nine hours; for when I
awaked, it was just daylight. I attempted to rise, but was
not able to stir: for as I happened to lie on my back, I
found my arms and legs were strongly fastened on each
side to the ground; and my hair, which was long and thick,
tied down in the same manner. I likewise felt several
slender ligatures across my body, from my armpits to my
thighs. I could only look upwards; the sun began to grow
hot, and the light offended my eyes. I heard a confused
noise about me, but, in the posture I lay, could see
nothing except the sky. In a little time I felt something
alive moving on my left leg, which advancing gently
forward over my breast, came almost up to my chin; when,
bending my eyes downwards as much as I could, I
perceived it to be a human creature not six inches high,
with a bow and arrow in his hands, and a quiver at his
back."
 If this narrator does not
fully understand the
implications of his or her
tale, the character is called
a naïve narrator.
 Sometimes characters telling their
stories in first-person can be
unreliable narrators. Here, the

compromised due to a character

flaw such as being insane, a liar, a
convict, a murderer, etc.
Employing a first-person point
of view has several advantages.
1. It is more credible. A strange
or fantastic story is easier to
believe if told by someone who
is supposedly relating her/his
firsthand experience.
2. It is more natural for a character to
reveal her own thoughts than it is for an
omniscient narrator to tell us what she is
thinking and feeling.
3. It is more intimate
narrator seems to address a listener
directly or reader from the heart,
sharing her/his personal observations
and insights with an interested listener
or reader.
However, first-person narration also
has its disadvantages.

The reader can see, hear, and know only

what the narrator sees, hears, and

other characters are coloured by the

 2. Third-Person (She, He, They)
Point of View

In a third-person narrative, the narrator

is usually an unspecified entity or an
uninvolved person that conveys the
story, but not a character of any kind
within the story being told.
In a third-person narrative, each and
every character is referred to by the
narrator as "he", "she", "it", or "they",
but never as "I" or "we" (first-person), or
"you" (second-person).
third person narration. Though Pride and Prejudice are
very much Elizabeth Bennet's story, the narrator is not
Elizabeth Bennet. "I" or "we" would only occur within
quotations:

who had been cautious in her praise of Mr. Bingley

before, expressed to her sister how very much she
admired him."
He is just what a young man ought to be," said she,
"sensible, good humoured, lively; and I never saw such
happy manners! -- so much ease, with such perfect good
breeding!"
"He is also handsome," replied Elizabeth, "which a
young man ought likewise to be, if he possibly can. His
character is thereby complete."
 The most common third-person narrative
perspective is called the omniscient point of
view. Here the narrator stands outside a
story and assumes an all-knowing, all-seeing
stance. This narrator reveals the thoughts
and motives of all the characters, knows the
present, past, and future, and moves freely in
time and space.
A limited omniscient point of
view, however, is one where the
narrator reveals the thoughts of
a single character and presents
the other characters only
externally.
The advantage of the omniscient point
of view is its freedom and unlimited
scope.

Its major disadvantage is a lack of

credibility, intimacy, and naturalness.