Elements of Plot & Literary Devices

Question 1

Plot

Answer 1

what happens in the story

Question 2

Exposition

Answer 2

The beginning of the story, where the main characters and setting are usually revealed

Question 3

Inciting Incident

Answer 3

A specific event that starts a conflict > the thing that “lights the fire”

Question 4

Rising Action

Answer 4

After the conflict is revealed, events may become more complicated and suspense builds.

Question 5

Climax

Answer 5

1. The highest point of interest and the usual turning
   point in the story
2. The main character often gets a new piece of information
   and acts on it

Question 6

Falling Action

Answer 6

The events/conflict begin to resolve and the
reader learns what happened

Question 7

Conclusion

Answer 7

The final outcome

Question 8

Place

Answer 8

• location
• the “where”
• the more detailed the more important

Question 9

Time

Answer 9

• the when

Question 10

Social Conditions

Answer 10

• daily life or experiences explored
• are unique cultural/historical/generational
  
  • ex: dress/manners/speech

Question 11

Atmosphere

Answer 11

• the feeling created
• vibe

Question 12

conflict

Answer 12

a struggle between two opposing forces around which the story revolves.

1. person vs person
2. person vs society
3. person vs self
4. person vs nature
5. person vs fate

Question 13

characterization

Answer 13

• What the character: says/does/doesn’t do/thinks/feels/wants (actions)
• What other characters: say about or how they describe another character
• How characters: react/engage with each other

-How they are: physically depicted

-How they are: compared to other characters

Question 14

Protagonist

Answer 14

Is clearly central to the story. All major events have some importance to them. The main character
or hero.

Question 15

Antagonist

Answer 15

The opposer of the protagonist. Can be one or more forces that stand against, struggle with, or create conflict for the protagonist.

Question 16

Point of View

Answer 16

First Person: “I/me/we” perspective (in the character’s head)

Second Person: the “you” perspective (narrator addresses the audience directly.)

Third Person: “he/she/it/they” perspective (narrator outside of the story describes what the characters do and what happens to them.)

Third Person Limited: narrator has perspective of one character

Third Person Omniscient = narrator has perspective of all characters (“all knowing” or “god like”)

Question 17

Theme

Answer 17

central or main idea that is expressed in a story.

Question 18

Tone

Answer 18

author expresses their attitude towards a topic

Question 19

MOOD

Answer 19

reader and is the overall atmosphere or feeling

Question 20

Imagery

Answer 20

1. create “mental images” for the reader.
2. sensory perceptions (the 5 senses).

Question 21

Simile

Answer 21

use like and as to make explicit comparisons between unlike things.

Question 22

Metaphor

Answer 22

1. compares two things without the use of like or as - so the comparison is implied not stated directly.

Question 23

Hyperbole

Answer 23

a deliberate, extravagant, and often outrageous exaggeration

Question 24

Foreshadowing

Answer 24

hint at what might happen later

Question 25

Flashback

Answer 25

an earlier episode, conversation, or event is inserted

Question 26

Symbolism

Answer 26

1. stands for something else.
2. hint at deeper meanings

Question 27

Repetition

Answer 27

make a point more clear, more memorable, or to emphasize something.

Question 28

Personification

Answer 28

attributing human qualities

Question 29

1. Irony
2. Situational Irony
3. Verbal Irony
4. Dramatic Irony

Answer 29

1. opposite of the literal meaning or opposite of what one would normally expect.
2. – When a situation turns out differently from what one would normally expect: for example, a deep sea diver drowning in a bathtub would be situationally ironic.
3. When a character says one thing but means something different: for example, sarcasm is often a form of verbal irony.
4. When the reader/audience knows something that a character in the story does not know.