PHILLIT MODULE 4 Flashcards
is difficult to classify
fiction
usually written in paragraphs, not verses.
fiction
seldom performed in front of an audience:
fiction
created using imagined events, characters, and even places, which means that it
cannot possibly have happened in real life.
fiction
in other words fiction is a ____
lie
100 – 1,000 words
flash fiction
1,000 – 10,000 words
Short story
10,000 – 20,000 words
Novellete
20,000 – 30,000 words
Novella
30,000 words and beyond.
Novel
Another word for fiction is
story
In literary terms, a story is an
imagined narrative.
a rhetorical mode used as a pattern of paragraph development
narration
six basic elements of fiction
plot, characters, point of view, voice and dialogue, setting, theme
differentiated plot and story
e.m foster
who said that plot examines the causality of
each event, usually connected by the phrase “and so”.
E.M FOSTER
provides us with a more in-depth understanding of how and why
each event follows the other,
PLOT
traditional Greek drama, which is usually divided into three part
protasis, epitasis, catastrophe
German dramatist in the nineteenth century, used Aristotle as jumping off point and
restructured the dramatic plot, which he said can be divided into five parts.
Gustav Freytag
plot is divided into five parts:
exposition
rising action
climax
falling action
resolution
this is also known as the introduction. The setting, point of view, and the main character’s situation at thebeginning of
the story areintroduced here.
exposition
this is where the inciting incident occurs: the moment that starts the story moving along, and the main
character encounters more and more difficulties the further along the story he or she progresses
rising action
this is the pinnacle of the story, where all the events in the rising action arrive at this point. This is usually where
your character needs to make a choice that would have long-lasting consequences
Climax
this is the “untangling of knots” in a story. This is when the consequences of the choices made by the
characters are finally dealt with.
falling action
the ending of the story. This may be open-ended, with an option to be continued in the imagination of the
reader, or closed,with every plot point accounted for by the end of the story.
resolution
The plot moves because of the main character’s____???
motivation
The main character’s motivation is usually hindered or halted by someone else’s
motivation that runs corollary to the main character. This creates
conflict
an internal conflict, in which the characters struggle with themselves regarding moral or
ethical choices.
Man vs. Himself/Herself
an external conflict, in which two or more characters are up against each other because of different
motivations.
Man vs. Man
an external conflict, in which the characters are up against the forces of nature or circumstances in which
they have no contro
Man vs. Nature
Fictional characters are usually made up of three part
appearance,attributes,andaspirations.
refers to the physicality of the character. This does not just refer to what they look like I visual level – hair color, eye
color,body shapeand size – but other sensory detailsaswell
appearance
refer to the personality and preferences of the character. They can be kind or mean, introvert or extrovert, like ice cream
or know every word of their favorite song.
attributes
refer to the motivation of the character. In other words, this answers the question,
“What do they want?”.
aspiration
-referstohowoften we see
the character/s in the story
Presence
referstowhetherthe reader
is for or against the
motivation of the character
Position
the manner of creatingor
portraying a character in a
story.
Characterization
how far the plot of your
character moves along
Movement
are usually
point-of-view characters and
are central to the plot of the
story
major
The major character whose
motivationthe audience
believes and empathizes
with
protagonist
are
portrayed using all three
aspects of a character
(appearance, attributes, and
aspirations)
Round character
usually
exist through out the entire
plot. A change usually occurs
in their characterization
(e.g., from a coward to a
brave person)
Dynamic Character
only appear
in specific scenes or have
specific role and are not
central to the plot of the
story.
Minor character
are
portrayed using only one or
two aspects of a character.
They existtosupport round
characters.
Flat character
characters usuallyexist
only during a certain
section of the plot.
Theircharacterization
does not change (e.g.,
a coward remainsa
coward.
Static character
this is when you directly describe the characters in terms of their appearance or even
their attributes.
Direct characterization
this is when you allow the audience to slowly recognize who the characters are and
what kind of person they are.
Indirect characterization
this is when you show the flaws or strengths of your character compared to other
characters in the story.
Comparative characterization –
this is when you allow the character’s actions, movements, or physicality to show the reader what kind ofperson they are.
Active characterization
the perspective from which a story is told or narrated
POINT OF VIEW
uses the pronouns “I, me, my” and variations thereof. It is usually assumed that the one
who is telling the story from this perspective is the narrator of the story.
1ST PERSON
uses the pronouns “you, yours, ours” and variations thereof. This is the least used
perspective, because it assumes that the reader is a character in the story.
SECOND PERSON
uses the pronouns “he, she, it, they” and variations thereof. This assumes that the narrator of the story is
omniscient and is not involved in the characters’ lives and the events of the story.
THIRD PERSON
PROS
Intimacy
- Can create a deep bond
between the reader and the
character
FIRST
CONS
Limited
- Based on observation (and
speculation) of the
consciousness
1ST
PROS Places the reader in the
character’s shoes
- Requires technical control
2ND
CONS
Can be gimmicky
- Unorthodox
2ND
PROS
Not bound to one
consciousness
- Distance is modulated by the
reader and the consciousness
- The writer must limit or select what
thenarrator talks about
3RD
CONS
What appears unconventional
might remove the readers from their
suspension of disbelief
3RD
CONS
- Requires control of the
consciousnessbeingused
- Multiple POVs can be
problematicunlessthewriter sets
out to mark that for the readers
3RD
is one whom the audience can believe in and usually fades into the background, allowing the
events in the plot and the actions of the character to take center stage
RELIABLE NARRATOR
on the other hand, is a point of view that is deliberately inconsistent or opposite of what is
happening in the plot
unreliable narrator
5 kinds of unreliable narrator
picaro, madman, clown, naif, liar
is an unreliable narrator who always exaggerates or brags about his own abilities even though he may not have
done them all.
the picaro
An example of this is the character Humbert from Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita.
the picaro
unreliable narrator who is either experiencing mental illness such as schizophrenia, paranoia, or dissociative
identity disorder, or is mentally defending himself because of post- traumatic stress or other psychological disorders
the madman
An example of this is the character of Esther Greenwald from The Bell Jar by Sylvia Plath,
madman
unreliable narrator who does not take narration he is performing seriously and intentionally makes fun
of the characters, the narrative, or even himself.
the clown
An example of this is the character Bras Cubas from Joaquim Maria
Machado de Assis’s The Posthumous Memoirs of Bras Cubas.
THE CLOWN
an unreliable narrator whose perceptions are either too immature or limited through his point of view, which
makes the character seem either innocent or ignorant about the events in the narrative
the naif
example is The Great Gatsby by
F. Scott Fitzgerald.
the naif
is usually an unreliable narrator who deliberately confuses the reader throughout the narrative, usually to
hide his shameful past
the liar
An example of this would be Holden Caulfield from JD Salinger’s The Catcher in the Rye, who
consciously tells the reader about an invented character background for the reader to sympathize with him.
the liar
attitude of the writer toward his subject matter or writing, and relies exclusively on the writer’s personalfeelingsor opinions
towardthetopiche iswritingabout.
tone
refers to the conversational exchange between two or more people. Dialogue is usually used as a means of
characterization, as well as a technique to move the plot along.
dialogue
of story refers to the tone or style of a particular literary piece.
voice
Four Ways of Writing Dialogue
direct, indirect/ reported, stylized, Asynchronous Dialogue
usually happens in the moment. This is usually enclosed in quotation marks and preceded by “He said”
or “She said”. It is part of the action of the scene. It can be interrupted by narration, characterization, or description,
which can work to serve the pace of the story.
direct dialogue
that happens off-screen and is usually summarized or reported by the narrator.
It compresses unnecessary dialogue while at the same time establishes that a conversation has taken place.
Indirect or Reported Dialogue
ukjiisually tries to mimic the manner of speech of a character, including the accents and inflections that are
usually abandoned by the writer in an effort to make the language conform to its grammatical and syntactical rules
Stylized dialogue
dialogue that does more than convey information or an exchange of ideas, but also functions
on a figurative or metaphorical scale.
asynchronous dialogue
refers to the place and time where the story takes place.
setting
refers to the physical world inhabited by a character or where the story takes place.
place and space
can refer to three things: the historical period or kind of society that the story is taking place, the passage of time
within the story, or how the character perceives the movement of time in the story.
time
is the combination of time and space (and even point of view) to create an emotional landscape
felt throughout the story.
mood/atmosphere
essentially the central idea in your story. It is the overarching narrative of emotional or symbolic resonance in your story
andusually answersthe question,“What isyour story about?”
theme
is the writer’s intention about the theme. Essentially, it is trying to convey what the writer thinks or feels about the
subject he or she is writing about.
thematic statement
refer to objects that represent, stand for, or suggest an idea, belief, concept, and abstraction that may not
otherwise be rendered into concrete images
symbol
the arrangement of the other elements around the
symbol. There are several kinds of symbolism used in literary texts.
context
when the narrative moves backward in time, usually as a memory or remembrance of how the past
influenced the current goings-on in the narrative,
flashback
when the narrative moves forward in time,
usually providing a glimpse of the consequences of the present- day action or activities of the characters.
flash forward
In medias res literally means
“in the middle of things
means to provide hints of future events. Usually, the logic of storytelling dictates that for every decision,
there is always a consequence. Foreshadowing provides a hint of that consequence
foreshadowing
a dramatic unit that begins at one fixed point in time and ends in another.
scene
several kinds of symbolism used in literary texts
motif, tropes, archetype, allusion, and allegory
a repetition of a symbol in a story. It can be an object, an action, a word or phrase, or even a
description. Motifs are dependent on the fictional world of the story and may not carry any meaning in the real world.
motif
are common literary devices, motifs, or figurative language that occur across several creative works. Tropes can
be identified by the way they are commonly used by creators.
trope
usually refer to character templates in a story that fulfill a certain function. For instance, we know that the
hero is usually the protagonist of the story or that the wise old man is a figure of wisdom and full of advice
archetypes
reference events or objects beyond the story that the writer assumes the reader knows about. The reader
is the one who connects the reference in the fictional piece to its corresponding reference in the real world
allusions
also known as an extended metaphor and uses characters and events in literary or other art forms to
represent and symbolize abstractions.
ALLEGORY
