Prose Fiction Flashcards
is a fictional work that is presented in a narrative form.
It presents human experiences to educate and entertain the readers.
Prose Fiction
is a brief fictional prose narrative concerned with a single effect conveyed in a single significant episode or scene involving a limited number of characters.
Short Story
Elements of Prose Fiction
- Plot
- Conflict
- Plot Devices
- Narrator/Narrative Voice
- Setting
- Character and Characterization
- Tone
- Style
- Theme
is “raw material of the story”. It is the sequence of events readers and audiences piece together in their minds while the story unfolds in order to make sense of it.
fabula
is “way a story is organized”. It is the story that unfolds on the page or screen. It contains all the gaps, obfuscations, and convolutions that render the hero’s experiences interesting to the reader and audience.
syuzhet
- is the series of events and actions that occur in a story.
- is the method or sequence in which incidents in a narrative are organized/presented to the audience/readers.
Plot
Narrative Events in a Plot
- Chronological/Linear (natural order)
- in media res (in the middle of the things);
- begin in the present and return to the past.
the beginning of the story where the characters and setting is revealed.
Exposition
this is where the events in the story become complicated and the conflict in the story is revealed.
Rising Action
this is the highest point of interest and the turning point of the story. It effects a change either for the better or for the worse of the protagonist’s situation.
Climax
The events and the complications begin to resolve themselves. The reader knows what happened next and if the conflict was resolved or not.
Falling Action
This is the final outcome or untangling of events in the story
Denouement
Types of Ending
- Happy Ending
- Unhappy Ending
- Open-ended/Lack of Resolution/Partial Resolution/Indeterminate
Comedy. Everything ends well and all is resolved.
Happy Ending
Tragedy. Many events in life do not end pleasantly, so literary fiction that emulates life is more apt to have an unhappy conclusion, forcing the reader to contemplate the complexities of life.
Unhappy Ending
no definitive ending or resolution occurs, leaving the reader to ponder the issue raised by the story.
Open-ended/Lack of Resolution/Partial Resolution/Indeterminate
(in the sense of “friction” or “battle”) In fiction, it is the opposition of forces or characters; this “friction” usually fuels the friction. It is the struggle between two forces.
Conflict
It is the exciting force. It fuels the rising action and may incite later events. Longer works may have several complications. These are the compounding difficulties which arise when dealing with original conflict.
Complication
Types of Conflict
- Individual versus the Self (Psychological)
- Individual versus Individual
- Individual versus the Physical World/Nature
- Individual versus Society/Civilization or “Order”
- Individual versus Circumstance (Classical)
- Individual versus Supernatural
- Individual versus Machine/Technology
The leading character struggles with him/herself; with his/her own soul, ideas of right or wrong, physical limitations, choices, etc.
Individual versus the Self (Psychological)
The leading character struggles with his physical strength against other men.
Individual versus Individual
The leading character struggles against the forces of nature.
Individual versus the Physical World/Nature
The leading character struggles against ideas/practices, or customs of other people.
Individual versus Society/Civilization or “Order”
The leading character struggles against fate, or the circumstance of life facing him/her.
Individual versus Circumstance (Classical)
The leading character struggles against any supernatural force that is outside his/her understanding, including monsters, aliens, or deities.
Individual versus Supernatural
The leading character struggles against man-made entities which may possess “artificial intelligence”.
Individual versus Machine/Technology
6 Types of Plot Devices
- Foreshadowing
- Flashback
- Suspense
- Surprise
- Coincidence
- Deus Ex Machina
a plot device in which the outcome of the struggles or conflict is anticipated or hinted at by such element as speeches or actions of characters or by symbols.
Foreshadowing
It is a scene inserted into a film, novel, story, or play to show events that occurred at an earlier time; this technique is used to complement the events in the “present” of the story.
Flashback
It is the uncertainty in the reader’s mind as to whether or not the main character will resolve the conflict creates suspense. This is what makes you keep reading. How is the conflict going to be solved? What is going to happen? Suspense is most often produced either by mystery or dilemma.
Suspense
is new turn or twist: one that is logical furnishes illumination not just a reversal of expectation.
Surprise
It is the accidental meeting of characters in one place.
Coincidence
It literally means “God from the Machine”. It is a plot device in which someone or something.
Deus Ex Machina
is the perspective from which the events in the story are observed and reunited. To determine the point of view, identify who is telling the story, that is the viewer through whose eyes the readers see the action (the narrator).
Narrative point of view
The voice of an unidentified, anonymous speaker or that of an observer/character in the story is never the author, not even if the characters has the same name as the author.
narrator
the story is told by the protagonist or one of the characters who interact closely with the protagonist of other characters (using pronouns I, me, we, etc). The reader sees the story through this person’s eyes as s/he experiences it and only knows what s/he knows or feels.
First Person
Types of First Person Narrator
- Detached Autobiography
- Interior Monologue
- Subjective Narration
- Memoir or Observer Narration
First person, reliable narrator that guides the reader. Narrator is main character, often reflecting on a past “self”— sometimes an adult recounting event from childhood. When it is the latter, it is important to notice “how” the adult voice affects the child’s story.
Detached Autobiography
First person, train of thought “overheard” by the reader (Not spoken out loud as a monologue) or sometimes “overheard” and reported by an omniscient narrator; other times it occurs as stream of consciousness.
Interior Monologue
First person, seems unreliable, tries to get readers to share his/her side or to assume values or views not usually presumed by the reader.
Subjective Narration
First person, narrator is observer rather than main participant; narrator can be a confidant(e), eye witness or “chorus” (provides offstage or background information). This narrator can be reliable or unreliable.
Memoir or Observer Narration
it breaks the fourth wall by directly addressing the reader with the pronoun “you.
Second Person
the narrator moves from character to character, event to event, having free access to thoughts, feelings, and motivations of his character and s/he introduces information where and when he chooses.
Third Person
Types of Third Person Narrator
- Omniscient
- Limited
- Objective or Dramatic
the narrator’s knowledge, control, and prerogatives are unlimited, allowing “authorial” subjectivity.
Omniscient
the narrative voice is associated with a major or minor character than it not able to “see/know” all, may only be able to relate the thoughts of one or some characters but not others, and may not know what happened “offstage” or in the past.
Limited
opposite to omniscient. The narrator is an observer, a “fly on the wall,” but cannot enter into the minds of the other characters except in a speculative way. Such a narrator is trapped by the chronology and immediacy of the story, like a reporter “on the scene” of an event transpiring.
Objective or Dramatic
It is the background against which the incidents of the story takes place. Not merely a place, it includes the place where, the time when, social conditions, weather, historical period, and details about immediate surroundings under which the story moves along. This can also include atmosphere, the tone and the feeling of the story.
Setting
are the persons that are involved in the story. There must be living in the story that think or act in order to keep the story going. They must seem like living and feeling individuals in order for us to feel strongly about them.
Characters
Three (3) Elements of Characterization
- Physical Appearance
- Actions, Speech and Behavior
- Interactions with Others
An author can use two approaches to deliver information about a character and build an image of it.
Characterization
two (2) types of characterization
- Direct or explicit characterization
2. Indirect or implicit characterization
This kind of characterization takes a direct approach towards building the character. It uses another character, narrator, or the protagonist himself to tell the readers or audience about the subject. It may refer to the physical characteristics, clothing, environment, etc; character traits; and the circumstances such as job and family situation.
Direct or explicit characterization
This is a more subtle way of introducing the character to the audience. The audience has to deduce for themselves the characteristics of the character by observing his/her thought process, behavior, speech, way of talking, appearance, and manner of communication with other characters, as well as by discerning the response of other characters.
Indirect or implicit characterization
- Central character
- Person on whom action centers
- Character who pushes the action forward
- Character who attempts to accomplish something
- Usually seen as a good person or hero/heroine
- Usually round or dynamic
Protagonist
- Usually what protagonist does not do
- Character or force that holds the action back
- Character who wants something in opposition to the protagonist
- Usually seen as a bad person/force or villain
don’t have to be human either. They are the force in conflict with the protagonist.
Antagonist
- Often a friend or relative of the hero/ine, whose role is to be present when the hero needs a sympathetic listener to confide in.
- Generally regarded as subordinate to the one he/she accompanies.
- When the main character confides (shares/trusts) they reveal qualities, personality, thoughts and feelings.
Confidant/e
- Secondary or minor character
- Character who is contrast or opposite to the protagonist
- Character who emphasizes or highlights the traits of the character.
- They are not focus characters not are they developed in the story.
- they help us learn more about another character or aspect of a story.
Foil
- A main character in a story who lacks the typical heroic qualities of bravery, courage, morality, and the special ability and desire to achieve for the greater good.
- is still the protagonist of the narrative, yet is a foil to the traditional hero archetype
Anti-hero/heroine
- Well-developed
- Has many traits, good and bad
- Not easily defined because we know many details about the character
- Realistic and life-like
- Most major characters
Round
- Not well-developed
- Does not have many traits
- Easily defined in a single sentence because we know little about the character.
- Sometimes stereotypes
- Most minor characters
Flat
- Undergoes an important change in personality in the story.
- Comes to some sort of realization that permanently changes the character.
- A change occurs within the character because of the events of the story.
- The protagonist is usually ___ , but not always.
Dynamic
- Remains the same throughout the story.
- Although something happens to the character, it does not cause the character to change.
- Minor characters are usually ___.
Static
- Character that is instantly recognizable.
- These characters are types and not individuals. They are based on clichés and social prejudices.
Examples: dumb blonde, mean stepmother, loyal servant, abusive boyfriend, or evil dictator or CEO
Stocked/Stereotyped
It is the attitude of the writer toward a subject or an audience.
Tone
refers to the qualities that distinguish the works of one author from another’s
Style
word choice: formal or informal
Diction
simple or complex sentence.
Sentence Structure
sentence pattern of language; grammatical and ungrammatical arrangements of words
Syntax
abstract or concrete
Language
can either be more dialogue than description, or dialogue limited to certain characters, or simple lacking dialogue altogether.
Dialogue
sensory details such as simile, metaphors, onomatopoeia, etc.
Imagery
a literary work in which the symbols, characters, and events come to represent, in a somewhat point-to-point fashion, a different metaphysical, political, or social situation.
Allegory
concrete objects/images that stand for abstract subjects; the objects and images have meanings of their own but may be ascribed subjective connotations.
Symbols
recurring structures, contrasts, or literary devices that can help develop and inform the major themes (points) of the story.
Motif
term with a range of meanings, all of them involving some sort of discrepancy or incongruity. It is used to suggest the difference between appearance and reality, between expectation and fulfilment, the complexity of experience, to furnish indirectly an evaluation of the author’s material, and at the same time to achieve compression.
Irony
- are the fundamental and often universal ideas explored in a literary work. It is very important to remember that:
- is the central or dominating idea(s) in a literary work.
- It must be pressed in the form of a statement.
- It reflects a central vision of life. No theme is identical with moral. A mature work does not teach, rather it reveals; it does not preach, but interprets.
- The conflict helps reveal the ___.
Theme
