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Fiction-Types and Elements
Fiction-Types and Elements
Its Types
Fiction
❖ invented through the imagination of the writer
❖ imaginary in its elements
❖ faithfulness to reality is not typically assumed
by the readers
❖ open to multiple interpretations
Kinds of Fiction
a. Fable d. Myth g. Short Story j. Fantasy
b. Fairy tale e. Novel/Novelette h. Allegory k. Science Fiction
c. Legend f. Parable i. Folklore l. Satire
1. Fable/s. These are fictitious stories that deal with animals and
inanimate things who speak and act like people and their purpose is
to enlighten the minds of children to events that can mold their
ways and attitudes.
Examples: THE MONKEY AND THE TURTLE
THE CROW AND THE HUNGRY DOG
Point of
Character/s Setting Plot Theme/s
View
Character/s A character is a person, or
sometimes even an animal,
who takes part in the action
of a short story.
Types of Character
• Foil character – the personality is used to
supplement the more prominent character
• Flat character – personality traits are lightly sketched
• Round character – appears almost lifelike, the many
dimensions of his personality are shown
• Static character – does not change in the course of
action
• Developing character – undergoes changes upon the
influence of some events
Flat Character Vs. Round Character
• also called two-dimensional • a multifaceted character and
character subject and growth
• is more than a type than an • he/she is also capable of
individual, and stays essentially inconsistencies, and in those
the same throughout the story ways similar to an actual human
being
Characterization
• is the art of representing human attitude or
innate characteristic as projected by the
character.
• means the techniques by which an author of a
work of fiction, drama, or narrative poetry
represents the moral, intellectual, and emotional
natures of the characters.
Characterization
Showing
Telling
Characterization
There are various methods of revealing characterization:
• Direct statement
• Through his speech
• Through his action
• Through his “externals”
• Through what the characters say about him.
Roles in the Plot
Protagonist
Antagonist
Foil
Roles in the Plot
• From the Greek word for
Protagonist “first actor” or “first
contender”
• The main character, the
hero
• The events of the story
center on him or her and
does the reader’s interest
Roles in the Plot
• From the Greek word for “against
the contender”
• A character that opposes the
protagonist’s goals and interests, so
creates the major conflict in the
story
Antagonist • Deemed as the villain for his evil
intentions
• It may not be a character; it may be
some larger force that challenges
the protagonist like fate, types of
conflict.
Roles in the Plot
• What if the protagonist
himself is evil or
antagonist?
• The character is
Antagonist portraying a
sympathetic
character.
Roles in the Plot
• A character who contrasts
the with the protagonist
in ways that bring out
certain of his or her
moral, emotional, or
intellectual qualities
• Some are minor roles
Foil which may be considered
as just flat characters.
Point of View
Point of This refers to the
View perspective from which a
story is told. This can be
identified by the pronoun that
the narrator uses to recount
events.
Types of 1. First-Person
Point of 2. Third-Person Limited
View 3. Third-person Omniscient
4. Second-Person
First-Person Point of View
• The narrator or storyteller is a character in the
story who uses the pronoun “I” or “We”.
• The first-person narrator is sometimes called
the persona, after the Latin word for “mask”, to
signify a distinction between the author (as a
flesh-and-blood individual) and the “mask” that
he or she assumes in a particular story
First-Person Point of View
• brings the readers immediacy and directness,
and first-hand experiences of the character.
• imposes limitations on the teller; that is, the
narrator can only relate what he/she might have
witnessed, and then only with the degree to his
or her circumstances and character.
First-Person Point of View
I knew I shouldn’t have let Pedro walk
home from school alone. He’s too little. He
must be so scared. We’ve walked to and
from school so many times, I thought he
would know his way. Now, he’s lost. I’m his
big sister; I should have been more
responsible!
Third-Person Limited Point of View
• The narrator describes events only from the
perspective and with the understanding of one,
or sometimes, a select few characters.
• S/he does not see everything; hence, s/he only
tells what the character sees, thinks, and feels.
Third-Person Limited Point of View
Stream-of-Consciousness
➢ an extreme form of this POV
➢ is used to replicate the thought processes of a
character with little or no intervention by the narrator
➢ a literary technique used to track the shift of feelings
and thought flowing through the sense of a story
character
➢ hence, these are merely responses of the character’s
subconsciousness
Third-Person Limited Point of View
Mrs. Thompson spotted Maria walking on the
sidewalk calling out Pedro’s name. She knew she
shouldn’t have let Pedro leave the schoolyard alone.
Even though she was just his first grade teacher, Mrs.
Thompson always felt a special bond with Pedro. Her
heart sank. She pulled her car over and told Maria to
get in; they would look for Pedro together. She noticed
tears forming in Maria’s eyes. She reached over and
patted Maria’s knee, “We will find him, Maria.” She
hoped that comforted Maria a little.
Third-Person Omniscient Point of View
• The narrator can enter the consciousness of any
character, evaluate motives, explain feelings,
recount the background, and predict the
outcome of situations.
• S/he is deemed as an all-knowing narrator who
has access to all the thoughts, feelings, and
actions of any and all of the characters.
Third-Person Omniscient Point of View
Mrs. Thompson watched Pedro walk away from the schoolyard alone.
There was a small voice inside her that told her to stop him. “He’s just a
little boy. He’s far too small to walk home alone,” she thought.
Pedro walked by the white picket fence that he walked by every day on
his way to and from school. He stopped at the next street. “Which way
do I turn?” he thought to himself. He stood there and looked up and
down the street trying to remember if he needed to turn left or right.
He turned right and looked desperately for something that looked
familiar to him. Nothing did. He started to panic, “Where am I? Should I
turn around and go back? I wish my sister was with me!”
Maria looked at her watch, again. “Where is he?” she thought, with a
slight sense of panic. She began walking towards the school. “Have you
seen Pedro?” she asked a neighbor as she hurried by.
Second-Person Point of View
• The narrator addresses the audience directly
using the pronoun “you”, and assumes that the
character is experiencing the events along with
the narrator.
• Its use is relatively rare.
Second-Person Point of View
"You have brains in your head. You have feet
in your shoes. You can steer yourself any direction
you choose. You're on your own. And you know
what you know. And you are the guy who'll
decide where to go."
Short Story Elements
Point of
Character/s Setting Plot Theme/s
View
Setting The setting of a short story
is the time and place in
which it happens. The
social context is also part
of the setting.
•What can the time and
place be referred to?
Setting
To provide a strong
sense of setting, authors
often use descriptions place
such as landscape, scenery,
buildings; time may refer to a
historical period, time of a
year, or time of a day or night
seasons or weather.
•Can the setting be
imaginary?
Setting • Why is the setting
significant in a story or
other works of fiction?
Short Story Elements
Point of
Character/s Setting Plot Theme/s
View
ELEMENTS OF A
What a plot is
• Plot is the order of events that make up a story.
• The plot of a story is a series of interconnected
events in which every occurrence has a specific
purpose.
• A plot is all about establishing connections,
suggesting causes, and showing relationships.
denouement
denouement
denouement
Conflict
• struggle between opposing forces, that is usually resolved
by the end of the story
• the main character is usually on one side of the central
conflict
• on the other side, the main character may struggle against
another important character, against the forces of nature,
against society, or even against something inside himself or
herself (feelings, emotions, illness)
Types of Conflict
Kinds of Conflict
Kinds of Conflict
Kinds of Conflict
Kinds of Conflict
Cliffhanger, Cliffhanger ending, Psychological ending