2. •the geographical location
•the time period
•the socio-economic
characteristics and the culture
• the specific place
Setting
www.readwritethink.org
Where the story takes place
3. That evening T.J. smelled the air,
his nostrils dilating with the odor of the
earth under his feet. “It’s spring,” he said,
and there was a gladness rising in his voice
that filled us with all the same feeling.
“It’s mighty late for it, but it’s
spring”….We were all sniffing at the air, too,
trying to smell it the way that T.J. did, and I
can still remember the sweet odor of the
earth under our feet. It was the first time in
my life that spring and spring earth had
meant anything to me.
--From “Antaeus” by
Borden Deal
Setting
Can be used to tell readers about the
characters:
www.readwritethink.org
4. During the whole of a dull,
dark, and soundless day in
the autumn of the year,
when the clouds hung
oppressively low in the
heavens, I had been
passing alone, on
horseback, through a
singularly dreary tract of
country.
--From “The Fall of
the House of Usher”
by Edgar Allan Poe
Setting
Can be used to set up the atmosphere, or mood, for a story:
www.readwritethink.org
5. •Round Characters - true to life; many
personality traits.
•Dynamic Characters - change or develop
•Flat Characters – stereotypical; one or two
personality traits.
•Static Characters – stay the same
www.readwritethink.org
people (or animals, places,
things that are presented
as people)
Characters
6. ANTAGONIST
The character who opposes the
protagonist.
Does not have to be the “bad guy.”
PROTAGONIST
The main character in a literary work.
The characther who begins the action.
Does not have to be the “good guy.”
www.readwritethink.org
7. DIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
(TELLS)
Jack had been in basic training in Florida and
Dottie was there on vacation with her
parents. They’d met on the beach and struck
up a conversation. Dottie was the talker, the
outgoing one—the extrovert. Jack was too
shy around girls to say much at all.
- From “Furlough—1944” by Harry Mazer
www.readwritethink.org
Methods of Characterization
8. INDIRECT CHARACTERIZATION
(SHOWS)
Remember STEAL!
www.readwritethink.org
Methods of Characterization
Speech What does the character say? How does the character speak?
Thoughts What is revealed through the characters private thoughts and feelings?
Effect
on others
How do other characters feel and/or behave in reaction to the character?
Actions What does the character do? How does the characters behave?
Looks/
appearance
What does the character look like? How does the character dress?
10. www.readwritethink.org
Speech
Many of the words spoken by the cat at
the beginning of the story have an
upbeat connotative meaning.
But we can have
Lots of fun that is
funny! (7).
What does this tell us about the cat?
11. www.readwritethink.org
Thoughts
So all we could do was to
Sit!
Sit!
Sit!
Sit!
And we did not like it.
Not one little bit (3).
What does this tell us about the narrator?
These are the thoughts of the narrator as he
stares out the window on a rainy day.
12. www.readwritethink.org
Effect on Others
Throughout the first ¾ of the
story, three different
illustrations portray the fish
scowling at the cat
immediately after each of the
cat’s activities.
When the cat returns to clean
up his mess at the end of the
story, the fish is shown with a
smile.
What does this tell us about the cat?
13. www.readwritethink.org
Actions
The cat engages in “UP-UP-UP with a
fish” (18).
Then, later in the story, the cat releases
two “things” that fly kites in the house.
What does this tell us about the cat?
14. www.readwritethink.org
Looks
Throughout the first ¾ of the story,
the cat is shown with a smile on his
face.
Towards the end of the story,
however, when the cat is told to
leave, he is shown leaving the
house with slumped shoulders and
a sad face.
What does this tell us about the cat?
15. the structure of a story;
the arrangement of events and actions
www.readwritethink.org
Plot
16. www.readwritethink.org
Plot Components
Exposition: the start of the story;
introduction of setting, characters,
conflict
Resolution: the conclusion; loose ends
are wrapped up
Climax: the turning point; the most intense
moment either in emotion or in action
Rising Action:
series of conflicts
that lead to the
climax
Falling Action: all
of the action that
follows the climax
17. events that happened before
the time of the current story
• memories
• dreams
• and stories told
by characters
www.readwritethink.org
Flashback
18. ● hints and clues
suggesting what will
happen later in the
story
● often used to build
suspense or tension in a
story
What does this suggest is
going to happen?
www.readwritethink.org
Foreshadowing
19. Without Conflict, there would be no plot.
The dramatic struggle between
two forces in a story.
www.readwritethink.org
Conflict = Plot
23. As I walked up the hill, I
realized that the
atmosphere was just too
quiet. There was no sound
from the cardinal who was
nearly always singing from
the top of the maple tree.
I thought I saw a shadow
move high up on the
slope, but when I looked
again it was gone. Still, I
shuddered as I felt a silent
threat pass over me like a
cloud over the sun.
PointofViewExamplesCopyright2003LeighMichaels
First-Person POV the thoughts and perspective
of one main character
24. As she walked up the hill, she
realized that the atmosphere was just too
quiet. There was no sound from the
cardinal who she so often heard singing
from the top of the maple tree. She
thought she saw a shadow move high up
on the slope, but when she looked again it
was gone. Nevertheless, she shuddered as
she felt a silent threat pass over her. It felt
like a cloud creeping over the sun.
As the girl walked up the hill, she
realized that the atmosphere was just
too quiet.
The cardinal tipped his head back
and drew breath to sing, but just as the
first note passed his beak he heard the
crack of a dead branch far below his
perch high in the maple tree. Startled, he
looked down, cocking his head to one
side and watching with great interest
while the man rattled the blades of grass
as he tried to hide himself behind the
tree.
PointofViewExamplesCopyright2003LeighMichaels
Third-Person POV
Third-Person Limited
thoughts and perspective of one
main character
Third-Person Omniscient
all-knowing; thoughts and perspective
of all characters
25. The girl walked up the quiet
hillside.
In the top of the maple tree, the
cardinal tipped his head back and drew
breath to sing. A dead branch cracked
on the ground below the bird's perch.
The man stepped on the branch and
rattled the blades of grass as he moved
behind the tree. He watched the girl
come up the hillside toward him.
Her gaze shifted quickly and warily from
one shadowy area high on the slope to
another, and she shuddered.
PointofViewExamplesCopyright2003LeighMichaels
Third-Person Objective
journalist’s point of view
facts without thoughts and feelings
26. • Central idea or
message of the
story
• Insight into the
human condition
• Can be either
stated or implied
www.readwritethink.org
Theme
THEME STATEMENT (not a topic)
Topic = Trust
Theme = Trust can never be regained
once it is lost.
