Unit 1: Short Fiction I (notes)

• CHR 1.A: Identify and describe what specific details reveal about a character, that character's perspective, and that character's motives.  

• SET 2.A: Identify and describe specific textual details that convey or reveal a setting.  

• STR 3.A: Identify and describe how plot orders events in a narrative.  

• STR 3.B: Explain the function of a particular sequence of events in a plot. 

• NAR 4.A: Identify and describe the narrator or speaker of a text.  

• NAR 4.B: Identify and explain the function of point of view in a narrative.

• LAN 7.A: Develop a paragraph that includes 1) a claim that requires defense with evidence from the text and 2) the evidence itself.

• Can refer to the creation of a character or the distinctive nature or features of a character.

• When describing or characterizing a person, you typically look at the following aspects to get a complete view of that person

  • Physical 

  • Emotional

  • Psychological

• Rely on adjectives to help paint a picture of the person (some adjectives can be used to describe more than one aspect).

• Narrator’s description of the character

• Other characters’ interactions with and observations of the character

• The character’s actions/thoughts/dialogue

• The way the character views the world impacts not only characterization but can drive the action in the story.

• Consider the following when trying to determine the character’s perspective:

  • his/her background

  • his/her environment

  • his/her personality traits

  • his/her relationships

• So much more than time and place. Setting also includes the social/cultural environment and the mood/atmosphere. 

• Look carefully at clues in the text to gain deeper insight on when and where the story takes place and what effect it has on the story.

• The setting can be an active participant in the story and impact the characters and vice versa. 

• Initially when we think of the structure of a story, we think of the plot and how the plot points are arranged. 

• Typically, a plot will be linear and have five parts:

  • Exposition

  • Rising action

  • Climax

  • Falling action

  • Resolution

• Linear - chronological sequence

• Non-linear - not a chronological sequence

• In medias res - the story begins in the middle of the conflict

• Epistolary - story is told through letters

• Flashbacks - the story is told through various flashbacks or memories of a character

• Framed narrative - a story within a story

When analyzing the plot structure, we need to think about why the author chose this structure, what does it add, what does it take away, and what complexity does it imply.

• Once you have determined the plot structure, then you have to ask the question… so what? Consider the following:

  • How does a particular sequence of events affect the development of the characters or conflict?

  • How does a particular sequence of events and the manner in which the text presents them to a reader affects the reader’s experience with the text?

• Analyzing the narrator is much more than determining if the story is told in 1st person or 3rd person POV. 

• One must also consider the narrator’s perspective and his/her position in the story. 

  • Is he/she a participant or an observer?

  • Is he/she believable or even a reliable source of this information?

  • What information is told? What is omitted?

• The narrator has power, but only as much power as the reader gives him/her.

  • Question the narrator, be critical.

• Definition: the narrator/speaker is a character in the story (sometimes the protagonist). Uses pronouns like I, me, my, we, us, our, etc.

• Importance: there is power because we get a narrow lens through which we see the events and characters. 

  • It develops intimacy (closeness), gives credibility, and expresses an opinion.

Limitations: there is bias because it only shows that character’s perspective. It leads the reader to question the narrator’s reliability.

• Definition: the narrator/speaker is an observer of the events in the story. Uses pronouns like he, she, it, them, they, etc.

  • Objective - narrator does not convey the thoughts/feelings of the characters and they relate the events in a neutral way.

  • Limited: knows the thoughts of a single character or a handful of character

  • Omniscient: the narrator knows and is aware of every thought and feeling of the characters. 

• Importance/Limitations for Objective 3rd POV: unlike a 1st person narrator, a 3rd person narrator is detached and distant, stating the facts, unemotional. It shows a process that is unfolding. It creates intrigue and suspense and forces the reader to asks questions and think critically.

• Importance/Limitations for Limited/Omniscient 3rd POV:  the narrator is distant yet close. It builds sympathy for characters and creates tension between characters.