Narratives-cont.

Character
The people (or actors) in the story plot. They can be animals, people or anything the author chooses.

Characterization? The techniques an author uses to develop the personality of a character in a literary work. The description of the personalities of the characters in the story and the way in which an author reveals their

Types of Character
1.

Protagonist The main character in a story Always involved in the main conflict and its resolution.

2.

Antagonist The person opposing the protagonist

Describing Characters

Static Characters Characters that stay the same throughout the story.

Dynamic Characters - Characters that learn and change something during the story.

Flat Characters Characters with very few personality traits described. Do not change much throughout the story sometimes can be symbols of stereotypes.
Round Characters Convincing and true-to-life characters. Have different personality traits. Undergo changes throughout the story.

We learn about a character by examining 5 areas:

1. what he says 2. what he thinks 3. what he does 4. what is said about him by other characters and the narrator 5. an author's direct statement In character analysis, look at the character's dialogue; his appearance; his actions; his environment; his character type; what motivates the character; is his motivation

Theme

The main idea of a literary work, usually expressed as a generalization.

When stating a theme, state the theme in five words or less. Often it can be stated in one word.

the author's underlying meaning or main idea that he is trying to convey. The theme may be the author's thoughts about a topic or view of human nature. The title of the short story usually points to what the writer is saying and he may use various figures of speech to emphasize his theme, such as: symbol, allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or irony.

Style
The ways the author expresses himself and conveys his ideas and central purpose. Style is very personal - no two writing styles are alike. In order to determine a writer's style, we must look at the following areas: i. Diction ii. Sentence Structure iii. Point of View

 Diction

- word choice. Word choice can be formal, informal, colloquial or slang. Formal diction is usually found in academic texts, academic papers and formal discourse. Informal diction is relaxed conversation and is found in writing that has a lighter tone and is sometimes humorous. Colloquial diction is the everyday usage of a particular group. Example: In Cape Breton people say "A bun of bread", "A sup of pop", etc. Slang is defined as a newly coined word not accepted for formal usage yet, and is usually not found in the dictionary.

 Sentence

structure Indicated by whether or not the sentences are short, long, simple, compound, complex, compound-complex.

Point

of View The vantage point from which the author presents the action of the story. It is the person telling the story: the narrator.

Irony
some sort of discrepancy between what is expected and what actually happens.
i.

Verbal irony - the opposite is said from what is really intended (sarcasm) Dramatic irony - a contrast between what a character says and what the reader knows to be true.

ii.

Symbolism

A literary symbol means something itself in the story but also suggests a wealth of meaning beyond what it actually is. An object, a situation, and actions can all be symbolic tools.

Conflict

Essential to plot - without conflict there is no plot. Conflict is not merely limited to open arguments, rather it is any form of opposition that faces the main character.

Within a short story there may be only one central struggle, or there may be one dominant struggle with many minor ones.

1.

Internal - man versus himself

2.

External - man versus man

man versus nature man versus society man versus unknown man versus supernatural man versus time