Magsingal, Ilocos Sur

Junior High School Department

2020-2021

21st CENTURY LITERATURE FROM THE PHILIPPINES AND THE WORLD

ELEMENTS OF FICTION
SETTING
It pertains to the time, place, and social context of a story.

CHARACTERS
Is a fictional person in a story, and readers’ first reactions to him are usually based on their subjective
capacity to empathize with the character’s experiences
Characters are sometimes referred as:
 Dynamic- a person who changes over time, usually as a result of resolving a central conflict or
facing a major crisis.
 Static- is someone who does not change over time; his or her personality does not transform or
evolve.
 Round- is anyone who has a complex personality; he or she is often portrayed as a conflicted
and contradictory person.
 Flat- is the opposite of round character. This literary personality is notable for one kind of
personality trait or characteristics.
 Stock- are those types of characters who have become conventional or stereotypical through
repeated use in particular types of stories.
 Protagonist- is the central person in a story, and is often referred as the story’s main character.
 Antagonist- is the character(s) (or situation) that represents the opposition against which the
protagonist must contend.
Source: http://learn.lexiconic.net/characters.htm

PLOT
EXPOSITION- the part of a story that talks about an important background to the readers or audience
like for instance, the setting of the story, about characters, happenings, or events that occur before the
main plot.
RISING ACTION- a related series of incidents in a literary plot that builds toward the point of greatest
interest. This were the conflict or problem in the story arises in dramatic intensity.
CLIMAX- the most intense, exciting, or important event in the story.
FALLING ACTION- the part of a literary plot that occurs after climax has been reached and the
conflict has been resolved.
DENOUEMENT- the final part of the plot that explains the outcome of the complex events in the story.

NARRATOR
- The voice that narrates the story. If the writer or author is the one writes a story. The narrator tells it
(figurative). The narrator is the technique that writer’s use to create a particular point of view from
which they will tell the story, present the actions and shape the readers’ responses.
 Three (3) kinds of Narrator
OMNISCIENT- it is presumed to be reliable or all knowing. This narrator exposes the
internal thoughts of the characters, emotionally detached from the actions and uses third
person pronoun- he, she, it and they in point of view.
FIRST PERSON- the narrators report the event in the point of view of the “I” or he himself
involved in the story. It differs from the omniscient point of view for it creates greater degree
of intimacy with the readers.
UNRELIABLE- these narrators do not possess the full understanding of the events they
narrate, and reader can see more than they do. The narrator’s lack of Awareness is evident.

STYLE
- Refers to the way the writers express themselves. It depends on diction (choice of words), syntax
(grammar and sentence structure), as well as voice and rhythm.

TONE
- Is the manner, mood, or pervading attitude that writers establish for characters, situations, and readers
such as intimate or distant, ironic or direct, hostile or sympathetic, formal or casual, humorous or
serious, and emotional or objective.

Source: Gillespie, Sheena et al., (2005) World Literature: Connecting Nations and Culture Fourth Edition.
Pearson education Southeast Asia PTE. LTD. Philippines.