Crow Lake

AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL

Overview of the Novel

Narrative Elements

Characters

How to Study the Novel

Overview of the Novel
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL

• Novel is a memoire of Kate Morrison’s life

• “Coming-of-Age” story: Growing up

• Takes place in the past and present

• Focuses on importance of family

• Examines how we deal with tragedy

• Divided into four parts

Narrative Elements
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL

All novels – and all stories – have Narrative

Elements, which are components that drive a story
forward and help the reader connect to it.

Narrative Elements include: Readers make meaning by

• Plot analyzing elements within a story
• Conflict to create “bigger ideas” that
• Characters make us connect the novel to
• Setting other texts, ourselves, and the
• Theme world
• Point-of-View
Narrative Elements
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL
Plot

PLOT: The sequence of events that make up a story.

It is divided into five separate parts:

1. Exposition
2. Rising Action
3. Climax
4. Falling Action
5. Resolution

While reading, it is important to keep the events

organized to see how they are all connected.
Narrative Elements
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL
Conflict

CONFLICT: The issue that character(s) are

attempting to overcome. This moves the plot
forward. Conflict is typically divided into four
categories:

1. Character vs. Character

2. Character vs. Society
3. Character vs. Self
4. Character vs. Nature/Supernatural

A novel may have several conflicts within it, and the

conflicts are not always resolved.
Narrative Elements
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL
Characters

CHARACTER: Any person with a role in a story.

Characters are developed in a novel to connect with
the reader through different techniques. Characters
can be grouped:

1. Main / Supporting / Minor

2. Protagonist/Antagonist
3. Round / Flat
4. Static / Dynamic

In Crow Lake, Kate Morrison is the main character,

while her siblings and their families are supporting
characters.
Narrative Elements
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL
Theme

THEME: The topics or main ideas that are dealt

with in a story. Themes help readers make
connections between big ideas and our own
While reading the novel,
understanding of the text and world. we need to consider these
themes, how they are
Common themes include good vs. evil, blind developed, and what the
novel is attempting to
ambition, death, tragedy, growing up, and teach us about them.
forgiveness.

Crow Lake focuses on family, tragedy, and

forgiveness as themes.
Narrative Elements
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL
Point-of-View

POINT-OF-VIEW: The perspective from which the All of Crow Lake is

story is told, or from whose eyes we see the story told from Kate’s
develop. The two most common methods include: perspective, so we see
the story through her
First-Person: The story is narrated by someone who filter. We experience
is also a character, and readers see their viewpoint. her bias.
Third-Person: The narrator is someone who “sees
all”, so the perspective can change from one
character to another.
Characters
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL

Crow Lake is told by Kate Morrison, the middle child

in a family of four children.

The family is the focus of the story.

Luke Matt Kate Bo

• Eldest brother • Idolized by Kate • Narrates the story • Youngest child

• Hard worker • Extremely smart • Very close with Matt • We know the least
• Extremely quiet • Interested in biology • In a relationship with about her, though we
• Going to college • Spends time at the Daniel Crane as an see her siblings
• Relationship with ponds adult struggle to raise her
Sally McLean • Gets involved with • Struggles to maintain • Only a year-and-a-half
• 19 at beginning of Pye family her family connections at the beginning of the
story • 17 at beginning of • 7 at beginning of story story
story
Characters
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL

There are many supporting characters who have

important roles in the development of the plot and
conflicts.
Morrison Family

Luke Matt Bo Kate

Aunt Annie
Simon Marie Daniel

Laurie Calvin Pye Family

Sally McLean Family

Community Members: Teachers, Doctor,

Reverend, etc.
Characters
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL

One of the challenges of Crow Lake is that the setting

switches from the past (when the siblings are
children) to the present (when they are adults).

Readers experience the growth of the children

through Kate’s eyes and then see them, (through her
“blurred vision”) as adults.

As you read, keep track of the four children. A good

strategy is using a graphic organizer or sticky notes
to create an annotated text.
How to Study the Novel
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL

As we read the novel, our goals are the following:

• Build an understanding of Narrative Elements as
they apply to the novel
• Understand other elements such as Literary
Techniques
• Build connections between characters and their
experiences with our own experiences to make
meaning
• Extend the themes to try and find lessons that we
might learn from the story
• Using a novel/text in an essay/review
How To Study the Novel
Crow Lake
AN INTRODUCTION TO THE NOVEL
The First Chapters

The prologue, (yes, you have to read the prologue)

and the first two chapters serve some important
purposes:

1. Provide us with a backstory. Kate’s great-

grandmother connects her and Matt.
2. Gives us details about the Morrison family. We
learn quite a bit about the four children very early
on. Keep track of the information.
3. We are very quickly introduced to the first major
conflict, and it is what propels the story forward.