ELEMENTS OF A

STORY
Story Elements
 Setting
• Setting is the “where and when” of a
story. It is the time and place
during which the story takes place.
 Setting
When examining how setting contributes to a
story, there are multiple aspects to consider:
The functions of SETTING:
to create a mood or atmosphere
to show a reader a different way of life
to make action seem more real
to be the source of conflict or struggle
to symbolize an idea
 Characters
• A person in a fictional story;
• Qualities of a person
 Characters
People in a work of fiction can be a (an):
Protagonist- clear center of story, all major
events are important to this character.
Antagonist- opposition or enemy of main
character.
Characteristics of a CHARACTER can be revealed through:

His/her physical appearance.

What he/she says, thinks, feel, dreams and what
he/she does or does not do.
What others say about him/her and how others react
to him/her.
Characters can be:
Round- fully developed personalities that are
affected by the story’s events; they can learn, grow
or determine by the end of the story.
Flat- one-dimensional character.
Dynamic- character who does go through change
and grows during a story.
Static- character does not go through a change.
 Plot
• How the author arranges events to develop
the basic idea; it is the sequence of events in
a story or play. The plot is a planned,
logical series of events having a beginning,
middle and end. The short story usually has
one plot so it can be read in one setting.
 Parts of a Plot:
1. Exposition - introduction; characters, setting and
conflict (problem) are introduced
2. Rising Action- events that occur as result of central
conflict
3. Climax- highest point of interest or suspense of a
story
4. Falling Action - tension eases; events show the
results of how the main character begins to resolve
the conflict
5. Resolution- loose ends are tied up; the conflict is
solved
 Plot Diagram
3

4
2
1
5
 Diagram of Plot
Climax

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Fal on
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on

Act
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Ri velop

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sin
De

Introductio
n/ Resolution
Exposition
Setting, characters,
and conflict are
introduced
 Conflict
-conflict
is the dramatic struggle
between two forces in a story.
without conflict, there is no plot.
 Conflict
conflict is a problem that must be solved; an
issue between the protagonist and antagonist
forces. it forms the basis of the plot.
conflicts can be external or internal
external conflict- outside force may be
person, group, animal, nature, or a
nonhuman obstacle
internal conflict- takes place in a character’s
mind
 External Conflict
1. Character VS Character- struggles against
other people.
2. Character VS Nature- struggles against
animals, weather, environment etc.
3. Character VS Society- struggles against
ideas, practices, or customs of others.
 Internal Conflict
1. Character VS self- struggles with own soul,
physical limitations, choices, etc.
 Point of View (POV)
• The angle from which the story is told.
There are several variations of POV.
 Point of View (POV)
1. First person- story is told by the protagonist or a
character who interacts closely with the protagonist
or other characters; speaker uses the pronoun “I”,
“me”, “we”. Readers experiences the story through
this person’s eyes and only knows what he/she
knows and feels.
2. Second person- story is told by a narrator who
addresses the reader or some other assumed “you”;
speaker uses pronouns “you”, ”your” and “yours”.
Example: You wake up to discover that you have been
robbed of all your worldly possession.
 Point of View (POV)
3. Third person- story is told by a narrator who sees all
of the action; speaker uses the pronouns “he”, “she”,
“if”, “they”, “his”, “hers”, “its” and “theirs”. This person
may be a character in the story. There are several types
of third person POV.
limited- the narrator knows the thoughts and feelings
on only one character in a story.
Third person omniscient- the narrator knows the
thoughts and feeling of all the characters in a story.
 Theme
• the theme is the central, general message,
the main idea, the controlling topic about
life or people the author wants to get across
through a literary work
• to discover the theme of a story, think big.
what big message is the author trying to say
about the world in which we live?
• what is this story telling me about how life
works, or how people behave?
the theme is also
• The practical lesson ( moral) that we learn from a
story after we read it. the lesson that teaches us
what to do or how to behave after you have
learned something from a story or something that
has happened to you.
Example: The lesson or teaching of the story is be
careful when you’re offered something for nothing.