Analyzing Stories

Introducing the Elements of a Story

The following presentation includesmany terms used to describe the elements or parts of a story. You will find this information helpful when you write or talk about short stories,novels, etc.

The Basic Elements of a Story are:

The title of the story

The author

The setting

The Characters

The Conflict

The Point of View

The Tone

The Plot

The Turning point or climax

The Resolution

The Title of the Story

The title of the story usually provides the reader a hint or clue of what the story will be about.

Most of the time, the title appears in the initial page of the story.

The title is usually written in bigger letters.

The AuthorMost of the stories that are written have explicit authors.

The author is the person that writes the story, article or literary work.

The stories that do not have explicit authors are said to be anonymous or that the author is unknown.

The Setting

The setting of the story refers to the specific time and place of development of the story.

To identify the setting of a story, the students must ask themselves the following questions:

Where does the story take place?

When does the story take place?

Setting

Place Where?

Time When?

The characters

The characters are the persons or animals that perform the action in a story.

The most important character in a story, novel, or play is called the main character or protagonist. A piece of literature may have more than one main character.

The other characters that are necessary for the development of the story's plot but are less important are called the secondary characters.

The Conflict

A problem or struggle between two opposing forces in a story. There are five basic types of conflicts:

Man vs. man ( person against person)

Man vs. himself ( person against self)

Man vs. society

Man vs. nature

Man vs. fate ( God)

Man vs. man

One character has a problem with another character or characters

Man vs. himself

A character struggles with him- or herself

Man vs. Society

A character has a problem with society, the school, the law, or a tradition.

Man vs. Nature

A character struggles against an element of nature: a blizzard, a hurricane, extreme heat, etc.

Man vs. Fate (God)

A character struggles with a problem that seems beyond his or her control

Point of View

The angle from which a story is told, which depends upon who is telling it.The different types of point of view are:

First Person

In first person point of view, one of the characters tells the story.

Third Person

In third person point of view, someone on the outside of the story is telling it.There are actually

three third-person points of view:

Third-Person Omniscient (All Knowing)

The narrator is able to tell about the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story.

Third-Person Limited Omniscient

The narrator is able to tell about the thoughts and feelings of one character only.

Camera (Objective) View

The narrator tells the story, but shares no thoughts or feelings of the characters.

Tone

The writer’s attitude toward his or her subject. A writer’s tone can be serious, funny, and so on.

Plot

The story’s action, which is a series of events is called the plot.

Climax

The most exciting or important part in a story. The climax is often called the turning point.

Resolution

The end part of the story, when the problem is solved.

Prepared by Jeanette Carrasquillo

Isabel Flores SchoolJuncos, P.R.

2014