Plot is the chain of related events that tells you what ...



First Quarter Review:

Plot The careful sequencing of events in a story generally built around a conflict. Stages of plot include:

• exposition (background) - characters, settings, and the story’s basic conflict.

• rising action – the series of conflicts (problems) faced by the main character. Those conflicts may include forces of nature, such as gravity or strong head winds (external conflicts – because they are happening outside the character’s head), or a character’s own feelings (internal conflicts – like a difficult decision that only the character must make). Often the conflicts are simply complications (something that makes the plot’s conflict more difficult to resolve)

• climax – the point at which the outcome of the conflict is decided—often in a surprising way. The story reaches its climax when the obstacles created by complications are overcome. The climax makes the ending possible.

• falling action (the short period between the climax and the story’s resolution)

• resolution (denouement) - end of the story. It tells how the conflict turned out.

Pace - the rate at which a writer moves the action or information (usually the pace is quicker as you move closer to the climax!)

Settings can include the location of a story (where), weather, time of day, time period (past, present, or future), social customs. Sometimes settings are central to a story’s main conflict (i.e. person vs. nature)

Mood - The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for a reader; a reflection of an author’s attitude toward a subject or theme. Do NOT confuse this with how the character is feeling OR tone (the reflection of an author’s attitude toward his or her subject)

Point of View - The perspective or attitude of a narrator of a piece of literature. The two main types are:

• first person narration: Narration in which the point of view is that of the main character.

• third person narration: Narration in which the point of view is that of someone outside the story who refers to all characters by name or as “he,” “she” and “they.”

Each of the points of views can also fall into the following categories:

• omniscient point of view: The vantage point in which a narrator is removed from the story and knows everything that needs to be known.

• limited point of view: The vantage point in which a narrator tells the story in the third person but often confines himself or herself to what is experienced, thought and felt by a single or limited number of characters.

Characterization - The method an author uses to create the appearance and personality of imaginary characters in a piece of fiction; often developed by describing a character’s physical appearance, by revealing a character’s nature through the character’s speech, thoughts, feelings or actions, by using the speech, thoughts, feelings or actions of other characters and by using direct comments from the narrator.

Context clues - Information a reader may obtain from a text that helps confirm the meaning of a word or group of words.

Types:

• Definition–the word is defined directly and in the sentence in which it appears.

Example: “ The arbitrator, the neutral person chosen to settle the dispute, arrived at her decision.”

• Antonym (or contrast)–often signaled by the words whereas, unlike, or as

opposed to.

Example: “Unlike Jamaal’s room, which was immaculate, Jeffrey’s room was very messy.”

Example: “Whereas Melissa is quite lithe, her sister is clumsy and awkward.”

• Synonym (or restatement)–other words are used in the sentence with similar

meanings.

Example: “The slender woman was so thin her clothes were too big on her.

• Inference–word meanings are not directly described, but need to be inferred from

the context.

Example: “Walt’s pugnacious behavior made his opponent back down.”

Figurative language: Language enriched by word images and figures of speech. Most common examples:

• hyperbole A figure of speech which uses a deliberate exaggeration (e.g., I have told you a million times).

• metaphor A figure of speech in which an implied comparison is made between two unlike things (e.g., he’s a tiger).

• personification A figure of speech in which human qualities are attributed to animals, inanimate objects or ideas (e.g., happy house).

• simile A figure of speech in which a comparison is made between two unlike things using the words “like” or “as” (e.g., she’s as sly as a fox).

• analogy A method of explaining something unfamiliar by using a comparison of similar, more familiar things; a form of reasoning in which one thing is inferred to be similar to another thing in a certain respect, on the basis of the known similarity between the things in other respects (e.g., part to whole, synonym and antonym, degree or cause and effect).

• imagery - Words and phrases that create vivid sensory experiences for a reader;

appeals to our senses (i.e. taste, touch, smell, sight, sound)

Example: from “Casey at the Bat” by Ernest Lawrence Thayer.

Ten thousand eyes were on him as he rubbed his hands with dirt;

Five thousand tongues applauded when (This image appeals to our senses

of sight and hearing.) he wiped them on his shirt.

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