Olena Halapchuk-Tarnavska
INTRO TO THE FICTION LITERARY ANALYSIS
WHAT IS FICTION?
a novel or a short story (narrow
meaning)
any literary narrative
(wide meaning)
https://slideplayer.com/slide/7265281/#
.Yzsd8dvKpx0.gma
TITLE
Suggestive. Informative (gives the conclusion)
Suggestive
Title creates the horizon of expectations.
Did the meaning seam to change after you read the
story?
PLOT
development of the events
narrated out of
chronological order
static or dynamic
CONFLICTS
Conflicts
within a single
character
Conflicts of
Conflicts of
one character
against the one character
against
setting/
society another
CONFLICTS
CHARACTERS
Protagonist and antagonist
The central character of the plot is called the
protagonist. Without this character there would be
no story. The character against whom the
protagonist struggles is called the antagonist. In
many novels, however, the antagonist is not a
human being. It may, for example, be the natural
environment in which the protagonist lives, or
society, or illness, or even death.
CHARACTERS
Round and flat characters
Round characters, like real people, have complex, multi-
dimensional personalities. They show emotional and
intellectual depth and are capable of growing and changing.
Major characters in fiction are usually round.
Flat characters embody or represent a single characteristic.
They are the miser, the bully, the jealous lover, the endless
optimist. They may also be referred to as types or as
caricatures when distorted for humorous purposes. Flat
characters are usually minor characters.
CHARACTERS
Dynamic and static characters
Dynamic characters change as the result of the experiences they have. The
most obvious examples can be found in initiation novels which tell stories of
young people who grow into adults, for example Mark Twain’s “Huckleberry
Finn”. However, dynamic characters can be found in many other types of
stories. Major characters in novels are usually dynamic.
Static characters remain untouched by the events of the story. They do not
learn from their experiences and consequently they remain unchanged.
Static characters are usually minor characters, but sometimes a writer
makes a static character the protagonist of his story, because he wishes to
analyze a particular type of personality. Static characters also play major
roles in stories that show how forces in life, such as the social environment
or the family, sometimes make it hard for people to grow and change.
HOW ARE THE CHARACTERS PRESENTED
DIRECTLY (BY TELLING)
INDIRECTLY (BY SHOWING)
Names
Appearance
Comparison with other characters
How has the author caused you to sympathize with
certain characters? How does your response – your
sympathy or lack of sympathy – contribute to your
judgment or the conflict?
CHARACTERS
SETTING: TIME AND PLACE
EXPLICIT:
Lexical markers,
Grammatical
markers,
Thoponemes
IMPLICIT:
Description,
Thoponemes
THEME
formulated
idea
author’s
intention
main message
to the reader
