Divergent Elements of Fiction Vocabulary

Genre

Four main genres:

Fiction

Non fiction

Poetry

Drama

Subgenre

A subcategory of genre; Divergent's classification is dystopian post-apocalypse post the Great war.

Setting

The time and place of a story; Divergent's setting is postapocalyptic future Chicago (sears tower).

Plot

The sequence of events that make up a story.

What are the parts of a plot?

Exposition, Rising Action, Turning point, Falling action, Denouement

Exposition

The introduction of the plot; in Divergent, includes Tris in Abnegation and the 5 factions.

Rising Action

Events leading up to the turning point; includes Tris realizing she's Divergent and the Erudite are evil, and climbing higher in the Dauntless rankings. Rising action is basically most of the story.

Turning Point

The climax of the story; in Divergent, when they shutdown the simulation and wakeup the Dauntless army. It is usually toward the end of the story.

Falling Action

Events following the turning point; in Divergent, Four sees marcus and Tris protects four.

Denouement

The end of the story or novel; in Divergent, taking the Dauntless train to Amity.

Conflict

A problem that drives the story.

What are the categories of conflict?

Ch. vs society

Ch. vs self INTERNAL

Ch. vs nature

Ch. vs ch.

Examples of ch. vs society

Tris vs Erudite, Jeanine vs Abnegation, Divergents vs Dauntless army

Examples of ch. vs self

Al when he kills himself for hurting tris, tris when she doesn’t belong, Four when he likes tris but is her teacher

Examples of ch vs nature

The chasm- “represents the fine line between bravery and idiocy”

Examples of ch. vs ch

Peter vs tris, Jeanine vs tris, Eric vs four

Narrator

The person who tells the story

Types of narrative points of view

1st person

3rd person limited

3rd person omniscient

2nd person

What is first person?

Story is told by a narrator using first person pronouns i.e, i, me, my

What is third person limited?

The story is told through one character’s pov using third person pronouns i.e, she, her, hers

What is third person omniscient?

Story is told through multiple character povs using third person pronouns i.e, her, him, his

What is second person?

Story is told through the narrator taking to the reader using second person pronouns i.e, you, your, yours

Protagonist

the main characters that we as readers root for

Antagonist

A character who opposes the protagonist

Dynamic

A character who undergoes change in a story

Static

A character who does not change

Irony

The opposite of what’s expected

Symbol

Something that means more than what it literally is/represents a theme in the story

Motif

A reoccurring symbol

Theme

the main idea/overall lesson in the story. It’s the underlying message