Literary Elements: Point of View, Conflict, and Characterization

Plot Structure and Dramatic Devices

  • Plot Definition: The basic major events that make up a story.

  • Six Key Stages of Plot Progression:

    • Exposition: The establishment of setting, time, characters, and basic background information regarding where and when the story takes place.

    • Inciting Incident (Narrative Hook): The moment where the primary conflict is introduced, capturing the reader's attention.

    • Rising Action: The phase of the story where the central conflict intensifies and tension progressively builds.

    • Climax: The peak of the conflict, representing the absolute highest point of emotional and dramatic tension.

    • Falling Action: The events occurring after the climax that serve to decrease tension.

    • Resolution: The final outcome and answer to the conflict, addressing how the central problem is dealt with and resolved.

  • Foreshadowing: Hints or clues provided within a narrative suggesting what may happen later in the future of the story.

  • Dramatic Irony: A literary situation occurring usually when the audience does not know the truth and at least one character does know the truth about something.

Character Roles and Characterization

  • Narrative Roles:

    • Protagonist: The main character of the narrative who is actively trying to accomplish something or achieve a specific goal.

    • Antagonist: The character or opposing force actively trying to stop the protagonist from fulfilling his or her goals.

  • Characterization: The development of a character in behavior and thought by the author.

  • Character Depth and Complexity:

    • Round Characters: Well-developed characters where multiple sides and dimensions of their personality are revealed.

    • Flat Characters: Characters characterized by a single personality trait or behavior displayed throughout the plot.

  • Character Growth and Stability:

    • Dynamic Characters: Characters who undergo internal transformation or change during the progression of the plot.

    • Static Characters: Characters who remain unchanged and stay the same throughout the entire plot.

Narrative Conflict

  • Conflict Definition: Two opposing forces or people having a problem or difficult situation; acts as a narrative hook.

  • External Conflict: Conflict that occurs between people or forces outside of each other.

    • Person vs. Person: A struggle occurring directly between two characters.

    • Person vs. Nature: A character struggling against natural forces, environments, or elements.

    • Person vs. Technology: A conflict pitching an individual against technological systems, machines, or scientific creations.

    • Person vs. Society: A character coming into opposition with societal rules, cultural norms, or social institutions.

  • Internal Conflict:

    • Person vs. Himself/Herself: A psychological, moral, or emotional struggle taking place within a character's own mind.

Narration and Point of View

  • Narrator: The person telling the story.

  • Point of View: The specific relationship the storyteller has with the story itself.

  • Point of View Categories:

    • First Person (1st1^{\text{st}} Person): The narrator uses the pronoun "I" to tell the story from their own direct perspective.

    • Exemplified in the work Borders.

    • Third Person (3rd3^{\text{rd}} Person) Omniscient: An all-knowing storyteller who exists outside the story and possesses complete insight into all characters and events.

    • Exemplified in the works The Lottery and Thank You, M'am (cited as Thank you Ma'am).

    • Third Person (3rd3^{\text{rd}} Person) Limited: A narrator situated outside the narrative who relates the events of the story strictly from only one point of view.

Figurative Language and Literary Devices

  • Symbol: A physical object or thing that possesses a deeper meaning or functions as a representation of something else beyond its literal form.

  • Theme: The fundamental message, insight, or moral that the author communicates to the audience.

  • Simile: A figure of speech involving the explicit comparison of two distinct things using the words "like" or "as".

    • Example: "after some man like a balloon on a string"

    • Example: "My mother did not want us to cross border looking like Americans."

  • Metaphor: A direct comparison between two distinct things that does not use "like" or "as," functioning under the construct that something IS something else.

  • Oxymoron: A combination of two contradictory words placed together in a phrase.

    • Examples:

    • "Jumbo Shrimp"

    • "Dry Rain"

    • "Silent Noise"

  • Hyperbole: Deliberate exaggeration used for emphasis or effect.

    • Example: "She is as skinny as a railing"

    • Example: "I can eat a horse"

Course Information and Academic Calendar

  • Integrated Educational Platforms:

    • CodeCombat

    • CPM Educational Program (CPM)

    • Desmos Classroom

    • Sora, by OverDrive

  • Academic Year Grading Periods:

    • Quarter 1: 8/17/26 – 11/04/26

    • Quarter 2: 11/05/26 – 1/15/27

    • Quarter 3: 1/18/27 – 3/18/27

    • Quarter 4: 3/19/27 – 5/31/27

    • Exam Period (June): 6/1/27 – 6/11/27

    • Summer Session (Z1): 6/12/27 – 8/6/27

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