ave a narrative experience

ELEMENTS OF A
NARRATIVE
• Setting
• Conflict
• Plot
• Character
• Point of View
• Theme
 SETTING
1.Place – geographical location;
Where is the action of story taking
place
2.Time – When in the story taking
place?
3.Weather conditions – Is it rainy,
sunny, stormy, etc?
4.Social conditions – What is the
daily life of the character/s like?
Does the story contain local color?
5.Mood or atmosphere – What
feeling is created at the beginning
of the story?
 SETTING
1. Helps readers visualize the action
of the work
2. Creates & sustains the illusion of

life
3. Serves as a background for action

4. As an antagonist

5. As a means of creating appropriate

atmosphere
6. As a means of revealing character

7. As a means of reinforcing theme

 PLOT
The plot is a synopsis of the


storyline in chronological order.

The plot usually arises out of the
conflict in the story, which
eventually builds to a climatic
moment.
 CONFLICT
the struggle between opposing
forces in the story. The main
purpose of conflict is to provide
interest and suspense.
1.External – a struggle with a
force outside one’s self
2.Internal – a struggle within one’s
self; a person must overcome
pain, make some decisions,
quiet their temper, resist an
urge, etc.
 CONFLICT
1. Man vs. Man (physical) – the leading
character struggles with physical
strengths against other men , forces of
nature, or animal
2. Man vs. Circumstances – the leading
character struggles against fate, or
circumstances of life facing him/her
3. Man vs. Society (Social )- Leading
character struggles against ideas,
principles, customs of other people
4. Man vs. Himself–
Himself struggle of protagonist
against himself, his own soul, ideas of
right or wrong, and limitations
 CHARACTER
This may be the person in a work of


fiction or the characteristic of a person -

or characterization ; here, the author
gives information to the readers as to the
characters themselves through:
• His physical appearance
• What he says, thinks, feels, and
dreams
• What he does or does not do
• What others say of him and how he
reacts to these
 CHARACTER
Types of characterization:


1.Round – that which embodies a

number of qualities & traits
2.Flat – represents a single trait,
characteristic or ideas - one-
dimensional
3.Dynamic – (developing) it
demonstrates the capacity to
develop or change as a result of
their experiences
4.Static – remains the same throughout
the story
 CHARACTER
Kinds of Characters:


1.Protagonist
2.Antagonist
3.Deuteragonist – 2nd in importance to
the protagonist
4.Minor characters
5.Fringe characters – those who are
not fully involved in the story;
they are usually destroyed by the
inner conflict
 POINT OF VIEW
1.Innocent eye – POV of a child
2.Stream of consciousness – the
story is told so that the readers
feels as if they are inside the
head of the characeter knows all
their thoughts & reactions
3.First person – story is told by the
protagonist or one of the
characters and sees the story
through his own eyes or
experience
 POINT OF VIEW
4.Third Person Omniscient – can
move from character to character;
event to event, having free access
to thoughts, feelings and
motivations and enters whenever
he wants
5.Third Person Limited – tells only
according to how the author allows
him to do
6.Omniscient objective – like a camera
following all the things that the
character does or feels but the
reader has to interpret everything
 THEME
• controlling idea or its central
insight. 
• the author‘s thoughts about a topic
or view of human nature. 


The title of the short story usually



points to what the writer is saying and

he may use various figures of speech
to emphasize his theme, such as:
symbol, allusion, simile, metaphor,
hyperbole, or irony.