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In a movie, the setting carries a real impact and establishes a certain atmosphere or mood. Consider what Titanic would be like without the pressure put on the characters by the inevitably-rising waters, or Saving Private Ryan if the setting had not emphasized destruction, chaos, and pain. Setting is equally important in a work of fiction.
Setting fixes the time and place of a story, and can play a major role in developing the story's character and conflict. Sometimes it supports or defines the values and concerns of the characters. Two stories about moral conflict could differ noticeably if one were set in Victorian times and the other one were set in today's time. It is important to consider the setting in developing a true sense of the character and conflict.
Setting can affect a story's atmosphere and our reaction to it. A desolate, dark setting leads to a sense of oppression and a feeling that events will likely turn out badly. A story set on a bright spring morning, however, leads us to feel optimistic about the results of the conflict. Setting, in fact, is the most common and effective device used in creating the atmosphere of a story. An outstanding example of this is Stephen King's novel The Shining, set in an empty resort hotel in winter. The story's eerie atmosphere could not be achieved if it were set in, for instance, a motel in a seacoast resort at the height of the tourist season. |
| There are a number of dimensions to character. Dramatized or Described Characters Characters can be dramatized, or they can be described. Children's stories, and stories written for less-experienced readers typically describe characters, so the reader knows immediately what to think of them and how to react to them. Here is an example of character description, as one might find in a story written for a relatively inexperienced reader.
Trevor pulled into the curb still going too fast, and stopped with a noisy squeal of brakes. He stepped out of his sports coupe, and walked over to Trudi. He was short and wiry, and looked like a weasel. His hair was smeared with a nasty-looking gel that reflected the sun unpleasantly as he moved. As he came nearer, he smiled furtively, and menacingly slid his hand into his jacket pocket. He was a nasty customer.
Thoroughly dislikable, eh? A truly "bad guy." Here, by contrast, is an example of character dramatization.
A black Porsche rounded the corner off the main road, and darted into the alleyway with a shriek of tires. It rocked to a halt at the curb, and the door opened. However, the driver stayed inside for at least a minute; Trudi noticed that he was combing and smoothing his hair. Finally, he stepped out of the car, wiped his hands on a tissue which he tossed back into the car, gently closed and locked the door, and turned towards Trudi, his face expressionless. Keys hanging from his hand, he approached her. Only then, did his mouth crinkle into a one-sided smile, which his eyes did not share. He slipped his hand with the keys into his jacket pocket, and left it there; she wondered if he had something he wanted to hand her.
Notice here that nowhere does this paragraph say that the driver was a dislikable person; instead, it relies on details of what he does in order to lead you to a certain conclusion. |
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Rounded or Flat Characters Another dimension of character is depth of characterization: is a particular character rounded or flat? A rounded character is a complex person whom one might meet in everyday life, possessed of virtues and vices, and is both likable and dislikable. A flat character is like a full- size cardboard cutout of a person one might see standing in a store display smiling fixedly at passersby, but with no life in them. Flat characters are usually completely sympathetic (good) or completely unsympathetic (bad).
If you have read George Orwell's Animal Farm, reflect now on the characters. You may discover that all of them are flat. This is one of the characteristics of fables, and Animal Farm is an allegorical fable. If you have read Ray Bradbury's Fahrenheit 451, the protagonist Montag is a rounded character. We may grow impatient at his indecision and his edginess, but we identify with his concerns over the value system of his society, and his increasing resolve to turn his back on everything and follow his own personal code, even if he becomes an outcast in so doing.
Static or Dynamic Characters A third dimension to consider is whether characters are static or dynamic. Static characters don't change as the story unfolds; they are always the same. The characters in most juvenile fiction are static, because very young and inexperienced readers find that keeping track of the growth of a character's perceptions and awareness is so much work that it hampers their enjoyment of the story. If you are familiar with the Harry Potter stories, you will remember that, barring Harry Potter himself, no one seems to change very much.
A dynamic character, on the other hand, changes during the course of the story, either positively or negatively. Juliet in Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet is a good example of a dynamic character. At the start of the story, she is a naive and obedient little girl of thirteen who finds herself propelled abruptly into the adult world of arranged marriages. By the end of the story, she is resourceful, in command of her own actions— even to the extent of lying about her plans—and courageous. Admittedly, she makes some recklessly inappropriate decisions, but she has the fortitude to make them and stick by them, something that the Juliet of Act I would not have been able to do.
You may be more familiar with the character of Rose in the movie Titanic. Like Juliet, she moves from unquestioning obedience to forceful management of her own destiny. This maturing process is an indicator that she is a dynamic character. |
| In interpreting fiction, point of view can be thought of
as "where are the camera(s) and The major points of view used in fiction are:
3rd Person Omniscient In omniscient point of view (which means "all-knowing"), there is nothing the narrator cannot show the reader. The narrator's awareness can range anywhere for information that adds to the story. The following sample is written in the omniscient point of view.
Example Will jumped down from his pony. A sharp stab jolted his ankle as he landed. Damn, he thought, all I need is to have my leg give up and 111 be out here in that woods with that thing, unable to fight it or get away. The scent of horror bloomed in the consciousness of the pony behind him. A white flash of panic exploded through it, and Will ducked aside as it reared, cutting at the air with its hooves before subsiding, shuddering, to all fours. Not three metres south of them, a slug-like mass, bigger than an elephant, heaved turgidly among the shadowy trees. "Food! Food! Food!" ran through its awareness, as the scent of warm blood bathed its sensors, and it began to ooze like a flowing shadow towards Will and the pony. |
| In (the third person) omniscient view, the author knows all the characters, can be sympathetic to them, and can portray their personalities directly. Because of this, it's possible to have the highest possible degree of control over the effect of the story on the reader; there is no uncertainty in the example above as to why the pony rears, and it's obvious that something nasty is about to happen.
The reader has access to much information (the camera and mike can be anywhere and everywhere. This makes it easy to orchestrate a complex work such as a novel, and makes foreshadowing simple. However, in short fiction, the omniscient point of view is cumbersome. It can overload you with information, and make the story creaky and slow rather than focused upon a single unified effect.
3rd Person Limited Omniscient Limited omniscient point of view is limited to one major figure, typically the protagonist.
Example Will jumped down from his pony. A sharp stab jolted his ankle as he landed. Damn, he thought, all I need is to have my leg give up and I'll be out here in that woods with that thing, unable to fight it or get away. Suddenly, with a scuffle and a quavering scream the pony reared, its nostrils flaring. Will ducked aside as it cut at the air with its hooves before subsiding, shuddering, to all fours. As the pony quieted, he heard an eerie sound from the thick bush to the south. At first it sounded like someone dragging a dead horse through the undergrowth, but the sound was accompanied by a faint liquid pulsation as if someone was blowing slime bubbles and popping them.
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| Limited omniscient has the same strengths as omniscient, but doesn't generate the same mass of detail. Generally, limited omniscient point of view takes you into the thoughts and experiences of only the protagonist.
3rd Person Objective The third person objective point of view is related as it might have been picked up by a video camera focused on the events described.
Example Will jumped down from his pony, stumbling almost to the ground as his left leg gave way. Muttering to himself, he regained his balance, steadying himself with one hand on the saddle.
With a sudden quavering scream the pony reared, its nostrils flaring. He ducked aside as it cut at the air with its hooves before subsiding, shuddering, to all fours. Abruptly, Will cocked his head to his left, looking southward towards the bushes. He stood in a strained position, as if listening for something or someone.
The o bjective point of view is the most like a screenplay, or a stage drama. Characters' thoughts and motivations remain a mystery unless they are spoken aloud or acted out.
First Person With first person point of view, the narrator tells the story as something personally experienced, "I" speak of "my" adventures and thoughts.
Example I jumped down from the pony. A sharp stab jolted my ankle as I landed. Damn, I thought, all I need is to have my leg give up and I'll be out here in that woods with that thing, unable to fight it or get away.
With a sudden quavering scream the pony reared, its _ nostrils flaring. I barely had time to duck aside as it cut at the air with its hooves before subsiding, shuddering, to all fours. Suddenly I heard an eerie sound from the thick bush south of me. At first it sounded like someone dragging a dead horse through the undergrowth, but the sound was accompanied by a faint liquid pulsation as if someone was blowing slime bubbles and popping them.
First person makes for very effective fiction, but the use of "I" has limitations, because the character who is telling the story can't reveal any more information than he himself knows. No character in a story can see inside any other character.
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A theme statement aims at giving the reader a better understanding of some large aspect of life. It is not, however, a moral or a lesson. Good fiction avoids preachiness, and obvious statements such as "Out of sight, out of mind."
A theme statement can be a sentence or a short paragraph. Something like "Searching for truth," or "Death," is not a theme statement, though these expressions can be the lens through which the theme can be recognized and put into a statement.
To understand the theme of a work of literature, ask, "What does this work reveal or imply?" rather than "What does this work teach?" The theme of "The Carnival Dog, the Buyer of Diamonds," for example, would not be, "Young people should always obey their parents," or "Honour your father and mother." It might read something like this:
Young people and their parents often have different attitudes toward life. This difference can lead to conflict. Ultimately, each person must choose how they will achieve contentment, because death is just as certain as life.
Universality of Theme A theme statement must be a broad enough idea that it can be applied to life in a general sense, not only to the people in the work, but to the reader, to the student, and to all humankind. |
| The easiest method to arrive at a theme statement for a work of literature is to look at the conflict in it.
Conflict is fairly straightforward in a short story, but complex in a novel. Basically, it deals with a central figure or protagonist who is attempting to reach a goal. This central figure meets opposition from the antagonist, which may be a person, a group of people, the forces of nature, or even him or herself.
The three main types of conflict are:
Because a novel is much longer and more complex than a short story, it contains more characters and deals with a relatively great number of events or situations. Thus, there are likely to be several conflicts in a novel.
Each time a conflict occurs, that incident is called a crisis; the plot is a sequence of crises, leading to a major crisis when the protagonist either overcomes the antagonist, or is defeated. The series of intensifying crises is called the rising action; the final crisis is called the climax. Usually the climax comes near the end of the story, although it may be earlier and be followed by a sequence of diminishing crises called the falling action. The conflict between the protagonist and the antagonist leads the reader to the theme. This is especially true as the story approaches and reaches the climax. To generate valid theme statements, trace the rising action as the conflict intensifies and from the events at the climax decide how the story connects to the theme key words supplied earlier. |
| To describe style, it is necessary to explain the techniques the writer has used, and describe how he or she has created a particular voice and given the work a particular tone. For example, a person might explain the style of the nursery rhyme Humpty Dumpty as follows:
The writer's use of rhythmic language and end rhyme gives the piece a cheerful, playful tone. The simple words and short line lengths create a childlike voice that is interestingly at odds with the literal events - the main character's tragic death by falling off the wall.
Style, then, is the result of the author's choice of diction, figurative language, and sentence structure. In other words, style can be any distinctive way an author uses words. Look for things like diction (sound/formal vs. informal vs. slang language), sentence structure (short vs. long sentences vs. intentional fragments), regular vs. irregular rhythm, and figures of speech (i.e. figurative language like metaphors and similes.) One of the hallmarks of a mature writer is control of style. The most proficient writers can write in a variety of styles, just as a skilled piano player can play a Mozart piano concerto in the manner of the late eighteenth century, then play a Fats Waller jazz piece, and do both effectively. Style for a pianist involves a great deal more than simply hitting the right notes; likewise, style for a writer is more than simply arranging words into statements. Style should be consistent throughout a piece; inconsistencies indicate lack of control or at least lack of awareness of style. Diction deals with the literal meaning of words (their denotation), their emotional loading and figurative meaning (or connotation), and the sound of the words (rough or smooth). Most immature writers settle for getting the literal meaning right and don't worry about the rest. However, it's interesting to look at two passages that mean approximately the same thing.
I hate it when I have to walk through a crowd of teen punks at a bus stop. They look me up and down. Their eyes are empty. Their faces are blank. They don't move out of the way for me. I feel that they want to hurt me.
I strongly dislike the necessity of walking through gatherings of alienated youth at bus shelters. They slide their expressionless eyes over me without reaction, keeping their faces neutral as though I was nonexistent. They decline to recognize my need to walk on the sidewalk. It appears certain that they desire to cause me bodily harm.
Which of these passages has more impact?
If you identified the first passage, you are correct. It contains many one- syllable words which have negative connotations and hard consonant sounds (e.g., hate, punks, empty, blank, hurt). In addition, all the sentences are short and almost curt. By contrast, the second passage uses many multi-syllable words. This makes it flow smoothly, and so it seems mellower in its impact than the first passage. None of the words in the second passage have strong negative connotations. Further, its sentences are relatively long. The general effect is one of smoothness and neutrality; it is hard to believe that the second speaker is as distressed as the first. Figurative Language and Style Common figures of speech can be used in prose writing and poetry. These words add impact and make the piece seem vivid, because they appeal to the reader's imagination. Here is a passage without figurative language, adapted from "The Painted Door" by Sinclair Ross:
She moved briskly, performing each little task with careful and exaggerated absorption, thinking carefully about it, using it to keep from thinking about the surrounding snow and silence. Above the quiet, steady sound of her paintbrush against the bedroom door, the clock sound became noticeable. Suddenly her movements became precise and deliberate ... and she felt that she was not alone and that someone was watching her. It was the silence again, which seemed to be threatening, and always there.
Here is the same passage, with figurative language added in italics:
She moved briskly, performing each little task with careful and exaggerated absorption, binding her thoughts to it, making a screen between herself and the surrounding snow and silence. Above the quiet, steady swishing of her brush against the bedroom door, the clock began to tick. Suddenly her movements became precise, deliberate ... as if someone had entered the room and were watching her. It was the silence again, aggressive, hovering.
Look closely at the figurative language that was used to heighten the impact of the story. 1. binding her thoughts to it is a metaphor showing how she used work to keep her mind occupied, to keep out unwelcome thoughts. 2. making a screen between herself and the surrounding snow and silence is another metaphor, showing how the character uses work to create a wall between her and both the silence inside and the dangerous weather outside. 3. swishing is onomatopoeia, it imitates the sound of a loaded paint brush spreading colour onto wood. 4. as if someone had entered the room and were watching her is a simile that makes the reader more vividly conscious of how uneasy the character feels. 5. ... the silence again, aggressive, hovering is an example of personification in which the reader easily shares the protagonist's fear of the invisible silence that is always with her. |
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Sentence Structure and Style Sentence structure, like diction, has an impact on the reader's experience of a piece of writing, and consequently is an important part of style. Long, flowing sentences, containing many phrases and subordinate clauses, produce a mellow, flowing mood. If these are used in a description of fast, urgent action, such as an account of witnessing a plane crash, the reader is distanced from the action. By contrast, short sentences produce a feeling of urgency, immediacy, and increased tension.
Reading Activity Reread the last two full paragraphs of "The Story of an Hour (The Dream of an Hour)" in Horizons: Exploring Poetry, Prose, and Non-fiction - page 10. The author uses six sentences in twelve lines to show you Mrs. Mallard's inner reverie about her husband's death. The passage is optimistic, almost upbeat, and the reader experiences Mrs. Mallard's increasing relaxation from the pressures of her marriage. The sentence structure complements and enhances the content.
Now reread the rest of the story. The mood changes almost immediately. The author uses twenty-six sentences in twenty-six lines to lead up to Brently Mallard's return and Mrs. Mallard's climactic discovery that she was not widowed. The reader is taken through Mrs. Mallard's increasing excitement at her new-found freedom, through her dashed hopes at the return of her husband, to her sudden death when she realizes what she has lost. The many starts and stops resembles the tension car passengers feel in stop-and-go traffic with a driver who is continually braking and accelerating. |