Part of Prose

A.  THE ELEMENTS OF PLOT 

Plot is a structure of what happens in the story. It is basically another term for structure. Short stories writer introduce a very limited number of characters. Plot structure is a structure of a plot / incident which build a story. There’re usually 5 steps:

1. Exposition               : Story opened character.

2. Complication           : Shake the stability of the story.

3. Climax                     : Problem reaches its peak.

4. Conflict                   : The problem is near to be solve.

5. Resolution               : Solution of problem.

B.  POINT OF VIEW

To identify the narrator of a story, describing any parts he plays in the events and any limits placed upon, his knowledge is to identify the story’s point of view. In a short story, it is usual for the writer to maintain one point of view from beginning to end, but there is nothing to stop him from introducing other points of view as well.  

Theoretically, a great many points of view are possible. A narrator who says “I” might conceivably be involved in events to a much greater or a much lesser degree: as the protagonist, as some other major character, as a mere passive spectator, or even as a character who arrives late upon the scene and then tries to piece together what happened. Evidently, too, a narrator’s knowledge might vary in gradations from total omniscience to almost total ignorance. But in reading fiction, again and again we encounter certain familiar and recognizable points of view. Here is a list of them admittedly just a rough abstraction that may provide a few terms with which to discuss the stories that you read and to describe their points of view:

Narrator a participant (writing in the first person): where the narrator is cast as a participant in the events of the story, he or she is a dramatized character who says “I”:

1.      a major character

2.      a minor character

Narrator a non participant (writing in the third person): Does not appear in the story as a character.

3.      all-knowing ( seeing into any of the characters)

4.      seeing into one major character

5.      seeing into one minor character

6.      Objective (not seeing into any characters).

C.  STREAM OF CONSCIOUSNESS AND INTERIOR MONOLOGUE

One is method of writing called stream of consciousness, from a phrase coined by psychologist William James to describe the procession of thoughts passing through the mind. In fiction, stream of consciousness is a kind of selective omniscience: the presentation of thoughts and sense impression. In a lifelike. Fashion not in a sequence arranged by logic, but mingled randomly.

D.  TONE AND STYLE

THE AUTHOR AND THE COMMENTATOR

The voice of this commentator was mot identical with that of the “real life” author the one toiling over an inkpot, worrying about publication deadlines and whether the rent would be paid. At times the living author might have been far different in personality from that usually wise and cheerful intruder who kept addressing the reader of the book. Much of the time, to be sure, the author probably agreed with whatever attitudes his alter ego expressed. But, in effect, the author created the character of commentator to sepal. For him and throughout the novel artfully sustained that character’s voice.

Not only the author’s choice of details may lead us to infer his attitude, but also his choice of characters, events, and situations. Whatever leads us to infer the author’s attitude commonly called tone. Like a tone of voice, the tone of a story may communicate amusement, anger, affection, sorrow, dismay. Ii implies the feelings expressed by the narrator of the story (or by any character), but sometimes they may be dissimilar, even sharply opposed. To understand the tone of a story, then, is to understand some attitude more fundamental to the story than whatever attitude the character explicitly declare.

The tone of a story, like the tone of a voice, may convey not just one attitude, but a medley. Often the tone of a literary story will be too rich and complicated to sum up in a word or two. But to attempt to describe such a story’s tone (as briefly as we can) may be one useful way to penetrate to its center and to gasp the whole of it.

THE ROLE OF STYLE

One of the clearest indications of the tone of a story is the style in which it is written. In general, style refers to individual traits or characteristics that a piece of writing exhibits, to particular ways of managing language that seem habitual or customary. A distinctive style clearly marks the work of a fine writer: we can tell his work from that of anyone else.

Usually, Style indicates a mode of expression: the language a writer uses. In this sense, the notion of style includes such traits as the length and complexity of sentences, and diction, or choice of words: abstract or concrete, bookish (“unrelated scattering of components”) or close to speech (“Hit was a laying right there on the ground”). Involved in the idea of style, too, is any habitual use of imagery, patterns of sound, figures of speech, or other devices.

E.   CHARACTER

Theophrastus (1372-287? B.C)

The man without Tact

“The man without Tact” one of thirty sketches in the characters of Theophrastus. May recall someone we have met before. Evidently the ancient Greek writer is portraying no one individual but a familiar and long lasting human type. From popular fiction and drama, both classic and contemporary, we are acquainted with many such stereotyped characters. Called stock characters, they are often known by some out standing trait or traits: the bragging soldier of Greek and Roman comedy, the prince charming of fairy tales, the mad scientist of horror movies, the loyal sidekick of Western , the greedy explorer of Tarzan films, the beautiful but dumb blonde of 1920-vintage musical comedies.

FLAT AND ROUND CHARACTERS

To borrow the useful terms of the English novelist E.M. Foster, characters may seem flat or round, depending on whether a writer sketches or sculptures them. A flat character usually has only one out standing trait or feature, or at most a few distinguishing marks: for example, the familiar stock character of the mad scientist, with his lust for absolute power and his crazily gleaming eyes.

NEW CONCEPT OF CHARACTER

Many contemporary writers of fiction would deny even that people have definite selves to alter. Following Sigmund Freud and other modern psychologists, they assume that a large part of human behavior is shaped in the unconscious-that, for instance, a person might fear horses not because of a basically timid nature, but because of unconscious memories of having been nearly trampled by a horse when a child. To some writer it now appears that what Hume a called a “disposition” (now called a “personality”) is more vulnerable to change from rich causes as age, disease, neurosis, psychic shock, or brainwashing than was once believed. Hence, some characters in twentieth century fiction appear to be fluid and shifting bundles of impulses.

F.      Theme

The theme of a story is whatever general idea or insight the entire story reveals. In literary fiction, a theme need not be a moral or a message; it may be what the happenings add up to, what the story is about.

STATING THE THEME

Themes are usually summarized in the form of a sentence (or sentences) in general terms, rather than in terms of the particular characters or events in the story.

In a short story that has a theme; theme is its moving force. Its center, its principle of unity. Clearly a theme is something other than the characters and events of a story.

In trying to state the theme of a story as a accurately and inclusively as possible, you may find it useful to consider these points:

1.      Look back once more at the title of the story. In the light of what you have read, what does it indicate?

2.      Does the main character in any way change in the course of the Story? Does this character arrive at any eventual realization or understanding? Is the reader left with any realization or understanding he did not have before?

3.      Does the author make any general observations about life or human nature? Do the characters make any? (Caution: characters now and again will utter opinions with which the reader is not necessarily supposed to agree.)

4.      Does the story contain any especially curious objects, mysterious flat characters, significant animals, repeated names. Song tittles, or whatever, that hint toward meanings larger than such thongs ordinarily have? In literary stories, such symbols may point to central themes. (For a short discussion of symbolism and a few illustrations.

5.      When you have worded your statement of theme, have you cast your statements into general terms, not just given a plot summary?

6.      Does your statement hold true for the story as a whole, not for just part of it?