Session II.

Setting:
The Background of Place, Objects, and Cultures in Stories
Characters do not exist in isolation, therefore setting is necessary

Types of Setting:
Nature and the Outdoors Objects of Human Manufacture Cultural Conditions and Assumptions

Literary uses of Setting:

Setting and Credibility Establish realism (even in sci-fi or ghost stories) Setting and Character Role of place, circumstance and time in human growth and change Characters response to setting reveals their strengths or weaknesses Setting and Organisation Framing, etc. Setting and Symbol Emphasised place, object, etc. can mean much more than it seems Setting and Atmosphere Functional description usually very brief, but if detailed description of shapes, sounds, light, shadows, smells, etc. included atmosphere for an action is being created Setting and Irony Establishes expectations that are the opposite of what occurs

Questions on Setting:
General: How vital are objects to the action/ development of idea? Are they connected to mental states of the characters? Do locations bring characters together/ separate them/ facilitate their privacy/ make their interactions difficult? Are character rich/ poor? How does it affect their actions, fate? How do characters respond to the cultural, religious, political conditions of the story? What is the connection between the state of houses/ furniture/ objects and the outlook and the behaviour of the characters? Are sounds and silences important? To what degree is music/ any sounds important to the development of character and action? Do characters respect or mistreat the environment? If there is environmental connection, how central is it to the story? Does the setting help understand more the plot and the story of the piece of fiction? What conclusions do you think the author expects you to draw as a result of the neighbourhood, culture and larger world of the story? More specific: Setting and Action Are locations essential/ incidental to the action? Does the setting serve as a part of action? (is it important that it is hot or cold, night or day? etc.) Do any objects cause inspiration/ difficulty/ conflict? Setting and organization How is setting connected to various parts of the work? Are some parts of the setting more important than others? How do descriptions made at the start become important in the action later on? Setting and Character How does setting influence/ interact with character? What freedoms or restrictions does the setting cause? Is the character happy in his job, social class, flat? Setting and Atmosphere How does setting contribute to the atmosphere of the story? What connection can we find between the storys atmosphere and the authors apparent thoughts about existence? Setting and other aspects Does setting reinforce storys credibility and meaning? Does it establish irony about circumstances and ideas in the story? Are there any symbolic implications of the setting in the story?

Session III. Story and Plot:

The Development and Organization of Prose Fiction
Story (Fabula) Chronological order of actions or incidents that make up a piece of prose fiction.

Plot (Sjuzet) I. Motivation and Causation Chronological order of events is not enough. Story (Fabula) must be enriched by motivation and causation. In a well plotted piece of fiction effects follow causes. Nothing is irrelevant or accidental; everything is related and causative. Conflict Types of conflict The controlling impulse in a connected Opposition of two people (envy, hatred, pattern of causes and effects anger, argument, avoidance, gossip, lies, fighting, knowledge, ignorance, etc. People or circumstances a character must Dilemma (a difficult/ impossible choice face and try to overcome an individual has to take) Makes characters interact (decide, respond, take actions, etc. Abstract conflicts (an individual opposes natural objects, idea, modes of behaviour, public opinion, etc.) Opposition between groups Conflict = major element of plot. Why? It creates interest: Tension

Doubt Curiosity

Plot (Sjuzet) II. Structure The layouts of fictional works the ways a novel, a short story, etc. are shaped. Structure deals with placement, balance, recurring themes, true or misleading conclusions, suspense, imitation of reports, letters, conversations, confessions, and so on. To understand Plot (Structure) such arrangements must be studied and their purpose identified. Formal Categories of Structure Exposition (laying out, the putting forth, Climax (logical conclusion of the of the material of the piece of fiction) preceding actions) no major could occur anywhere in the narrative development follows it; sometimes the very end of the narrative Complication (onset of the major conflict) major participants are Resolution/ Dnouement (bringing protagonist and antagonist + any from things to satisfying ending after the the types of conflict listed above climax) should be brief because of readers interest Crisis (turning point or separation between what has gone before and what will come after; usually decision or action taken to resolve the conflict; tension is greatest) closely followed by climax Actual Structure Mystery story (exposition completed at the end) Suspense story (protagonist kept ignorant; reader becomes concerned for him/her)

More than one conflict (affects complication, crisis and climax) Flashbacks (part of resolution, leading point to climax, part of exposition, etc.)

Plot I Motivation, Causation

Questions on Plot Plot II Structure If spaces or numbers divide the narrative into sections or parts, what structural importance do these parts have? If there are no marked divisions, what major sections can you discover? (places, parts of day, changing weather, increasingly important events, etc.) If the narrative departs in major ways from the formal structure of exposition, complication, crisis, climax and resolution, what purpose do these departures have? What variations in chronological order, if any, appear in the narrative (gaps in the time sequence, flashbacks)? What effects are achieved by these variations? Does the narrative delay any crucial details of exposition? Why? What effects are achieved by the delay? Where does an important action or major section (such as climax) begin? End? How is it related to the other structural elements, such as the crisis? Is the climax an action, a realisation, or a decision? To what degree does it relieve the works tension? What is the effect of the climax on the understanding of the character involved in it? How is this effect related to the arrangement of the climax?

Who are the protagonist and antagonist? How do their characteristics put them in conflict? What conflict? How does the action develop from the conflict? If the conflict caused by contrasting ideas/ values, what are they? How are they brought out? Does the main character faces dilemma? What kind? How does he/she deal with it? How do the major characters achieve (not achieve) their major goal(s)? What obstacles do they overcome? What obstacles overcome them? At the end, are the characters happy or unhappy, satisfied or dissatisfied, changed or about the same, enlightened or ignorant? How has the resolution of the major conflict produced these results?

Session IV. Tone and Style:

The Words that Convey Attitudes in Fiction
Tone Tone refers to the methods by which writers and speakers reveal attitudes and feelings toward the material, toward the readers or toward the general situations they are analysing or describing. Major components of Tone: Verbal Irony Humor Laughter is unplanned, personal, idiosyncratic, Understatement expression that does unpredictable and often prompted by flashes of not fully describe the importance of a insight and sudden revelations. That is why situation Overstatement (hyperbole) expressions humor is difficult to analyze. There are two basic components: that are far in excess of the situation, i.e. Something to laugh at person, thing, true meaning is considerably less than situation, custom, habit of speech, what is said dialect, etc. Double entendre what is said usually Incongruity - something happens or has double meaning something is said which violates what we normally expect Other types of irony (not directly connected with Tone and Style): Situational bad things happen to good people; rewards are not earned because of forces beyond human comprehension Dramatic characters have nonexistent/ partial/ incorrect/ misguided understanding of what is happening to them, while readers and other characters understand the situation more fully Style Style refers to the ways in which writers assemble words to tell the story, to develop the argument, to dramatize the play or to compose the poem. It is the choice of words in the service of content. Major components of Style Specific General and Concrete Abstract Diction The writers selection of words. Words should be Language right because they must make actions, scenes or By means of choosing words from these scales ideas clear. Right words control the ways in the writer controls style in the interest of Tone which readers respond to the material. By means and Description. of diction the writer controls the works Tone. Specific General scale refers to Formal (high) confers major categories (very specific peach, less specific fruit, general dessert) importance to the characters and actions being described. (elegant words, correct Concrete Abstract scale refers to grammar) qualities and conditions (concrete, cold ice cream- abstract, good ice cream) Neutral (middle) appropriate for stories about ordinary people in ordinary Specific and Concrete words help to circumstances. (everyday standard visualise actions, scene and objects and vocabulary, contractions, etc. i.e. thus become the writers basic tools language which the characters would General and Abstract words used less have used themselves) often with specific goals and to fit Informal (low) - natural for first-person specific contexts point of view stories and for dialogue passages. (colloquial, slang, jargon, argot expressions)

Denotation and Connotation Through the careful choice of words for denotation and connotation, writers control Tone even though they describe similar or identical situation (a slim girl x a skinny girl). Denotation refers to what a word means. Connotation refers to what a word suggests Questions on Tone and Style In case of diction, do connotative meanings of words control response in any way? Does the diction require readers to have a large or What attitudes does the tone suggest? technical vocabulary? Do speech patterns or the How are made these attitudes obvious by the use of dialect evoke attitudes about speakers or authors style their condition of life? Is the level of diction How strongly do you respond to the story? What formal, middle or informal? What effect do substandard or slang expressions create? Are words bring out your interest, concern, there unusual expressions? What attitudes do indignation, amusement, etc.? they show? More specific questions Humor is the story funny? How much? How is the humor achieved? How does the language Audience, situation and characters Is any bring up the incongruity of funny situations? Are person or group directly addressed by the the objects of laughter still respected or even speaker? What attitude is expressed (love, loved even though the storys treatment of them respect, confidentiality, etc)? What do instances causes amusement? of verbal irony show (optimism, pessimism, etc.)? How is the situation of the story controlled Ideas Are any ideas advocated, defended to shape your responses (i.e. can actions, mildly or attacked? How does the author clarify situations, characters be seen as expressions of his or her attitude toward these ideas directly, attitude or as embodiments of certain favorable by statement or indirectly, through or unfavorable ideas or positions)? What is the understatement, overstatement, or characters nature of the narrator (why does he speak as he does, how is the narrators character manipulated speeches? In what ways does the story assume agreement between author and readers? What to show apparent authorial attitude and to elicit religious views can you find? Political views? reader response)? Does the story promote Moral and behavioral standards, etc.? respect, admiration, dislike, etc about the character or situation? How? General questions Description, diction How do they relate to attitude? How do descriptions of natural scenery and conditions (snowstorms, cold, rain, ice, sunlight) complement/ oppose the circumstances of characters? Are there any systematic references to colors, sounds, noises that collectively reflect attitude?

Session V. Symbolism and Allegory:

Keys to Extended Meaning
Symbolism and Allegory are modes that expand meaning. By highlighting objects as symbols and stories or parts of stories as allegories, writers expand their meaning while keeping their work within reasonable length. Real-life people understand these literary devices through the connections they make between their own existence and particular objects or events. People can identify these connections by means of their experience or reading. E.g. somebody catches a fish and then lets it go the act coincides with the persons belief in freedom. Symbolism A symbol creates a meaningful equation between an object, scene, character or action on the one hand, and ideas, values, persons, or ways of life on the other. This means that symbol is a substitute for the elements being signified, e.g. a flag = ideals of the nation. Types of symbols Contextual symbols other objects and Cultural (universal) symbols symbols that are generally or universally description can become symbols only in recognized. They embody ideas and a specific context of a particular work. emotions that writers and readers share E.g. The mansion in the Fall of the as heirs of the same historical and House of Usher by E. A. Poe = the cultural tradition. If a writer uses such a decaying and dying condition of its symbol, he or she assumes that readers inhabitants. already know what the symbol represents. E.g. Sisyphus = human condition (in spite of constant struggle, person rarely completes anything). What is symbolic? It is necessary to judge what importance the author gives to a particular object, action, character. If the element is prominent and maintains a constancy of meaning, the element is most likely a symbol.

Allegory An allegory is a more complex form of a symbol. It could be said that an allegory is to a symbol as a motion picture is to a still picture. An allegory is formally a complete and self-sufficient narrative. But it also signifies another series of events and conditions. Stories can be allegories from the beginning to the end or they can contain one or more brief allegorical episodes. What is allegorical? To determine what is and what is not allegorical, it is necessary to ask similar series of questions as in case of symbols. This time, however, they have to refer to a part or to a whole story.

Types of allegories Although allegories do not seem to be divided in the same way as symbols are, the following forms (genres) could be considered their subclasses: Fable Fables are stories often about Parable A parable is a short, simple animals that posses human traits. They allegory with a moral or religious bent. usually contain morals. E.g. Aesops E.g. Jesus The Good Samaritan, The Fox and the Grapes = human trait of Prodigal Son = Gods love, belittling things we cannot have. understanding, forgiveness, concern, etc.

Myth A myth is a traditional story that embodies and codifies the religious, philosophical and cultural values of the civilization in which it is composed. Such stories are not confined to the past. The term also refers to abstractions and ideas that people today hold collectively (e.g. concept of never-ending economic growth, or the idea that all problems may be solved by science).

In determining whether an element or a longer piece of fiction is symbolic or allegorical, readers should not forget allusions references to other works from cultural heritage (e.g. the Bible, ancient history and literature, works of national classics). General questions on symbolism and allegory
Symbolism What cultural symbols can you discover in names, objects, places, situations or actions in a work? What contextual symbolism can be found in a work? What makes you think it is symbolic? What is being symbolized? How definite or direct is the symbolism? How systematically is it used? How necessary to the work is it? To what degree does it strengthen the work? How strongly does the work stand on its own without the reading for symbolism? Is it possible to make parallel lists to show how qualities of a particular symbol match the qualities of a character or action? Allegory How clearly does the author point you toward the allegorical reading (through names, allusions, consistency of narrative, literary context, etc.)? How consistent is the allegorical application? Does the entire work, or only a part, embody the allegory? On what basis do you draw these conclusions? How complete is the allegorical reading? How might the allegory yield to a diagram which shows how characters, actions, objects or ideas correspond to an allegorical meaning? What enables you to identify the story as a parable or fable? What lesson or moral is either clearly stated or implicit? What mythological identification is established in the work? What do you find in the story (names, situations, etc.) that enables you to determine its mythological significance? How is the myth to be understood? What symbolic value does the myth have? What current and timeless application does it have?

Specific questions on symbolism and allegory (in addition to those listed above)
The meaning of a major symbol Does the symbol undergo modification or new application as it reappears? Does it bring out any ironies? The development and relationship of symbols How do the symbols connect with each other? Are they complementary, contradictory or ironic? Do the symbols control the form of the work? How? Do the symbols fit naturally or artificially into the context of the story? The application of meaning of the allegory What is the subject of the story (story= allegory, fable, parable, myth)? How can it be more generally applied to ideas or to qualities of human character, not only of its own time but also of our own? What other versions of the story do you know, if any? Does it illustrate, either closely or loosely, particular philosophies or religious views? If so, what are these? How do you know? The consistency of the allegory Is the allegory used consistently throughout the story, or is it used intermittently? Explain and illustrate such use. Would it be correct to call the story allegorical rather than allegory? Can you determine how parts of the story are introduced for their allegorical importance?

Session VI. Point of View:

The Position or Stance of the Narrator or Speaker
The term point of view refers to the speaker, narrator, person, or voice created by authors to tell stories, present arguments and express attitudes and judgements. Point of view involves not only the speakers physical position as an observer and recorder but also the ways in which the speakers social, political and mental circumstances affect the narrative. Conditions that affect point of view The physical situation of the narrator as an The narrators intellectual and emotional position The speaker: observer The speaker: gains/ looses from what takes place in close/ distant to the action? the story? a participant/ a witness? his/ her observations coloured by such knows everything/ only something? interests? reports the events accurately/ imparts values to the action? inaccurately? Etc. etc. Note: point of view is not opinion Kinds of point of view Third person point of view First person point of view First person speakers are involved in the action of The speaker is outside the action and is mainly a the work. reporter of actions and speeches. How much do such narrators know: How much do such narrators understand: 1. complete understanding 1. Dramatic or third person objective 2. partial/ incorrect understanding The narrator reports only what can be 3. no understanding at all seen and heard. The thoughts of the 4. complete understanding with the motive characters are included only if they are to mislead or lie spoken or written (dialogue, reported or overheard conversation, letters, reports, Narrators 2-4 can be etc.) reliable unreliable those with interests or 2. Omniscient limitations that lead them to mislead, The omniscient speaker sees all, reports distort or lie. all, knows all and explains the inner Degree of participation: workings of the minds of any or all 1. Major participant either characters when it is necessary. Tells his/ her own story and thoughts as a major mover or 3. Limited or limited omniscient Tells a story about others and The focus is on the actions, responses, also about him/ herself as one of thoughts and feelings of a single major the major movers or character. The narration may involve Tells a story mainly about others what the character does and it may also and about him/ herself only probe deeply within the consciousness of tangentially the character. 2. Minor participant Tells a story about events experienced Note: Third person speakers who are not and witnessed separately identifiable may represent words and 3. Nonparticipating, identifiable speaker views of the authors themselves (the authorial Learns about events in other ways voice) (documents, listening to participants, imagining, etc.)

Second person point of view The least common point of view. Two major possibilities exist: 1. A narrator (almost necessarily a first person speaker) tells a present involved listener what he or she has done and said at a past time the speaker knows more about the characters actions than the character him/herself. e.g. parent to a child about the childs infancy the speaker explains another person his/ her disputable actions and statements e.g. a sports umpire to a player 2. The narrator does not have a present involved listener. He or she uses you to mean: - himself or herself - anyone at all General Questions on Point of View How does the narrator perceive the time of the actions? If the tense is mostly the past, what relationship, if any, does the speaker establish between the past and the present (e.g. drawing conclusions, providing explanations)? If the tense is present, what effect does it have on your understanding of the story? Does the point of view make the story interesting and effective or does it not?

Specific Questions on Point of View Third person point of view First person point of view What is the speakers background? What Does the author seem to be speaking in prompts him/ her to tell the story? an authorial voice or has the author adopted a special but unnamed voice for Is the speaker talking to a listener or to the work? himself? How does his audience affect What is the speakers level of language? what he says? Is the level of language Are actions, speeches and explanations appropriate to him and the situation? made fully or sparsely? How much does he tell about himself? From what apparent vantage point does To what degree is the narrator involved the speaker report action and speeches? in the action (major/ minor participant, Does this vantage point make the non-participating observer)? Does he characters distant or close? How much make himself a center of humor or sympathy does the speaker express for admiration? How? Does he seem aware the characters? of changes he undergoes? To what degree is your interest centered Does the speaker criticize other on a particular character? Does the characters? Why? Does he seem to report speaker give you thoughts and responses fairly and accurately what others have of this character (limited third person)? told him? If the work is third person omniscient, How reliable is the speaker? Does he how extensive is this omniscience (e.g. seem to have anything to hide? Does it does this point of view extend to all seem that he may be using the story for characters or just a few)? Generally, self-justification or exoneration? What what limitations or freedoms can be effect does this complexity have on the attributed to this point of view? story? What special kinds of knowledge does Second person point of view the narrator assume that the listeners (readers) possess (e.g. art, religion, What is the situation that prompts the history, music)? use of the second person? How does the speaker acquire the authority to explain things to the listener? How directly involved is the listener? If the listeners are indefinite, why does the speaker choose to use you as the basis of the narration?

Session VII. Characters:

The People in Fiction
Writers of fiction create narratives that can enhance and deepen our understanding of human character and human life. In literature, a character is a verbal representation of a human being and a trait is the characters habitual mode of behaviour. Circumstances (i.e. isolated incidents that happen to characters, their appearance, etc.) are not traits. Circumstances have value only if they demonstrate important traits. Types of Characters Flat Characters Round Characters Authors present enough details about round Flat characters are static they do not grow and characters. Round characters are dynamic they play minor role in a story. Their main function is recognize, change with, and adjust to to highlight the development of the round circumstances (Such changes may be shown in characters. actions, realisation of new strength and therefore Stock (stereotype) characters (cowboy, police the affirmation of previous decisions, the detective, submissive wife, lovable drunk, etc.) acceptance of a new condition and the need to for are representative of their class or group and in making changes, the discovery of unrecognised the story appear in situations which repeatedly truth. occur in their life (e.g. investigating, arresting). Round characters usually play major role in a Stock characters stay flat if they do no more than story, so they are sometimes called hero/ performing their role and exhibiting just heroine; or protagonist (antagonist). conventional and unindividual character traits)

How is character disclosed?

Actions What characters do is the best clue to understand what they are and how they change. Descriptions (personal and environmental) Appearance and environment reveal much about a characters social and economic status and about his/her character traits. Dramatic statement and thoughts What characters say and think also reveals what the characters are. Often characters use speech to hide their motives, though readers should see through such a ploy. Notes: 1. Standard of verisimilitude/ probability/ plausibility. Characters in fiction should be true to life. Their actions, statements, and thoughts must be what human beings are likely to do, say and think under the condition presented in the story. 2. When we are reading about fictional characters, we should look beyond, circumstances, actions and appearances and determine what these things show about character. It is necessary to get from the outside to the inside, because internal quality determines the external behaviour and not vice versa. Statements by other characters These statements also help to understand the characters who are being discussed as well as the characters who utter such statements. Statements by the author speaking as storyteller or observer If the author speaks in the authorial voice (see the third person point of view), what he says about the character is usually accurate. But when the authorial voice interprets actions and characteristics, the authors opinions may be questioned.

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General questions on characters How important is the character to the storys principal action? Is the character the protagonist or antagonist? How do the protagonist and antagonist interact? What changes do their interactions bring about? What actions bring out important traits of the character? To what degree is the character creating or just responding to events? Are the protagonists actions good or bad, intelligent or stupid, deliberate or spontaneous? What do they tell us about the character? What are the characters major and minor traits? To what extent do they help us to judge the character? What descriptions (if any) of the characters appearance do we discover in the story? What does the appearance demonstrate about the character? In what ways is the characters major trait a strength or a weakness? As the story progresses, to what degree does the trait become more (less) prominent? Is the character round and dynamic? How does the character recognize, change with or adjust to circumstances? If the character is minor (flat or static), what function does he or she perform in the story? If the character is a stereotype (i.e. demonstrating only the attitudes typical for his/her class or group), to what degree does the character stay in the stereotypical role or rise above it? How? What do any of the other characters do, say, or think to give us insight into the character? What does the character say or think about himself or herself? What does the narrator say? How valid are they comments and insights? How helpful in providing insight into the character? Is the character lifelike or unreal? Consistent or inconsistent? Believable or unbelievable?

Specific ways of thinking about characters Central actions, objects or quotations that Central traits or major character How does the work embody the trait? In what reveal primary characteristics differing ways does the author present the Do any incidents or objects closely associated character (e.g. is the trait brought up first by the with character stand out? Are there any important comments of other characters and later by the quotations spoken by the character or by main characters own actions)? someone else? How do such elements serve as signposts or guides to understanding the Characters growth and change character? What are the characters traits when the story Qualities of a flat character or characters begins? How do they change or develop as the story progresses? How are the changes brought What can we say about the function and relative out within the work? significance of the flat character, the group he represents, the relationship of the flat character to the round ones, the importance of this relationship? What circumstances or defects keep the character from being round? How important are these shortcomings in the authors presentation of the character?

Questions related to the conclusion of our analysis How are the characters traits related to the work as a whole? If the persons good and comes to a bad end, does it make him or her especially worthy? If the person suffers, does it suggest any attitudes about the class or type of which he or she is part? Or does it illustrate the authors general view of human life? Or both? Do the characteristics explain why the person helps or hinders other characters? How does your analysis help in clearing up first-reading misunderstanding? Etc.

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Bibliography: ROBERTS, E. V. JACOBS, H. E., Literature: An Introduction to Reading and Writing, Prentice Hall, 1998

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RS III American Literature

Writers Tools
(A few notes for better appreciation of a literary text)

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