The Holy Grail for writing a good story includes elements such as setting, plot, theme, conflict, and mostly importantly, the characters. These elements are the most basic elements and they help the reader to understand the key message that the author is trying to convey in the story. The setting of a story includes the time, place, and social context. When the author describes the setting in detail, it helps to create a vivid imagination in the reader’s mind, assists the readers to anticipate the outcome, and gain insight on what is to come. The author should always address the setting of the story in such a way where it can create a positive mood for the reader. Plot is a crucial element because it includes the structure of the story from the beginning to the end, how the characters develop throughout the …show more content…
Themes include major topics such as love, war, life, death, family, and often convey the moral of the story, or a life lesson. Sometimes readers will misunderstand the topic of the story with the theme. The topic is a summary of what the story is about and the theme is the overall message about the topic. A successful author should know that a story should never lack a theme because the theme is what stays in every reader’s mind, even after forgetting the details of the story. Conflict is a disagreement, interruption, or controversy that keeps the tension flowing in the story. The writer should always focus on creating a conflict that keeps the reader interested and impatient to learn about the outcome. The two types of conflicts are internal and external conflict. Internal conflict is within the characters’ mind and deals with the emotions and psychological status of the characters. External conflict is between two opposing forces, which is a character and an outside force. A mixture of internal and external conflict will no doubt make any story
A theme is the author’s underlying message that is expressed in more one word. Some themes can be very similar to each other, an example of this is the two documents I will comparing in this analysis essay; The Outsiders by S.E. Hinton and On the sidewalk Bleeding by Evan Hunter. These two stories share similar themes, Don’t judge someone by what they look like, get to know them before you determine their fate. However the authors portray this theme in a different way. One story depicts a young boy who goes through troublesome events in his life before he realizes the moral of his life.
A theme is a moral of a story or a message the author is trying to tell you. Every story has a theme, and some stories, share common themes. The common theme in the works “Mrs. Flowers”, “Raymond’s Run”, and “The Treasure of Lemon Brown”, is not everything is as it seems.
Ray Bradbury, author of Fahrenheit 451 and various other short stories once said, "Plot is no more than footprints left in the snow after your characters have run by on their way to incredible destinations," and his observation is a perfect analysis of the importance of characters in fiction. The actions of characters in stories are what guide the most beloved ones. When a story is beloved it is most often driven by love of the characters, but the real question is why do readers love and relate to fictional beings. The types of characters that are most loved in fiction have roots in reality, and traits that make them more relatable to the reader.
As for the plot it is what happens in the story, it is a series of events caused by what the characters do or not do. A character is who determines what the events of a story will be. Setting won’t matter without the
The theme in literature is the lesson you learn from what you have read. You learn a lesson from everything you experience in life and everything that you read has a purpose to teach you something. Sometimes the lesson comes from what other people have experienced, such as in the book Night by Elie Wiesel. Other times the theme comes from what other people have learned, heard, or even read about, such as in the book The Help by Kathryn Stockett. Not only do you see themes in books but also in newspaper articles, magazines, etc. A good example would be The Face of Modern Slavery by Nicholas D. Kristof, writer for the New York Times. No matter where the theme is, if it is in multiple pieces it holds great value. I believe that these pieces
For me, it starts and ends with character. I think every book, movie, television show should be character-driven. My characters will tell me the plot.
People say the setting does not make the story but it always helps. The setting plays a big role, telling the reader where the characters are. But not all settings are the same, for example the story High Noon. “Outskirts of Hadleyville-day” (Foreman 228). Hadleyville is the setting of High Noon, a small down but with a lot of interesting characters. Compared to a different setting in a short story called The Most Dangerous Game. “The old charts call it Ship Trap Island-Whitney replied” (Connell). Ship Trap is a mysterious island that no sailer dares to go to. Both settings are different from the sandy roads of Hadleyville to the swamps of Ship Trap Island, but each setting makes there
The result of these characteristics give each story suspense and mystery, leaving the readers wondering what each character will do next and what further action will take place. Characters hold a primary role in determining the outcome of a story, which is the reasoning behind the many similarities and differences among literary characters. Also, a clear example is the similar plots with two completely different outcomes. Once the audience understands a character, they are capable of building on their existing knowledge to foreshadow events or understand the text more logically, which is evident when reading these
Authors can utilize setting in different ways such as a time and a place. Setting as a place has other components that make an author’s work flourish. One example is the indication of setting. Authors usually indicate where the plot is taking place so that the audience is not lost and has an idea of where the action is happening. This leads to the next element of setting as a place, which would be the significance. The significance of place has a great impression on the characters and the audience’s interpretations. With the significance of place the audience can usually question how different the story would be if it took part elsewhere, thus exemplifying the importance of the certain setting. Also, setting as a place indicates what the
Theme is a general insight into human nature provided by a literary work. To communicate this insight or observation about human nature, the author tells a story. Harper Lee told the story of To Kill a Mockingbird to convey the vital truth that hatred, prejudice, and ignorance pose threats to the innocent. Those who appreciate the good and accept the bad qualities of people by treating them with sympathy survive, but those who are vulnerable and are not prepared for the evil they encounter in the world are destroyed. This phenomenon of survival or failure to survive is best seen through the characters of Atticus, Tom Robinson and Boo Radley.
Dozens of elements go into crafting quality fiction. There is plot, setting, character, conflict, symbol, and the list goes on. But perhaps the two most significant elements are character and setting. Through setting, writers describe the world they know. The sights, sounds and surroundings are vividly painted in words as an artist paints landscape images on a canvas. And through characterization, writers create memorable characters that come alive on the pages. Their experiences and hardships are felt and readers get a glimpse into the complexities of human relationships. Standing at the centre of Miller 's collection of linked short
A story would go nowhere without the characters making something happen. Characters are used for everything in a story, they set the scene, make the plot happen, and everything inbetween. Characterization is a major deal for writers because without proper characterization, the plot will not be able to go the way they want it to. This is also a big factor for the play, Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. He uses so many different characters to really push certain things to the audience, and to make the reader understand it so well.
I believe the plot is one of the important aspects of making a book. It is where the story revolves around and how the events of a book
A theme is the topic of a story. It is the main idea. Sometimes, themes are stated in a sentence in stories, but in other times the theme is not stated at all. St. George from “St. George and the Dragon” and David from “The Story of David” are similar characters and have similar story themes. St. George from “St. George and the Dragon” is a very courageous, strong, brave, and generous character.
“Setting: the time and place of the action in a work of fiction, poetry, or drama. The spatial setting is the place or places in which action unfolds, the temporal setting is the time; thus, the same as plot time. General Setting is the time and place in which all action unfolds; whereas, particular settings are the times and places which individual episodes or scenes take place” (Mays A10).