Chapter 6 - Literary Elements

Authors use literary elements to make their story interesting and engaging for the readers. The most common are:

Literary Elements

Antagonist: The supporting character who is often bad or evil  in the story that is against the protagonist in the story.

Character: The person or animal in the story.

Conflict: A problem in the story that gets resolved through out the book. There are four types of conflict : (1) person against person, (2) person against self, (3) person against society, and (4) person against nature.

Mood and Tone: The feeling that the author projects through his writing for the reader to perceive.

Plot: The events that makes up the story. 

Protagonist: The main character in the story and is often the good or heroic person from the story.

Setting: The place and the time that takes place in the story.

Themes: The message from the author that can relate to life or nature issues.

Literary Devices

Allegory: A representation of abstract ideas are described as a characters. figures, and events. 

Allusion: A figure of speech that the author uses in the story for the reader to make a connection.

Archetype: Is a character and action, or situation that seems to represent human nature and universal patterns. 

Deus ex machine: The circumstance in which the character gets introduced in the plot of the story and resolves the conflict. 

Hyperbole: Exaggeration of ideas. 

Imagery: Words that the author uses to make a reader create vivid images in a story. 

Metaphor: A figure of speech in which two things are compared.

Motif: An object, such as an image, sound, or action that repeats itself through the story. 

Point of view: The manner in which the story is narrated. There are four points of view: (1) first person, (2) third person, (3) third person limited, and (4) third person omniscient.

Simile: A figure of speech of two distinct things using "like" or "as". 

Symbolism: A person, place, or thing that represents something other than itself.

WHAT IS THEME?

A message that the author conveys to the readers. It is not the main idea or topic from a story. 

Reflection: 

I feel that this chapter is one of the most important of all, because I need to be able to read a book and see the value that it contains and evaluated to help the students. I would be able to select the literature that is age appropriate and assist them on their assignments. Many students have problems identifying the theme or themes in a book and I can help them understand what makes up a theme. I know that understanding literary devices will help me make a better selection for the students to leave the library with a great book.