Elements of Fiction

From Robert Scholes’ book Elements of Fiction

Spectrum of Fiction

History – Realism – Romance – Fantasy

These major headings can be subdivided into “modes” of fiction.

Let’s examine Romance for example…

Fictional Modes of Romance

Romance – fictional world is made to appear better

Satire – fictional world is made to appear worse

Fictional Patterns

These Modes follow observable patterns. Here are three of the most common patterns:

1. Education – a character begins out of harmony with his world and is gradually educated or initiated into harmony with his world.

Romantic Mode: education of a foolish character presents a comic rise

Satiric Mode: initiation into ugliness and disorder amounts to corruption

(ironic rise)

2. Expulsion – a character begins in harmony with his world then is rejected or destroyed by it.

Romantic: Heroic figure falls – tragedy

Satiric: Lowly creature falls – pathos

3. Quest – a character begins and ends in harmony with his world (this pattern is of movement NOT change)

Romantic: quest or voyage hero returns to marry princess (for example)

Satiric: adventures of anti-hero will parody quest pattern (picaresque)

Satire and Pathos debase the world to criticize it

Tragedy and Comedy elevate the world to make it acceptable.

OK, what about Realism?

Realism uses the same patterns of Education, Expulsion, and Quest, yet usually to ask questions about the patterns:

1. Was the education beneficial?

2. Was the expulsion justified?

3. Was the quest worthwhile?

How to Analyze Fiction

The old standards that you covered in the sixth grade (or at least I hope you did) remain the cornerstones in the understanding of fiction: plot, character, and point of view. Let’s look at them again.

Plot – the process of change in a story

1. a man’s situation can change

2. he himself changes

3. our understanding of him changes

Here are some things to watch for:

1. Beginnings and Endings of sentences, paragraphs, chapters, sections, the book itself. Remember, the most important word in a sentence is the last one, then the first one. Look to the beginnings and endings of chapters to find most of the important material in that section.
2. Isolate the central character(s): events happen to somebody, so check this character out throughout the story.
3. Highlight important change points – if the character has changed, record what happened (or didn’t happen) to promote this change.
4. Notice things working against the plot movement. For example, if the story is about an upcoming wedding, notice the character who is against the wedding.
5. Separate the subplots – compare the action and characters. This often leads to meaning in the work (through contrast).
6. Note characters and events that seem to make no contribution to the plot – often these are important in theme.

Character – characters can be summed up in two impulses:

1. the impulse to individualize (i.e., make the character quirky and original)
2. the impulse to typify (i.e., make the character representative of something general like a social class, race, profession, psychological type)

As readers, we need to be aware of the subtle second impulse. That’s the one that reveals meaning.

Point of View – the way a story is told (i.e., the attitude of the narrator to the story he relates). Point of view can be determined by examining the Nature of the Storyteller and the Language of Narration

Nature of the storyteller

If he is a character in the action (1^st person narration)…

1. Is he a major character?
2. The protagonist?
3. What is his relationship with the other characters?

If the narrator is NOT a character in the action (3^rd person narration)…

1. Is he an omniscient narrator (he knows what all the characters are thinking)?
2. Is he a limited narrator (knows what one character is thinking)?
3. Is he a simple narrator (doesn’t relate anyone’s thoughts)?

Is he a 1^st person narrator telling a story that doesn’t involve his presence?

In any case, the reader needs to be alert to any bias the narrator shows and ready to compensate accordingly.

The language of narration

Tone – unstated attitude of the narrator is conveyed through language. The reader must be alert to subtle uses of irony. Remember, an author will repeat important tonal signals. Here’s an example from Virginia Woolf’s Mrs. Dalloway:

But Sir William Bradshaw stopped at the door to look at a picture. He looked in the corner for the engraver’s name. His wife looked too. Sir William Bradshaw was so interested in art.

The tone here is sarcastic. Woolf indirectly attacks Sir William and his wife with verbal irony by saying they are “interested in art,” yet by showing them looking for the engraver’s name, she reveals the truth that they are clueless. The last line might be spoken “soooooo interested in art.”

Woolf portrays the Bradshaws several more times like this in the novel (just so you will catch it).

Design is the process by which an author writes a story to develop meaning. We usually are concerned with the details of a story (the plot). Design is the opposite of that flowing story: it’s the technique the author uses to divulge meaning in the work. The two most common techniques in design are juxtaposition and repetition.

Juxtaposition – the positioning of scenes, settings, characters adjacent in the text to promote comparison. If a story uses flashbacks, ask why the scenes are in that order (specifically why is this episode in the present followed by that particular flashback from the past)? Why does an author present details in a non-chronological order? These comparisons can lead to parallels in character, action, setting, which promote meaning.

Repetition – if it’s important, the author will repeat it in some way. Events, settings, situations, even words and actions can be repeated for emphasis. An alert reader prepares for and is rewarded by these repetitive elements.