LAE 241 Literary Elements: Plot, Character, Tone, and Conflict

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LAE 241 Literary Elements Plot, Character, Tone,
and Conflict
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Literacy Element

• Plot is simply the sequence of events, or how
  things happen in a story.
• Every piece of literature has a plot.
• Questions-On the FCAT plot questions will be
  about what happened in the passage. The questions
  will try to figure out if you understand the
  events of the story. Included in plot questions
  can be questions on setting and time.
• To understand the plot you must know how the
  story is developed by the following
• Events-important things that happen.
• Problem- a difficult situation.
• Rising Action-the problem or series of conflicts
  that build together the climax.
• Falling Action-the steps that lead to the
  solution to the problem.
• Solution/Resolution-the outcome that brings the
  story to a close.
• Setting is the time and place of the action.
• The setting can be specific (day of the week, the
  month, the season, or the year) OR can be general
  (the past, present, or future.The place can be
  specific (town, city, or country) OR general
  (someones house in a small town).
• Theme is the message that the author is trying to
  convey to the reader.
• The author rarely comes right out and tells you
  the message of what he or she is writing.
  Instead, you need to interpret the theme through
  your reading and understanding of the plot,
  characters, conflict, and tone. The theme is very
  much like the purpose in a piece of informational
  text.

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Poem-Richard Cory

• Richard Cory
• by Edwin Arlington Robinson, from Children of the
  Night
•  
• Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
• We people on the pavement looked at him
• He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
• Clean flavored, and imperially slim.
•  
• And he was always quietly arrayed,
• And he was always human when he talked
• But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
• Good-morning, and he glittered when he walked.
•  
• And he was rich-yes, richer than a king
• And admirably schooled in every grace
• In fine we thought that he was everything
• To make us wish that we were in his place.
•  
• So on we worked, and waited for the light,

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Questions-Plot and Theme

• Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
• We people on the pavement looked at him
• He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
• Clean flavored, and imperially slim.
•  
• And he was always quietly arrayed,
• And he was always human when he talked
• But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
• Good-morning, and he glittered when he walked.
•  
• And he was rich-yes, richer than a king
• And admirably schooled in every grace
• In fine we thought that he was everything
• To make us wish that we were in his place.
•  
• So on we worked, and waited for the light,
• And went without the meat, and cursed the bread
• And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

• Why did the townspeople curse the bread?
• a) because that is all they had to eat
• b) because they did not have any bread
• c) because they were waiting for the light
• d) because they wanted Richard to bring them
  bread
• Answer (A)
• Literary Element-Plot
• The townspeople cursed the bread because that
  was all that they had to eat. Bread was for the
  poor and meat was for the rich they had not
  meat. They were poorunlike Richard Cory.
•  
• What is the theme of the poem Richard Cory?
• f) Greedy people are very bad people.
• g) Money does not equal happiness.
• h) The poor sometimes murder the rich.
• I) Money causes people to commit suicide.
•  
• Answer (G)
• Literary Element-Theme
• The theme of the poem is that money does not
  equal happiness Richard Cory shot himself even
  through he had a great deal of money. Obviously,
  his money did not make him happy, as the
  townspeople through that it did.

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Characters

• Characters are the people in the story.
  Characters come in many different forms such as
  animals like in Charlottes Web, fantasy
  creatures such as those in the Harry Potter
  books, or machines/robots like in Terminator.
  How the characters interact with each other is
  often what makes the story interesting and
  creates conflicts or problems. Characters
  sometimes also change within a story. Look for
  this development as you read. There may be
  questions about how the characters have changed
  and/or grown. Look for clues about the
  characters, including
• 1) How the characters dress and look
• 2) What the characters sayor what other
  characters say about them.
• 3) How the characters act and interact

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Questions-Character

• Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
• We people on the pavement looked at him
• He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
• Clean flavored, and imperially slim.
•  
• And he was always quietly arrayed,
• And he was always human when he talked
• But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
• Good-morning, and he glittered when he walked.
•  
• And he was rich-yes, richer than a king
• And admirably schooled in every grace
• In fine we thought that he was everything
• To make us wish that we were in his place.
•  
• So on we worked, and waited for the light,
• And went without the meat, and cursed the bread
• And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
• Went home and put a bullet through his head.

• Questions
• Use the poem Richard Cory to answer the
  following questions on character.
• 1) What did the townspeople think of Richard
  Cory?
• a) They thought that he was just an ordinary
  guy.
• b) They wished that they could be in his place.
• c) They thought he should share his money with
  them.
• d) They wondered if he should check into a
  mental hospital.
• Answer (B)
• Literacy ElementsCharacter
• The townspeople wanted to be like Richard
  Cory.They greatly admired him and his money.

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Short Answer Questions-Character

• Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
• We people on the pavement looked at him
• He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
• Clean flavored, and imperially slim.
•  
• And he was always quietly arrayed,
• And he was always human when he talked
• But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
• Good-morning, and he glittered when he walked.
•  
• And he was rich-yes, richer than a king
• And admirably schooled in every grace
• In fine we thought that he was everything
• To make us wish that we were in his place.
•  
• So on we worked, and waited for the light,
• And went without the meat, and cursed the bread
• And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
• Went home and put a bullet through his head.

• Literary ElementCharacter
• 1) Describe the character of Richard Cory as the
  people of the pavement saw him. Use details
  from the poem to support you ideas.
• __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ____
• Answer
• The townspeople or people of the pavement saw
  Richard Cory as kinglike. They described him as a
  gentleman from sole to crown, or head t toe,
  and imperially slim. Both are allusions to his
  kingliness. Another aspect of his kinglike
  personality was his wealthy he glittered when
  he walked and was richer than a king. The
  townspeople also saw Richard as friendly and
  personable.

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Questions-Character

• Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
• We people on the pavement looked at him
• He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
• Clean flavored, and imperially slim.
•  
• And he was always quietly arrayed,
• And he was always human when he talked
• But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
• Good-morning, and he glittered when he walked.
•  
• And he was rich-yes, richer than a king
• And admirably schooled in every grace
• In fine we thought that he was everything
• To make us wish that we were in his place.
•  
• So on we worked, and waited for the light,
• And went without the meat, and cursed the bread
• And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
• Went home and put a bullet through his head.

• 3) Who is the narrator of the poem?    f) a king
• g) the author
• h) Richard Cory
• i) the townspeople
• Answer (i)
• Literacy ElementsCharacter
• The narrator is the person who is telling the
  story. In this case, that person is the
  townspeople, We people on the pavement.

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Short Answer Question-Character

• Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
• We people on the pavement looked at him
• He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
• Clean flavored, and imperially slim.
•  
• And he was always quietly arrayed,
• And he was always human when he talked
• But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
• Good-morning, and he glittered when he walked.
•  
• And he was rich-yes, richer than a king
• And admirably schooled in every grace
• In fine we thought that he was everything
• To make us wish that we were in his place.
•  
• So on we worked, and waited for the light,
• And went without the meat, and cursed the bread
• And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,
• Went home and put a bullet through his head.

• Literary ElementCompare and Contrast on
  Characters
• 4)  Use details from the poem to compare and
  contrast the lives of Richard Cory and the lives
  of the townspeople.
• __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __________________________________________________
  _______________
• Answer
• The lives of the townspeople and the life of
  Richard Cory were very different. The townspeople
  have very little. They worked hard for the little
  that they did have and waited for the lightfor
  the time that they could finally do more than
  just get by. They did not even have enough money
  to buy meat! Richard, on the other hand, had more
  than enough in fact, he was richer than a
  king. The townspeople wished that they could be
  in his place, have his life. We do not know if
  the townspeople were happy, but we know that
  Richard was not he had learned that money does
  not buy happiness.

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Setting

• Setting is a story element that tells the reader
  when and where the story takes place. In some
  stories, the setting is explicitly stated, while
  in others, it needs to be inferred. Setting can
  be complex, with flashbacks or flash-forwards in
  time.
• Flashbacks-when a story goes back in time
• Flash-forwards-when a story goes ahead in time
• Purpose Knowing about setting, time and place,
  helps you better understand events and
  characters behaviors.
• Setting refers to the place and time of a story.
  For example, if we were going to write a story
  about todays class, how would you describe the
  setting? What details would help someone picture
  the mood, or feeling, in our class right before a
  big test?
• Identifying the Setting
• 1) Look at the cover and any illustration.
• 2) To identify where the story takes place, ask
  yourself, What words help me imagine what the
  place looks like?
• 3) To identify the time, ask yourself, Is it
  long ago, in the future, or in the present?
• 4) Pay attention to any changes in the setting,
  such as flashback or flash-forward, and how they
  affect the story.
• Think of a place. How can a place affect our mood
  in the way a setting can affect a character?
  Authors describe the setting to help us
  understand the change in mood.

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Setting The Names by Billy Collins

• Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
• A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
• And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
• I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
• Then Baxter and Calabro,
• Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
• As droplets fell through the dark.
• Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
• Names slipping around a watery bend.
• Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
• In the morning, I walked out barefoot
• Among thousands of flowers
• Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
• And each had a name
• Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
• Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.

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The Names by Billy Collins

• When I peer into the woods
• I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
• As in a puzzle concocted for children.
• Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
• Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
• Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
• Names written in the pale sky.
• Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
• Names silent in stone
• Or cried out behind a door.
• Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
• In the eveningweakening light, the last
  swallows.
• A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
• A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
• And the names are outlined on the rose clouds
• Vanacore and Wallace,
• (let X stand, if it can for the ones unfound)

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The Names by Billy Collins

• Names etched on the head of a pin.
• One name spanning a bridge, another undergoing a
  tunnel.
• A blue name needled into the skin.
• Names of citizens, workers, mothers and fathers,
• The bright-eyed daughter, the quick son.
• Alphabet of names in green rows in a field.
• Names in the small tracks of birds.
• Names lifted from a hat
• Or balanced on the tip of the tongue.
• Names wheeled into the dim warehouse of memory.
• So many names, there is barely room on the walls
  of the heart.

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Mood and Symbolism-The Names by Billy Collins

• Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
• A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
• And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
• I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
• Then Baxter and Calabro,
• Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
• As droplets fell through the dark.
• Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
• Names slipping around a watery bend.
• Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
• In the morning, I walked out barefoot
• Among thousands of flowers
• Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
• And each had a name
• Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
• Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.

• How can you tell when someone is in a good or bad
  mood?
• Poems and stories also have moods.
• The mood is the overall feeling or atmosphere a
  poem or story creates. Authors include details,
  descriptions, and words to create a mood.
• The third stanza imagines thousands of flowers
  heavy with dew like the eyes of tears. What
  does this make you think about?
• This makes me think about thousands of people who
  died. It seems sad, yet pays respect to the
  victims with a beautiful image.
• What is the mood of this poem? Circle any words
  and phrases that reflect the mood of the story.

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Mood and Symbolism-The Names by Billy Collins

• Yesterday, I lay awake in the palm of the night.
• A soft rain stole in, unhelped by any breeze,
• And when I saw the silver glaze on the windows,
• I started with A, with Ackerman, as it happened,
• Then Baxter and Calabro,
• Davis and Eberling, names falling into place
• As droplets fell through the dark.
• Names printed on the ceiling of the night.
• Names slipping around a watery bend.
• Twenty-six willows on the banks of a stream.
• In the morning, I walked out barefoot
• Among thousands of flowers
• Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
• And each had a name
• Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
• Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.

• Identify symbolism within the poem.
• A symbol is something that has meaning in itself,
  but also stands for something else.
• Symbolism comes in many forms. The stars on the
  American flag stand for each of the states. The
  bald eagle is our national symbol of freedom.
  These, and other symbols, are printed on U.S.
  coins and bills.
• Symbolism in a poem or story can be a person,
  object, or an idea that has two
  meanings1)literal, or basic meaning, and 2) a
  meaning which is used in a different way than
  usual.
• Read the third stanza
• The flowers symbolize the thousands of people
  who died.
• The poet includes one name for every letter of
  the alphabet. What does this symbolize?

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Poets Use of Imagery

• In the morning, I walked out barefoot
• Among thousands of flowers
• Heavy with dew like the eyes of tears,
• And each had a name
• Fiori inscribed on a yellow petal
• Then Gonzalez and Han, Ishikawa and Jenkins.

• Identify the poets use of imagery.
• Imagery is a combination of descriptive words and
  phrases that creates vivid images, or pictures,
  in the readers mind. Imagery appeals to the
  senses. It helps us feel like we can see, hear,
  smell, and taste things we read about.
• Reread the third stanza.
• There is lots of imagery here. I can feel myself
  walking barefoot among the flowers, my feet wet
  and cold. I can see many bright colorsred,
  yellow, pink, purple. I can even smell the fresh
  aroma of all kinds of flowers.
• Reread the poem silently and circle an example of
  imagery that you particulary like. Share how each
  appeals to your senses.

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Symbolism

• When I peer into the woods
• I see a thick tangle where letters are hidden
• As in a puzzle concocted for children.
• Parker and Quigley in the twigs of an ash,
• Rizzo, Schubert, Torres, and Upton,
• Secrets in the boughs of an ancient maple.
• Names written in the pale sky.
• Names rising in the updraft amid buildings.
• Names silent in stone
• Or cried out behind a door.
• Names blown over the earth and out to sea.
• In the eveningweakening light, the last
  swallows.
• A boy on a lake lifts his oars.
• A woman by a window puts a match to a candle,
• And the names are outlined on the rose clouds
• Vanacore and Wallace,
• (let X stand, if it can for the ones unfound)

• Symbolism can have a literal, or basic, meaning
  and a meaning that is used in a different way
  than usual.
• What does the narrator let X stand for?
• Why is the letter X an appropriate symbol for the
  ones unfound.
• The ones unfound must be the victims who could
  not be identified. X seems like a good symbol for
  these victims since it is often used to indicate
  something unknown. Also, the poet may have used
  this letter since there are few actual names that
  start with X.

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Tone

• Read the following statement enthusiastically,
  honestly, and truthfully
• Wow! I really like those shoes!
• Now read the following statement sarcastically
  with the emphasis on the word, really.
• Wow! I really like those shoes!
• Just by changing your tone of voice, the meaning
  of what you are saying changes. The same is true
  with literature. You need to practice hearing the
  tones as you read.

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Use the poem Richard Cory to answer the
following question on tone as well as practice
question on context clues.

• Richard Cory
• Whenever Richard Cory went down town,
• We people on the pavement looked at him
• He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
• Clean flavored, and imperially slim.
•  
• And he was always quietly arrayed,
• And he was always human when he talked
• But still he fluttered pulses when he said,
• Good-morning, and he glittered when he walked.
•  
• And he was rich-yes, richer than a king
• And admirably schooled in every grace
• In fine we thought that he was everything
• To make us wish that we were in his place.
•  
• So on we worked, and waited for the light,
• And went without the meat, and cursed the bread
• And Richard Cory, one calm summer night,

• 1) What is the overall tone of the poem?
• a) sad
•         b) dreary
•           c) humorous
• d) matter-of-fact
• Literary CharacteristicsTone
• Answer (d)
• Although the subject matter of this poem is quite
  sad, the tone in which is expressed is very much
  matter-of-fact, without much emotion put forth at
  all.
• 2) The first stanza of the poem states,
• He was a gentleman from sole to crown,
• Clean favored, and imperially slim.
• What does the word imperially mean in this
  sentence?
• f) kingly
• g) happily
• h) extremely
• i) impressively
• Words and Phrases
• Answer (f)
• The word imperially means kingly. The
  reference to crown should help you figure this
  out.

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Conflict

• Conflict is a struggle between opposing forces.
  Conflict is a very important element.
• In many cases, conflict creates the interest and
  excitement in a piece of literature. Conflict
  involves two things that are, in some way,
  fighting against each other. There are different
  types of conflict below are the four types.
• Person vs. Persons Two people in conflict, can
  be physical, emotional, verbal.
• Person vs. Society A person in conflict with
  some element that is valued by society (i.e.,
  money, fame, morals)
• Person vs. Nature A person in conflict with some
  element of nature, could be an animal, weather,
  fire, and so on
• Person vs. Him/Herself A person in conflict or
  struggling with some inner element, some element
  of himself or herself, perhaps a decision or an
  emotion.
•  
• Questions about conflict would ask, Who is it
  between?, or How is it resolved? The resolution
  of a conflict is simply the way the conflict (or
  problem) is resolved (or solved). When answering
  these types of questions, ask yourself what
  things are struggling against one another and how
  the struggle is finally ended.

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Conflict

• Read the following situations, and on the lines
  below, identify the conflict. Then decide on a
  resolution of your own.
•  
• 1)     The tornado was bearing down on the little
  Central Florida town. In the Brown household, all
  of the family members were peacefully sleeping,
  completely oblivious to the fact that an F5
  tornado, the strongest tornado known, sometimes
  referred to as the finger of God, was headed
  straight for their quaint little house.
• Conflict_________________________vs._____________
  ____________
• Possible Resolution______________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __
•  
• 2)     Michael had lied to his parents about
  going to the party last night. Because he knew
  that they would not approve, he had told them
  that he would be going to the movies with his
  buddy, Ron, and then spending the night at Rons
  house. The problem was that while he was at the
  party (which was on the opposite side of town
  from the theater), his parents car, which he had
  been driving, was rear-ended and rendered not
  drivable.
• Conflict_________________________vs._____________
  ____________
• Possible Resolution______________________________
  __________________________________________________
  __
•  
• 3)     Jennie and Mark were no longer speaking,
  Jennie had called Mark a pig-headed rat, and,
  in turn, Mark called Jennie a foolish Daddys
  girl. The two had been friends and neighbors
  since they were three and had had arguments
  before. This time, though, it looked as if
  neither was willing even to consider speaking to
  the other.
• Conflict_________________________vs._____________
  ____________
• Possible Resolution______________________________
  __________________________________________________
  ___

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Terms to Know for the Test

• Setting
• Mood
• Flashback
• Flash-forward
• Plot
• Events
• Problem
• Conflict
• Rising Action
• Climax
• Falling Action
• Solution/Resolution