Reading Fiction: Analyzing Structure

Part I. Overview of Structure in Fiction

There is a similar narrative structure found in most stories; traditionally, events follow a plot mountain or a mountain of action. These are the main elements:

EXPOSITION - introduction to the characters, characters' conflicts, and setting; some clues about the conflict are given

RISING ACTION – events that lead up to the climax; the protagonist begins to struggle and run into challenging situations. Tensions begin to build.

CLIMAX – the turning point in the story in which the protagonist is faced with the biggest challenge and begins to change; this is the when things can't get any worse

FALLING ACTION/DENOUEMENT – the word denouement comes from a French word that means untying; problems begin to unravel and get solved; tensions ease and no new major conflicts are introduced.

RESOLUTION – the protagonist has been changed and/or affected by the events in the narrative. This is the end of his/her journey.

PROTAGONIST'S INTERNAL JOURNEY: as the protagonist goes on this journey, he/she is internally changed; he/she experiences different emotions and learns something important in the end.

In-class activity: create a plot mountain and protagonist map for "Faithful Elephants".

In creating the plot mountain, consider the following:

• First determine what you think the climax is. What point is the most dramatic? Think about which part is most emotional and tense. What is the moment in which things cannot get any worse for the protagonist?
• Identify the different events that lead to the climax.
• In the end, identify how the climax affects the characters and events. 

In creating a protagonist map, consider:

• How is the character affected by the events in the story?
• How does he/she feel and think as a result? How does he/she communicate and deal with her feelings? 
• In the end, analyze the resolution and how the character is affected. What lessons/realizations does he/she learn?

Part II. Thinking critically about structure in your independent reading books:

Here are some questions for thinking critically about structure:

Structure/organization:
a. How is the story told? Is there more than one main story? How are the events organized - in a linear, sequential order or in a non-linear way?
b. How does the genre affect the text? Does the writer incorporate more than 1 genre?
Genre is a stylistic class or category of writing, each with its own form and techniques; there are larger, more general categories such as poetry, fiction, and non-fiction. However, within each larger genre are sub-genres. Examples: poetry – haiku, free verse, etc.; prose – short story, novel, article, memoir, essay, letter, etc.
c. Who is the narrator? What point of view is the text written in (1st person – character narrating – could be the speaker or a made-up character/persona; 3rd person – outside narrator describing events? Why did the author choose to write the text from this point of view?
d. Whose stories are told and not told? Whose perspectives are missing? What does this show about the text?
e. Is the text an allegory, a literary text in which the characters and events symbolically represent a moment or idea in real life? Is the text based on another text or use elements, characters, themes of another text? Why did the author do this?
f. What other unique qualities do you notice and like about the structure/organization of the text? What are the difficult or confusing parts of the text? Why does the writer choose to structure the text in this way?