英美小说要素解析

Plot:

A Sequence of Interrelated Actions or Events. Plot, or the structure of action, it

generally refers to the scheme or pattern of events in a work of fiction. A plot is a plan

or groundwork for a story, based on conflicting human motivations, with the actions

resulting from believable and realistic human response.

Types

of

Conflict:

①

External

Conflict:

Man

and

nature,

man

and

society,

and

man and man.

②

Internal Conflict:

It focuses on two or more elements contesting

within the protagonist

’

s own character.

Exposition(

情节交代

):

It is where everything is introduced is the beginning section

in which the author provides the necessary background information, sets and scene,

establishes the situation, and dates the action. It usually introduces the characters and

the conflict, or at least the potential for conflict.

Complication(

纠葛

):

Which is

sometimes referred to

as the rising action, develops

and

intensifies

the

conflict.

The

rising

action(

起始行动

)

is

when

things

begin

to

escalate. It takes the reader from the exposition and leads them towards the climax.

This part tends to be dramatic and suspenseful.

Climax(

高潮

)

：

When you finally take a breath after holding it in suspense. This is

the most emotional part of the book.

Crisis(

关子< /p>

)

：

It(

also

referred

to

as

the

climax)

is

that

moment

at

which

the

plot

reaches

its

point

of

greatest

emotional

intensity;

it

is

the

turning

point

of

the

plot,

directly precipitating the resolution. It is the reversal or

”

turning point

”

.

Falling action(

下降行动

)

：

Once the crisis, or turning point, has been reached, the

tension subsides and the plot moves toward its conclusion. It is when everything tends

to slow down, and the climax is over. < /p>

Resolution(

冲突解开

)

：

It is the final section of the plot which records the outcome

of the conflict and establishes some new equilibrium. The resolution is also referred to

as the conclusion, the end or the denouement. This is the final part of the story when

everything is wrapped up. Sometimes the story is finished off completely, answering

every

reader's question.

Sometimes authors leave mysterious,

to

intrigue the reader.

Or sometimes authors leave hints of a sequel.

Catastrophe:

Applied to tragedy only.

Denouement

：

Applied to both comedy and tragedy.

The

ordering

of < /p>

plot

—

Chronological

plotting

—

Flashbac k:

It

is

interpolated

narratives

or

scenes(

often

justified,

or

naturalized,

as

a

memory,

a

reverie,

or

a

confession by one of the characters) which represent events that happened before the

time at which the work opened.

Character

：

They are the persons represented in a dramatic or narrative work, who

are interpreted by the reader as being endowed with particular moral, intellectual, and

emotional qualities by inferences from what the persons say and their distinctive ways

of

saying

it

–

the

dialogue

—

and

from

what

they

do

—

the

action.

A

character

may

remain essentially

“

stable,

”

or unchanged in outlook and disposition, from beginning

to end of a work, or may undergo a radical change, either through a gradual process of

development,

or

as

the

result

of

a

crisis.

Whether

a

character

remains

stable

or

changes, the reader of a traditional and realistic work expects

“

consistency

”

--- ---the

character should not suddenly break off and act in a way not plausibly grounded in his

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or her temperament as we have already come to know it.

Motivation:

The grounds in the characters temperament, desires, and moral nature for

their speech and actions.

Types

of

characters

—

protag onist:

The

chief

character

in

a

plot,

on

whom

our

interest

centers.(or

alternatively,

the

hero

or

heroine)

It

is

the

major,

or

central,

character of the plot.

Antagonist:

If the plot is such that he or she is pitted against and important opponent,

that character is called the antagonist. It is his opponent, the character against whom

the protagonist struggles or contends.

Flat characters:

they are those who embody or represent a single characteristic, trait,

or idea, or at

most a very

limited number of such qualities. Flat characters are also

referred

to

as

type

characters,

as

one-dimensional

characters,

or

when

they

are

distorted to create humor, as caricatures.

Stock

characters:

Flat

characters

have

much

in

common

with

the

kind

of

stock

characters

who

appear

again

and

again

in

certain

types

of

literary

works.

A

flat

character (also called a type, or

“

two- dimensional

”

), Forster says, is built around

“

a

single

idea

or

quality

”

and

is

presented

without

much

individualizing

detail,

and

therefore can be fairly adequately described in a single phrase or sentence.

Round characters:

They

are just the opposite. They embody a number of qualities

and

traits,

and

are

complex

multidimensional

characters

of

considerable

intellectual

and emotional depth who have the capacity to grow and change. A round character is

complex in temperament and motivation and is represented with subtle particularity;

such a character therefore is as difficult to describe with any adequacy as a person in

real life, and like real persons, is capable of surprising us.

Dynamic characters:

They exhibit a capacity to change; static characters do not. As

might be expected, the degree and rate of character change varies widely even among

dynamic characters.

Static

characters:

They

leave

the

plot

as

they

entered

it,

largely

untouched

by

the

events that have taken place.

Methods of characterization-- Telling:

It relies on exposition and direct commentary

by the author.

In telling, the author intervenes authoritatively in order to describe, and

often

to

evaluate,

the

motives

and

dispositional

qualities

of

the

characters.

Characterization through the use of names, through appearance, and by the author.

Showing:

It involves the author

’

s stepping aside, as it were, to allow the characters to

reveal

themselves

directly

through

their

dialogue

and

their

actions.

In

showing(also

called

“

the dramatic method

”

), the author simply presents the characters talking and

acting and leaves the reader to infer the motives and dispositions that lie behind what

they say and do.

The author may show not only external speech and actions, but also

a

character

’

s

inner

thoughts,

feelings,

and

responsiveness

to

events;

for

a

highly

developed mode of such inner showing, see stream of consciousness. Characterization

through dialogue, and action.

Setting:

The stage against which the story unfolds.( Place and objects in fiction) The

overall setting of a narrative or dramatic work is the general locale, historical time,

and social circumstances in which its action occurs; the setting of a single episode or

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