Elements of Fiction Commercial Fiction vs Literary Fiction

Elements of Fiction

Commercial Fiction vs. Literary Fiction • Commercial Fiction is meant to entertain, it appeals to mass audiences, and is primarily published to make money. • Literary Fiction is written by someone with serious artistic intentions who hopes to broaden, deepen, and sharpen the reader’s awareness of life. The categories are not clear-cut. We should apply these terms to the novel and not the author

Characterization- the various literary means by which characters are presented

Commercial vs. • Commercial characters are unrealistically created often with favorable qualities including attractiveness, bravery, and goodheartedness. They are made to be liked by the reader. Literary • Literary characters have a blend of both “good” and “bad” qualities- jealousy, selfishness, sympathy, and compassion, for examplethat model what real human nature is like. They have multiple dimensions and complexity the way real people are.

Presentation • Direct Presentation is when a character is described straight out by exposition or analysis; another character might talk about them or they are analyzed by the author. • Used sparingly as to keep the interest. • Indirect Presentation is when the author shows us the character through his/her actions; we determine what they are like by what they say or do. • Dramatized to seem more believable; they are shown speaking and behaving, as in a stage play.

Principles of • Consistent: Characterization they do not behave one way on one occasion and a different way on another unless there is a clear reason for the change. • Motivations: the character’s words and actions must spring from motivations that the reader can understand believe. • Lifelike/Plausible: the author must convince the reader that the character might have well existed so that, at least while we’re reading, we have the illusion that the person is real and forget we are reading fiction at all.

Flat vs. Round • Flat characters are just as • Round characters however, have they sound; flat and pretty basic many “dimensions” that real with only a couple apparent traits people would have so they seem that don’t need a lot of even more realistic. explanation.

The Stock Character • Stock characters are stereotyped figures who have recurred so often in fiction that we recognize them at once: the strong, silent sheriff, the brilliant detective with eccentric habits, the mad scientist who performs fiendish experiments on living people, the glamorous international spy, the cruel stepmother, etc.

Static and Dynamic Static characters are characters that do not go through much change throughout the story, they stay basically the same. Dynamic/Developing characters however, have a distinct and obvious change somewhere along the lines, whether it concerns their perspective or entire personality. It is something significant. Note that these developing characters may undergo an epiphany, or sudden realization of spiritual insight regarding the character’s situation within the story.

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