point of view and conflict in novels

Tone

Authors also use words to express a specific tone in a piece of literature. In a story, the tone is the author's or narrator's attitude toward the audience, characters, or subject of the story. For example, a story's tone can be lighthearted, serious, sarcastic, or critical. The author's word choice and the story's narrative voice join together to create the tone of a story. Identifying the tone of a story can help you understand the story's meaning and purpose.

Perspective

Both point of view and narrative voice shape the perspective from which a story is told. Perspective refers to a particular viewpoint or way of looking at an event or idea. Think about novels written in first-person point of view. In these novels, one character is telling the story. That means readers get only the perspective of that character. The same is true of novels written in a third-person limited point of view. An outside narrator is describing events. But the narrator shares only the thoughts and feelings of one character. So, the story is told from that character's perspective. In both cases, this kind of perspective is likely to affect the reader's judgment of other characters and events in the story. Now think about novels written in third-person omniscient point of view. The narrator of this kind of novel knows the thoughts and feelings of all the characters in the story. So, this kind of novel contains many different perspectives.

Conflict and Characters

Conflict can affect not only the plot of a story but also the characters. As a story progresses, characters develop over time based on the experiences they go through. The way characters in a story develop and change is important. It allows authors to get across a message or express a particular feeling in the story.

Connotation

Connotation refers to the idea or feeling that a word creates in a reader. Connotative meanings can be positive or negative. Read these two examples and think about the feelings you have about each word: "You snake!" said Rachel. "You stole my favorite shirt!" Ben finally felt at home in his college apartment. In the examples, the underlined words don't represent their straightforward dictionary meanings. Instead, each word has a connotative meaning. In the first example, snake suggests someone who is dishonest or untrustworthy. It has a negative connotation. In the second example, home suggests a feeling of comfort and belonging. It has a positive connotation.

Denotation

Denotation refers to the actual definition of a word. Think of it as the dictionary definition. Read these two sentences: Sally feared the snake in the tree. Jill made her way home after a tiring day. Look at the underlined words in both sentences and think about what each word means. Both sentences use the denotative meaning of each word. In the first sentence, snake has a straightforward meaning. It simply stands for the dictionary definition of the animal. In the same way, home in the second sentence stands for a house or the place where someone lives.

A Close Look at Conflict

In novels, conflict is an important element of the plot. Conflict refers to a struggle between two forces. Every story has at least one main conflict. This conflict helps advance the action of the plot. In literature, the main conflict usually occurs between the main character and another force. This force can be something outside of the character, such as another character or something in nature. It can also be something inside the character, usually the character's thoughts and emotions. Novels usually have a series of conflicts. These conflicts lead up to the major conflict and to the most intense moment in the novel. Next, you'll see how conflicts help to develop different plot elements.

Narrative Voice

Point of view and narrative voice work together to tell a story. As you've just read, point of view is about who is describing the events of the story. Narrative voice, on the other hand, is about how these events are being described. By identifying the point of view of a story, a reader can also determine the narrative voice. Consider a story that's written in first-person point of view. In this story, the narrative voice belongs to a character who's describing what's happening. Because the story is being told by this character, the events are described with words and ideas that this character would use. As a result, the information readers receive is colored by this character's feelings and judgments.

Point of View, Voice, and Purpose

Point of view, voice, and purpose are key parts of storytelling. Let's examine each of these elements. Point of View Different types of fiction and informational texts use different points of view. In novels, point of view refers to who is telling the story. The storyteller, or narrator, may be a character within the story or an outside observer. Next, we'll go through a brief review of the different points of view.

Purpose in Novels

The reason an author chooses to write about a certain subject is known as the author's purpose. Let's look at the main types of author's purpose. Authors write to inform readers about specific topics. Authors write to express their feelings and thoughts about ideas. Authors write to entertain readers by appealing to their emotions. Authors write to persuade, or convince, readers to agree with a certain viewpoint or take a certain action. Authors write to instruct readers on how to complete a task.

Focus on Language

Word choice is an important part of a novel. Authors need to choose the right words to get across the meaning of a story. Let's look at some of the ways word choice can affect a story. Denotation versus Connotation Authors use specific words to show point of view, voice, and purpose in novels. They also carefully choose the right words to express thoughts and feelings to readers. One reason that authors take care with the words they choose is that some words have more than one meaning. Words can also create more than one feeling in a reader. These different meanings and feelings can be considered either denotative or connotative.