According to
Oxford Dictionaries, novel is a fictitious prose narrative of book length, typically representing character and action with some degree of realism.While Anthony Burgess from Encyclopedia Britannica
stated that novel is an
invented prose narrative of considerable length and a certain complexity that deals
imaginatively with human experience, usually through a connected sequence of
events involving a group of persons in a specific setting. Since novel
contain story or conflicts of human life,
novel is also known as the collection of several conflicts which is
united into one story. It focuses only on few characters, and it is usually
written in about 35.000 words with a hundred minimal pages.
Novel also has some elements which is required to make a
good novel. Mainly, there are plot, setting, character, theme, and style as the
elements of it. This paper will give further explanation about these elements
of novel.
1.Plot
Plot is a term
of literature that is used to describe events to make a story and as the main
part of the story. It determines the structure and the organization of events.
It is also known as the foundation of character and setting of the novel, in
other words, plot organize information and events in a logical manner.
Plot is
considered as one of the most important parts of a story, and it has many purposes. First, the plot focuses attention
on the important characters and their roles in the story which motivates the
characters to affect the story and connects the events. Therefore, it creates a
desire for the reader to go on reading. The plot leads to the climax, but by gradually releases the story in order to
maintain the reader’s interest. During the plot, a reader gets emotional and
connects with the book, not allowing himself to put the book down. Eventually,
the plot reveals the entire story and gives the reader a sense of completion
that he has finished the story and reached a conclusion.
There are five main elements of plot, they are:
§ Exposition
Exposition or introduction is the beginning of the story where characters and setting are established. This is also the time to
introduce the characters, the setting, the conflict and the proverbial stage
where the characters are going to act and where all the action is going to take
place.
The exposition is the most important part
of the novel because it is where to set the ground work, the foundation of the whole
book. The impact of a poor foundation will make a bad impression of the whole book.
§ Rising Action
As the second
element of plot, rising action occurs when a series of events build up to the
conflict. In this time, the main characters are established and the events
begin to get complicated. The characters start getting up in problems and move
to solve the problems. It is the part of
a story that excitement, tension or crisis is encountered.The transition from
exposition to rising action should happen early on so as to engage the reader
and keep reading.
§ Climax
Climax is also
known as the main point of the plot. This
is the turning point of the story where the action reaches its peak and is
meant to be the moment of highest interest and emotion. At this point, the
reader cannot simply put the book down because wonders
what is going to happen next.
§ Falling Action
The falling
action or the winding up of the
story is the time whenevents and complications begin to resolve and the result of
actions of the main characters are put forward. In
other words, after the graph of activity reaches its maximum, it
rapidly starts dropping. During this period, the truth is brought out, and all
the mysteries are solved.
§ Resolution
The resolution
or the conclusion is the
end of a story when the conflict is resolved. It may end
with either a happy or a tragic ending.
2.Setting
The setting is the context in which the story takes place,
which includes the time, the place, and the social environment.It may provide
particular information about placement,
timing, and it could be simply descriptive.
Social conditions, historical time, geographical locations, weather, immediate
surroundings, and timing are all different aspects of setting. Moreover,
setting could be an actual region, or a city made larger than life, or it could
be a work of imagination of the author.
Setting become important part of novel
since it has immense effects on the plot and the characters as it could act as an antagonist, post a conflict that
characters need to resolve. It can also establish the atmosphere, or mood of a story and develop the plot into a more realistic form, resulting in
creating convincing characters. The descriptions of the setting push the reader to gain
a sense of the apprehension, and thus the suspenseful mood is created.
Setting has three major
components, they are:
·
SocialEnvironment
The first componen of setting is the
social environment. The social environment merely means the political and
cultural conditions of the story. For example, a story taking place in the
democratic United States would be very different from the same story taking
place in a country in the war-torn Middle East. Even within the same country
there can be cultural differences.
·
Place
Place element
explains of the place where the story takes place. It might include such things
as a city, state, country, castle, cottage, playground, ship, mountain, or
stadium.
·
Time
The
time a story takes place also has a major effect, because it tells the reader when the story takes place.
It could include clues that let the readers know it is the afternoon, evening,
the future, colonial times, or clock time.
3.Character
Character is an important element of fiction, because without a central character, there is no story. The goal of
the fiction writer is to create characters that are likeable and memorable. While Characterization is a literary device that is used step by
step in literature to highlight and explain the details about a character in a
story. It is in the initial stage where the writer introduces the character
with noticeable emergence and then following the introduction of the character,
the writer often talks about his behavior; then as the story progresses, the
thought-process of the character. The next stage involves the character
expressing his opinions and ideas and getting into conversations with the rest
of the characters. The final part shows how others in the story respond to the
character’s personality.
There are
several ways in which the fiction writer and reader can define characters in a
story. Those types of characters are:
*
Protagonist and Antagonist.
A story needs a central character, or hero, or protagonist. Often this main
character must oppose a villain or antagonist. Both are major characters in the
story. The fiction writer must spend a great deal of time developing these
types of characters by using the techniques of characters description, action
by the character, and dialogue.
*
Major and Minor Characters.
Stories include major characters, such as the protagonist and antagonist.
Stories often include minor characters. These are characters who the fiction
writer defines by a single idea or quality. These types of characters are necessary
for the story, but they are not important. These are secondary characters to
the story.
*
Flat and Round Characters.
A character can also be identified in terms of flat or round characters. A
flat character is a minor character in the story. This type of character
doesn’t change as the story progresses. Round characters, on the other hand,
must deal with conflict in the story and are change by it. The writer develops
these types of characters by using character descriptions and dialogue. Round
characters are all the major characters of the story, including the hero and
villain.
*
Static and Dynamic Characters.
Another way of defining a character is in terms of “static character” or
“dynamic character.” A static character is a minor character in the story and
plays a supporting role to the main character. Static characters don’t change
as the story progresses. The fiction writer spends little time developing
static characters.
In contrast, a dynamic character is a round character. This type of
character grows and develops as the story advances. The fiction writer spends a
great deal of time developing these types of characters. They are believable
and can be memorable.
4. Theme
Theme is an important element of fiction, but not a
necessary element. The theme of a story is
its central idea, not the subject of the story. Therefore, theme is defined as a main idea or an underlying meaning of a
literary work that may be stated directly or indirectly.It is an
important idea that the fiction writer wants to convey to the readers.The writer incorporates the theme into the story from the
subject. Sometimes the fiction writer has a specific theme or idea in mind
before crafting a short story or novel. Other times the theme emerges as the
fiction writer constructs the story.
There are two types that appear in literary works: major
themes and minor themes. A
major theme is an idea that a writer repeats in his work, making it the most
significant idea in a literary work. A minor theme, on the other hand, refers
to an idea that appears in a work briefly and gives way to another minor theme.
Examples of theme in Jane Austen’s “Pride and Prejudice” are matrimony, love,
friendship, and affection. The whole narrative revolves
around the major theme of matrimony. Its minor themes are love,
friendship, affectation,etc.
5. Point of View
Point of view is usually an important
element of a novel. Point of view is the mode of narration of the author to
portray the events in a novel. It is the utilization of pronouns to express the
point of view of the author. Usually, there are three types of points of views:
First Person, Second Person & Third Person.
– First Person
Point of View
First Person Point of View is the mode
of narration, whereby the author utilizes first person pronouns to narrate the
entire story of the novel. It is the use of pronouns I, me, us. In this
particular point of view, the narrator is normally the author himself, or any
other character like hero, heroine, who tells the story. It really is an
important and also natural method of narrating the story. The First Person
Point of View provides credibility to the story of the author. The author
himself tells the story to his readers, which gives rise to an impression that
the story, the author is telling, is based on realities and there is absolutely
no element of artificiality.
– Second Person
Point of View
Second Person Point of View is the mode
of narration, whereby the author employs 2nd person pronouns to narrate the
story of the novel. This point of view is also called Objective Point of View.
It is very occasionally employed by novelists because it is the most
challenging point of view. The author needs to use the pronouns you, your and
yours to take the story ahead. In this particular point of view, the author
turns out to be a spectator. He barely watches the action of the story.
– Third Person
Point of View
Third Person Point of View is the mode
of narration, whereby the author makes use of third person pronouns to tell the
story. The author utilizes the pronouns he, she, it, and they. It is more
widely used by authors on account of having flexibility in narrating the story
of the novel. The novelist has many choices to obtain information about any
character or event. It is the point of view, which gives us insight in the
personality of any character. That is why; it is also called Omniscient Point
of View.
6. Writing
Style
Style should
always be appropriate for the genre or story. An appropriate style adds to the
texture of the novel; an inappropriate style does just the opposite. Literary
fiction tends to lean toward complex sentences with original language.
Thrillers tend to use shorter, more efficient sentences, especially as the pace
quickens in the novel.
Of course, basic writing rules always
apply. Limit the use of adverbs when describing dialogue ("he said
angrily" should read, "he said"), avoid words that add
unnecessary emphasis ("he was a little tired" should read, "he
was tired," or "she was very thirsty," should read "she was
thirsty") avoid cliches (like, "It was a dark and stormy
night,") use words appropriately and with their proper meaning, make the
sentences clear and coherent, make them original without seeming to strain for
originality. And most important of all, "show" whenever possible,
don't "tell." In other words, don't write, "Max was angry."
Show me his anger instead. ("Staring into the fire, Max balled his hands
into fists. Not this, he thought, anything but this.")
References:
Burgess, Anthony. “Novel”. Uploaded:
2014, July 31. Downloaded: April 25, 2015 at 9.45 a.m.Available: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/421071/novel.
Hood, David. “Elements of Fiction: Character”. Downloaded: April 25, 2015 at 6.31
p.m. Available:https://davehood59.wordpress.com/2010/02/01/elements-of-fiction-2/.
Hood, David. “Elements of Fiction: Theme”. Downloaded: April 25,2015 at 7.21 p.m.
Available: https://davehood59.wordpress.com/2010/02/02/elements-of-fiction-3/.
Janovsky, Angela. “Setting in Literature: Definition, Importance & Examples”. Downloaded:
April 25, 2015 at 12.07 a.m. Available:http://study.com/academy/lesson/setting-in-literature-definition-importance-examples.html.
King,
Scorpion. “Definition and Elements of a Novel”. Uploaded: February 4, 2015.
Downloaded: April 27, 2015 at 6.08 p.m. Available: http://rafiq23.hubpages.com/hub/Definition-Elements-of-a-Novel.
Setiawan, M. Agus. “Pengertian Novel
dan Unsur-unsurnya”. Uploaded: 2012, May 22. Downloaded : April 25, 2015 at
9:27 a.m. Available: https://bocahsastra.wordpress.com/2012/05/22/pengertian-novel-dan-unsur-unsurnya/.
Sinkolongo, Michael. “The Elements of
a Novel”. Downloaded: April 25, 2015 at 11.11 a.m. Available:http://www.writing-lovers.com/elements_of_a_novel.html.
Sparks, Nicholas. “The Four Basic Elements Of Any
Novel”.
Downloaded: April 27, 2015 at 6.14 p.m. Available: https://www.autocrit.com/editing/library/the-four-basic-elements-of-any-novel/.
Unknown. “Oxford Dictionaries
Language Matters”. Downloaded: April 25, 2015 at 8.57 a.m. Available: http://www.oxforddictionaries.com/definition/english/novel.
Unknown. “Plot”. Downloaded:
April 25, 2015 at 10.45 a.m. Available: http://literarydevices.net/plot/.
Unknown. “Setting”. Downloaded:
April 25, 2015 at 12.27 a.m. Available:http://literarydevices.net/setting/.
Unknown. “Characterization”. Downloaded:
April 25, 2015 at 6.17 p.m. Available:http://literarydevices.net/characterization/.
No comments:
Post a Comment