Lesson 29 — Activity 1: Plot, Conflict, and Setting

Before proceeding with this activity, please read the first 10 pages of your novel. Remember to think about the strategies you can use as you read.

In the previous lesson, you learned the basics about the elements of a novel: plot, setting, characters, point of view, and theme of the story.

This lesson's activities will focus on these elements. Let's begin with plot and setting.

PLOT:

Depending on the length of a story, within the first few pages, the reader has been introduced to the main character and the problem with which he or she is faced.

Can you identify the main character and the issue he or she is facing in the novel you are reading? Remember, though, your ideas may change as you read further, especially in more complex novels. The diagram below illustrates how a plot is developed. You will examine plot in more depth after you have finished your novel.

Do you remember reading or listening to the fairy tale “Cinderella” when you were younger?

In that fairy tale, the plot diagram could look like this:

CONFLICT:

A story always presents a character who is involved in a conflict that must be resolved. Remember the main character is called the protagonist, and the person, environment, or force with which the main character is in conflict is called the antagonist.

There are different types of conflict:

Man versus Man:

This involves the main character battling with another character. In “Cinderella,” Cinderella went up against her wicked stepmother.

This does not always have to be good versus evil. It could be a situation where two athletes compete with each other to win a race. It could be two young men in love with the same woman. Sometimes the main character may even be an animal.

Man versus Society:

This involves the struggle between characters and the outside world in which they live. This could be a character who does not fit in, or a character who goes against the beliefs, rules, or traditions of others.

Man versus the Environment:

This involves a character in conflict with his or her surroundings. This could be on a mountainside, in a war-torn country, within an urban community, or even within one’s own home.

Man versus Self:

This usually means that a character has to overcome something within him- or herself. It may be facing a fear, accepting responsibility for one’s actions, or understanding the importance of healthy relationships, just to identify a few.

Conflicts can be external or internal:

Man versus man, man versus the environment, and man versus society involve external conflicts.

Man versus self involves an internal conflict in which a character changes due to learning something about him- or herself. Remember, this may actually occur as a result of one of the external conflicts.

Here’s an example:

A boy who is lost in the wild will be involved in a conflict with his environment. If the story is just how he survives his ordeal, then the conflict is an external one. This would change, however, if before his ordeal, he had been in a conflict with his parents and had left home. If, as a result of his experience in the wilderness, he came to a new appreciation of family, then the conflict is an internal one.

SETTING:

Where the story is taking place and possibly when has also been revealed by now. As you read further, you will come to realize whether or not setting is important to this particular story or whether it is universal.

Reflect on your ideas about this at this point in the novel. Is it set in one of the world’s conflict zones? Whether or not it occurs during the day or under cover of darkness may or may not be important.

Image courtesy of www.pixabay.com

Continue to read your chosen novel. Read to between page 75 and 100 before beginning the next activity, which is on character.

While reading, begin the Vocabulary Activity:

As you read the first half of the novel, list words that are unfamiliar but are interesting and worth learning. Look for at least 10 words and remember to note their page numbers. You may use the Vocabulary Log to record your words.

When you finish reading the first half of the novel, choose five of the words from the list and do the following:

1.Write a dictionary definition providing the meaning of the word as it is used in the novel.

2. Select an image or draw a picture that shows the meaning of the word.

When you have completed this part of the vocabulary work, do the following:

1. If you typed your work into the Vocabulary Log above, save the document so that you can return to it to complete additional work in an upcoming activity.

2. If you printed out the document and completed it by handwriting, or used a separate piece of paper to compile your list, keep it with your Language Arts materials so you can return to it to complete additional work in an upcoming activity.

Journal Entry #7

Think about the setting in your novel. In your journal, draw a picture of a setting from the book so far. Then, write a list of words and phrases to describe the setting.