Questions about the Elements of Fiction * Expectations: What do you expect? * From the title? From the first sentence or paragraph? * After the first events or interactions of characters? * As the conflict is resolved? * What happens in the story? * Do the characters or situation change from the beginning to end? * Can you summarize the plot? Is it a recognizable kind or genre of story? * How is the story narrated? * Is the narrator identified as a character? * Is it narrated in the past or present tense? * Is it narrated in the first, second, or third person? * Do you know what every character is thinking, or only some characters, or none? * Who are the characters? * Who is the protagonist(s) (hero, heroine)? * Who is the antagonist(s) (villain, opponent, and obstacle)? * Who are the other characters? What is their role in the story? * Do your expectation change with those of the characters, or do you know more or less than each of the characters? * What is the setting of the story? * What is the time of the story? Is it contemporary or set in the past? * Where does it take place? Is it in the United States or another country, or in a specific town or region? * Does the story move from one setting to another? Does it move in one direction only or back and forth in time and place? * What do your notice about how the story is written? * What is the style of prose? Are the sentences and the vocabulary simple or complex? * Are there any images or figures of speech? * What is the tone or mood? Does the reader feel sad, amused, worried, and curious? * What does the story mean? Can you express its theme or themes? * Answers to these big questions may be found in many instances in your answers to the