1. Plot.
The plot is the story line; it is what happens in the story. You should not try to cover every incident
that occurs. Some events are more
important than others. Part of the
assessment here will involve you’re recognizing the more important events in
the story, and distinguishing them from those that are less important.
2. Character. Who are the main characters in the
story? What are they like—describe their
personalities and how the kinds of people they are shape the story. How does the author tell us (action? speech?
how others act around them?) about them.
3. Setting. The term refers to the time and place of a
story. In some stories, setting is very
important; in others, it doesn’t matter much at all. Part of the assessment will depend on whether
or not you consider setting in your story important, and how accurate your
perception is.
Theme or meaning. These are the most important things to
consider in your presentation—what points or ideas is the story trying to
explore? What is it trying to say about
what is sometimes called the “human condition”?
What do the characters, or (for that matter), what does the reader,
learn over the course of the story? When
considering theme, you often need to include reference to a variety of literary
techniques, such as symbols and imagery, irony, humor, style of language,
etc. I realize these instructions are a
little vague. That’s because I want you
to try to think through the story for yourselves, rather than simply
approaching the story in a check-the-boxes, fill-in-the-blanks kind of
way.
