Elements of Fiction –

Setting and POV

Quarter I – Week 6
 Objectives

1. Identify the various elements, techniques, and

literary devices in various modes of fiction (Setting
and POV)

2. Write short compositions exploring key elements of

fiction (Setting and POV)
 Setting the Game
Time
Genre Place
 Setting

specific place, time

period, and weather and
time of day in which the
story takes place.
 01
Fundamental Elements
Enter a subtitle here if you need it
 Locale Talisay City is in Negros
This relates to broad categories Occidental. It is
such as a country, state, region, sandwiched between two
big cities, Bacolod and
city, and town, as well as to more Silay. It is the intersection
specific locales, such as a of two rivers, Matab-ang
and Minuluan. My whole
neighborhood, street, house or life I lived in between. In
school. Other locales can include between what I love and
what I need to do.
shorelines, islands, farms, rural
areas, etc.
 Time of Year Every year, the end of
The time of year is richly evocative and November 8
influential in fiction. Time of year lazy and golden, invites
grief and regret:
includes the seasons, but also suddenly it’s 2013, strong
encompasses holidays, such as Christmas, thunders and lightning
New Year’s Eve, and Halloween. buffets us,
Significant dates can also be used, such as winds strike like cruelty’
and water rises sinking our
the anniversary of a death of a homes. Somehow
character or real person, or the memories of the Bagyong
anniversary of a battle, such as the EDSA Yolanda filled our hearts.
People Power.
 Time of Day And finally the sun rose,
filling the sky with shades
of orange and pink. Peach
Scenes need to play out during and magenta, amber and
various times or periods during a rose, radiating hope, a new
day or night, such as dawn or dusk. beginning. Another chance
to live. The start of a brand
Readers have clear associations new day.
with different periods of the day,
making an easy way to create a
visual orientation in a scene.
 “I drummed my fingers against the steering
wheel and waited for the commercial on the
radio the end. When it did, a familiar melody
drifted from the speakers.
Elapsed Time ‘Don’t you dare walk away from me, Anna.’
The minutes, hours, days, weeks, and
months a story encompasses must be I was sixteen, and my father had just learned
somehow accounted for or the that I hadn’t spent the night at Cara’s house as
reader will feel confused and the he’d believed. His footsteps pounded on the floor
story will suffer from a lack of behind me. I hastened up the stairs and
authenticity. While scenes unfold slammed my bedroom door in his face, turning
moment by moment, there is also the lock before he could force his way in.
time to account for between scenes,
when a flashback is inserted, and His words turned vile as he beat the door with
when a character travels a long his fists. When I could stand it no longer, I turned
distance. up the volume on my record player until the
music drowned out his swearing, wiping tears
from my eyes as surely as I did now, seventeen
years later.”
 Climate
Climate is linked to the geography and
topography of a place, and, as in our
When Mary left for work the next
real world, can influence events and morning, the sky was as dark as
people. Ocean currents, prevailing winds slate and the icy north wind was
and air masses, latitude, altitude, blowing the rain straight into her
mountains, land masses, and large bodies face.
of water all influence climate. It’s
especially important when you write
about a real setting to understand
climatic influences. Harsh climates can
make for grim lives, while tropical
climates can create more carefree
lifestyles.
 Geography
It’s not often you get to see a
This refers to specific aspects of water, sunrise-gold beach. That was our
landforms, ecosystems, and topography in privilege as we gazed out at the
your setting. Geography also includes slothful sea. Ebbing ever so gently, it
climate, soil, plants, trees, rocks and looked at peace in its jade-green
minerals, and soils. Geography can create gown. It felt like we were walking on
a carpet of candy floss, such was its
obvious influences in a story like a softness. The golden sand swept
mountain a character must climb, a around in a scythe of beach,
swift-running river he must cross, or a hemmed in by towering dunes. Far
boreal forest he must traverse to reach out to sea, rivers of pulsing light
safety. No matter where a story is set, saturated the sea with gold. Only the
whether it’s a mountain village in the occasional tourist walked past us.
Ifugao or an opulent resort on the There was an absence of sun-
blasted bodies in this Babylon of
Boracay coast, the natural world with beaches
all its geographic variations and
influences must permeate the story.
 Man-made Geography
There are few corners of the planet that have not
been influenced by the hand of humankind. It is in our The bridges were sheets of
man-made influences that our creativity and the metal made bumpy with the
destructiveness of civilization can be seen. Readers rivets, visually at odds with the
want visual evidence in a story world, and man-made countryside that rolled. There
geography is easily included to provide it. With this in was something unsettling about
mind, make certain that your stories contain proof of them, almost military, and when
the many footprints that people have left in its the convoy crossed over it was
setting. Use the influences of humankind on geography with a colossal roar of engine
to lend authenticity to stories set in a real or amid the diesel fumes that
famous locale. These landmarks include dams, bridges, choked.
ports, towns and cities, monuments, burial grounds,
cemeteries, and famous buildings. Consider too the
influences of mankind using the land, and the effects of
mines, deforestation, agriculture, irrigation,
vineyards, cattle grazing, and coffee plantations.
 Eras of Historical Importance
We were headed home to Boni Ave cruising through EDSA
when we met the guy shouting out in his megaphone: “We
need vehicles to barricade Ortigas Avenue – the tanks are
coming! They are coming! “ When we reached the EDSA-
Ortigas corner, there was no vehicle in sight yet – I
Important events, wars, remember asking my husband if the AUV we borrowed
had any war insurance rider and he said it didn’t matter
or historical periods anymore – we had to be there on the barricade line, the
linked to the plot and first and only one!

theme might include the I was so scared – I needed to pee, the waiters at Tropical
Hut were closing up but I asked them to let me use their
People Power, World War toilet just for a minute. It seemed like the longest pee-
II, or Spanish minute I ever had – still shaking, I went out expecting to
see the lonely red tamaraw in that huge corner. But I
Colonization. couldn’t anymore see the borrowed vehicle – there was a
ten-deep formation of all kinds of vehicles, huge and tiny,
old and new, luxury and all-utility! It was a sea of vehicles
– and as I craned my neck to look for my husband, we
heard the roaring of tanks coming.
 Social/political/cultural environment.
I remember the growing student and social unrest in the
streets of Manila before the declaration of Martial law, the
first quarter storm was raging. We would be caught in the
Cultural, political, and rallies and demonstrations as our school was in the heart
of Manila and witnessed the crackdowns, with policemen
social influences can firing their guns or bludgeoning demonstrators with their
truncheons in an attempt to stop the “unrest”. One other
range widely and affect vivid memory I have is that of the Plaza Miranda bombing.
characters in many ways. That day, I happened to be in Quiapo on my way home
from school. People were massing in the Plaza, a popular
The social era of a story site for political rallies and gatherings. A miting de avance
of the Liberal Party to announce their candidates for
often influences elections was set to take place. The square was jam-
characters’ values, packed. The narrow streets leading in and out of the
square tight with people. The atmosphere tense. Sensing
social and family roles, that it would not be good to get caught in a rally with no
way to escape if things got out of hand, I worked my way
and sensibilities. out. Later, I heard about the Plaza Miranda bombing which
injured practically all who were present.
 Population

Some places are densely

populated, such as
Manila, while others are
lonely places with only a
few hardy souls. Your
stories need a specific, yet
varied population that
accurately reflects the
place
 Ancestral Influences

In many regions of the Philippines, the

ancestral influences of Spain are
prominent. The cities of Vigan, Cebu, and
Pampanga are populated with distinctive
groups influenced by their Spanish and
American captors. Ancestral influences
can be depicted in cuisine, dialogue,
values, attitudes, and general outlook.
 02
Functions of Setting
According to Jack Hodgins
 Generic:
The setting is without unique
features, implying that the
story could happen anywhere.
The problem with this is that
all real places have their own
cultural and physical
characteristics and these
characteristics influence
characters. A generic setting
will not seem real and may
actually detract from the
story.
 Backdrop

The setting merely provides

us with a way of knowing
where we are and, though
it may have unique
characteristics, it does not
affect the characters or
action. It is a place, but it
doesn't do anything
 Local Color
The story is flavoured by
attention to the unique
details of the setting,
which may give the
impression that the story
could not have happened
anywhere else. The writer
may be tempted to make the
setting entertaining
without really giving it
any significance.
 Atmosphere/Mood

Setting can be used to set

the mood or atmosphere
for the whole story or
novel. In addition, the
settings of individual scenes
may reflect the state of
mind of the characters
 Affects Action and Character
Characters are more real
if they have a historical
and geographical context;
the place where a person
grew up will affect their
attitudes and behavior for
their whole lives.
For example, someone raised
in a big city will think and
act differently from
someone raised in a tiny
rural village
One example of this is inPlace
the oldas Character
"man
versus nature" plot, where the main
struggles the protagonist faces are
with the environment. In this
situation, the setting itself is the
antagonist. In stories of this sort,
changing elements of the setting would
change the entire story. Can you
imagine a story about a woman's
struggle to climb a mountain unaided
being set on the prairies? That story
wouldn't work without a mountain,
and so the mountain becomes a central
character. The story's plot, then, is
largely determined by its setting.
 03
Point of View
 Point of view
is an element of fiction. The fiction writer uses point of view to
determine who is telling the story. The person who tells the
story is the narrator. But the narrator can have different
points of view. Sometimes the main character tells the story,
speaking in the first person “I.” Other times an observer to the
events tells the story, and also speaks in the first person “I.”
Often the narrator is a non-participant to the story. The
narrator views the story from a vantage point outside the
story, speaking in the third person “he” or “she.”
Types of Point of View
 First Person It’s this detail, the untucked
• the author disappears into one of the characters, who blouse forming a ducktail, that
brings me back to myself.
tells the story in the first person, in the "I" (the "I" must “Prim!” The strangled cry comes
also exist outside of dialogue) out of my throat, and my muscles
• this character may be either a major or minor begin to move again. “Prim!”
character, or observer (bystander), and it will make I don’t need to shove through the
considerable difference whether the protagonist tells crowd. The other kids make way
the story or someone else tells it immediately allowing me a
straight path to the stage. I reach
• pros: it offers, sometimes, a gain in immediacy and reality her just as she is about to mount
since the author as intermediary is eliminated; it also the steps. With one sweep of my
offers excellent opportunities for dramatic irony and arm, I push her behind me.
for studies in limited or blunted human perceptivity
• cons: it offers no opportunity for direct interpretation “I volunteer!” I gasp. “I volunteer
by the author; there is constant danger that the as tribute!”
- The Hunger Games,
narrator may be made to transcend his/her sensitivity, Suzanne Collins
knowledge, or powers of language in telling the story
 Second Person
• They want to immerse the reader in
the experience of "being" the
protagonist. YOU walk into the bookstore and you
• They want to engage the reader in an keep your hand on the door to make sure
it doesn’t slam. You smile, embarrassed
extremely rich sensory experience, to be a nice girl, and your nails are bare
which can best be accomplished by and your V-neck sweater is beige and it’s
forcing the reader to imagine himself impossible to know if you’re wearing a
bra but I don’t think that you are. You’re
as part of the experience. so clean that you’re dirty and you murmur
• They want to write a particularly your first word to me—hello—when most
persuasive or engaging passage that people would just pass by, but not you, in
your loose pink jeans, a pink spun from
will be most effectively written in the Charlotte’s Web and where did you come
second-person from?
• They want to try a new and different - You, Caroline Kepnes
style of writing.
•
Third Person – Omniscient
the author or narrator tells the
story, using the third person (he, she,
they) “Margaret, the eldest of the four, was
• s/he knows all and is free to tell us sixteen, and very pretty, being plump and
anything, including what the fair, with large eyes, plenty of soft brown
characters are thinking or feeling, and hair, a sweet mouth, and white hands, of
interpret their behavior (reveal why which she was rather vain. Fifteen-year-
old Jo was very tall, thin, and brown, and
they do what they do) reminded one of a colt … Elizabeth, or
• the omniscient point of view is the most Beth, as everyone called her, was a rosy,
flexible and permits the widest scope; smooth-haired, bright-eyed girl of
skillfully used, it enables the author thirteen, with a shy manner, a timid voice,
to achieve simultaneous breadth and and a peaceful expression, which was
depth seldom disturbed … “
- Little Women, Louisa Mae Alcott
• the omniscient point of view is most
subject to abuse; unskillfully used, it
can destroy the illusion of reality that
the story attempts to create.
• the author tells the story, using the third
person, BUT Third Person – Limited
• he/she limits her/himself to a complete
knowledge of one character in the story and
tells us only what that one character “Harry had taken up his place at wizard
school, where he and his scar were
thinks, feels, sees, or hears: the author famous … but now the school year was
places her/himself at the elbow of this one over, and he was back with the Dursleys
character, so to speak, and looks at the for the summer, back to being treated like
events of the story through his/her eyes and a dog that had rolled in something smelly
through his/her mind; the author moves … The Dursleys hadn’t even
both inside and outside this character but remembered that today happened to be
Harry’s twelfth birthday. Of course, his
never leaves her/his side; and the author hopes hadn’t been high?”
may interpret the character's thoughts and - Harry Potter and the Chamber of
behavior. Secrets, J.K. Rowling
• the author knows everything about the
character—more than the character
knows about her/himself—but author shows
no knowledge of what other characters are
thinking, feeling, or doing except for what
the chosen character knows or infers
 Third Person – Objective/Dramatic
• author disappears into a kind of roving
sound camera that can go anywhere but can A thick-set man’s still, naked body lies on
record only what is seen or heard slate tiles in a dim bathroom, blood
• the author tells the story, using the third pooling around his head. A nearby
person, but limits him/herself to reporting window opens onto a narrow balcony.
what the characters say or do The angled turn of a key in the bathroom
door shows it is locked from inside. A
• cannot comment, interpret, or enter a
woman carrying a letter approaches the
character's mind: the author is not there to apartment’s front door. She knocks
explain twice; listens. After a minute she slides
• pros: quick and action packed, forces the letter under the door, walks away
readers to make their own interpretations holding her head down. She turns to look
• cons: must rely heavily on external action over each shoulder from time to time.
and dialogue, offers no opportunities for
interpretation by the author (may be pro,
too), forces readers to make their own
interpretations
 Task 4: Changing Points of View

1. This is a passage from Treasure Island by Robert Louis

Stevenson. It is a story about Jim Hawkins, a boy in the 1700s.
Jim has found part of a treasure map. He with some men from
his town, have hired a ship to find the treasure. Some of the
sailors on the ship, like Long John Silver, may be dangerous.
The passage is a first-person narration, from Jim’s point of
view. Rewrite the passage changing it to a third person
narration. Be sure to use your own words. You may use a
separate sheet of paper.
1. Now, just after sundown, when all my work was over and I was on my way to
my berth, it occurred to me that I should like an apple. I ran on deck. The
watch was all forward looking out for the island. The man at the helm was
watching the luff of the sail and whistling away gently to himself, and that
was the only sound excepting the swish of the sea against the bows and
around the sides of the ship.

2. In I got bodily into the apple barrel, and found there was scarce an apple
left; but, sitting down there in the dark, what with the sound of the waters
and the rocking movement of the ship, I had either fallen asleep, or was on
the point of doing so, when a heavy man sat down with rather a clash close
by. The barrel shook as he leaned his shoulders against it, and I was just
about to jump up when the man began to speak. It was Silver’s voice, and,
before I had heard a dozen words, I would not have shown myself for all the
world, but lay there, trembling and listening, in the extreme of fear and
curiosity; for from these dozen words I understood that the lives of all the
honest men aboard depended upon me alone.
Write Shop #6
I. Writing Trauma
1. Create a character in your mind and ask for his earliest
childhood memory. Hear him speak to you and write his
answer in first person. Did he experience a childhood trauma?
Was his entire childhood filled with trauma? What happened
in childhood that is too painful to admit? What belief did he
carry into adulthood from his childhood? What sort of
childhood did he have? Who were his friends? Have him tell
you about them and write everything down. Write your
answer in a separate sheet of paper. It can be in an interview
or a narrative format.
II. Setting your Memory
1. Describe the setting using a few specific details from the POV
of each of your major characters. How does each character
feel about (or within) the setting? Use the characters you
mentioned in Writing Trauma.
2. You may follow the template below.
Character Feelings in the Setting (Write in
Descriptive Sentence form)
Jim Jim felt fear when he heard the
gunshot coming from outside his
dark room. He held his blanket
tightly praying that he would not be
seen under the mess of blanket and
pillows.
Rubric for Writing Trauma and Setting Worksheet
Exemplary 10 Proficient 8 Emerging 6 Incomplete 4
Ideas -Identifies & describes all of -Describes one or two -Tries to mention one -Does not mention
interviewee's childhood interviewee's childhood on incident about interviewee's college
required topics required topics interviewee's childhood experience and
-Lively describes the -Provides general -Has two or less connection to coming of
character and setting examples to describe descriptions of the age.
-Interviewee's perspective character and setting interviewee's character -Does not describe the
demonstrates a unique -Clear statements about and setting interviewee's character
person affected by the the interviewee's stance -Unclear statements about and unclear setting
setting and the affect to the the interviewee's views -Does not develop
setting and effect of the setting. interviewee's standpoint.
Structure -Specific genre structure -General command of -Some structure the -Incorrect genre
that has a sequence. language with minor relates to the genre. structure.
-Uses effective transitions errors. -Moderate structure. -Illogical structure.
to guide the reader. -Use transitions to clearly -Mixed point of view. -Inconsistent point of
-Consistent point of view. guide the reader. view.
-Mostly consistent point of
view.
Use of -Embeds direct/indirect -Incorporates three or -One or more quotations. -Does not insert
Language quotations. more direct & indirect -Some grammar and quotations in narrative.
-Displays advanced quotations. convention errors that -Has many grammar and
command of language with -Proficient command of interrupt the writing. convention errors.
no spelling errors. conventions & spelling
that do not interrupt the
writing.
Total