Writing about prose involves incorporating a great deal of yourself. A dozen different people could read the same novel or short work of fiction and gain different things from it. This is because so much of reading prose is how you relate it to your personal experiences, and what questions you derive from your reading. This individual viewpoint is what will be conveyed through your writing.

Plot, Character and Setting will be the most easily distinguishable elements in the work, giving you the general outline of what is going on in the story, but in order to understand the meaning of the story, you must be able to identify and understand the point of view, style and theme of the work.

Here are some elements to examine when writing about prose:

CHARACTER

1. Identify the protagonist - the major character at the center of the story; Remember that there can be more than one protagonist in the story.

2. Look for other types of characters and identify their function and importance in the story.
   • Minor character - provides support for and highlights the protagonist
   • Static character - a character who remains the same throughout a literary work
   • Dynamic character - a character who changes in some important way

3. Are the characters believable? Do they suggest real people or abstract qualities?

4. How does the author tell you about the main character? Is it through physical description, actions, thoughts and emotions or through contrast with a minor character?

5. Does the main character change in the course of the story? If so, how and why?

PLOT

1. Analyze the plot or arrangement of ideas that make up the story.

2. Look to see if there is any foreshadowing. Are any of the later events foretold by earlier events?

3. Does the climax indicate a change in a situation or change in a character?

POINT OF VIEW

1. Establish the point of view of the story:
   • 1st person - The narrator participates in the action but is sometimes limited in their insight or knowledge of other events.
   • 3rd person - The narrator is not identified; The narrator is someone on the outside looking in on the action.
   • Omniscient - An all-knowing narrator with many perspectives.
   • Limited Omniscient - A narrator who is all-knowing about only one character.

2. Analyze how the point of view shapes the theme of the story; Would the story change meaning if told from a different point of view?

SETTING

1. The setting provides the historical and cultural context for the characters.

2. The setting can often symbolize things within the story such as the character, plot or tone.

3. Identify how the setting influences the plot and the characters.

1. The style is the personal touch of the author because it reflects the authors diction and syntax (the words the author chooses and the order in which they are presented).

*Remember to always use the present tense when writing or talking about literature because the text exists now, regardless of when it was written or when you read it.