Elements in Prose

The Elements of Prose Characters Setting Plot Point of view Theme Mood

Characters

Characters are the people or animals in the story. A story often describes the interaction of characters, including their relationships and the changes they undergo.

In the story you just read. The characters are Brian, his mom, Alex, Kenya, and Mike.

Setting

Setting is when and where the story

takes place. There are two settings in this story.

The first is Brian’s home and the second is art camp. The story takes place over the summer.

Plot

Plot is what happens in the story, or the sequence of events.

The plot of the story is Brian is worried about going to art camp. When he arrives, there is only one spot left for him to sit down. He meets three other kids at the table and they all start talking. Brian goes home knowing he has new friends.

Point of View

The point of view of the story relates to the person telling the story. Sometimes the narrator is a character in the story and tells the story. This type of narrator tells the story from a first-person point of view. Sometimes the narrator is not a character in the story and refers to the characters by name or as he or she. This type of narrator tells the story from a third-person point of view.

This story is written in third-person point of view because Brian is not telling the story. The narrator refers to Brian as he and the kids as they.

Theme

Theme is the lesson or message of a story. To identify the story’s message, look for clues in what the characters say and do, what happens as the result of their actions, and how the characters change.

In this story, the theme is new and scary situations can change to be very happy events.

Mood

The mood of a selection is the feeling the author creates using story details, the setting, and images.

The mood of this story starts off worrisome because Brian is nervous about not knowing anyone at art camp. But the mood changes by the end of the story when Brian is happy to meet three new friends.

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