Characters — people and animals in a story. Examine each character for his or her own unique qualities, behavior, needs, and values.
Setting — the time and place of a story. What impact does it have on the plot of the story?
Plot — the series of events that happen in the story. Make sure you understand the most important events.
Theme — the idea or point of view expressed throughout. It unifies the work.
Conflict — the main struggle between opposing forces. The conflict can be (1) internal, i.e. within a character; (2) between two or more characters, or (3) between one or more characters and some force in the environment.
Climax — the final turning point in the story when the action changes course and begins to resolve itself. Sometimes the character may solve the problem in his or her mind.
Narrator — the person telling the story. Be alert to the tone of the narrator and how it influences your perception of the story.
Figures of Speech — expressions in which words are used to mean something other than what they usually do. For example, “Life is like a broken-winged bird that cannot fly.” This is a line from the Langston Hughes poem entitled “Dreams.” What is he trying to say about life?
Inferences — to read “between the lines.” An inference is a message that comes across but is not directly stated by the author. You must draw conclusions based on the information given. Writers of fiction often show what they mean while writers of non-fiction directly state what they mean
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