G.C.E.O/L Literature - The Novel -Introduction

The Novel

Before we start the discussion on the novel "The Vendor of Sweets" we must find out what  a novel is

Novel

Definition

 

A lengthy fictional narrative in prose dealing with

characters
 incidents
and
settings

that imitate those found in real life

 

Usually the novel is concerned with the depiction of
middle class and working class characters
engaged in ordinary pursuits.

Novels vary in

 Type

 Form

 and

Subject matter 

so much that it is difficult to put the novel into a neat classification.   

Elements of the novel  

Setting

Plot

Character and Characterization

Methods of Characterization  

Theme/s 

Point of View 

Setting

"The general locale, time in history or social milieu, where the action of a work of literature takes place. When the setting is used as a dominant influence on the lives of characters it is said to give local colour to the narrative. Local colour or regionalism can be noticed in the manners and customs of the characters as well as in creating a unique and picturesque background.” 

Plot

"The careful arrangement by an author of incident in a narrative to achieve a desired effect. Plot is more than simply the series of happenings in a literary work. It is the result of the writer's deliberate selecting of interrelated actions (what happens) and choice of arrangements (the order of happening) in presenting and resolving a conflict" 
 
Character and Characterization

 A person in a literary work is like a person in real life, a literary character's

 personal qualities and actions are limited by his/her function in the story 

whether the character seems designed to fit the plot or the plot is derived

 from the character

 

Character

At the center of the plot is the hero, or protagonist. The hero is usually an

admirable figure. An exception is the anti-hero, an inept or otherwise

ridiculous character, who is presented sympathetically, The plot follows 

what happens to the hero and is determined by the hero's character in conflict

 with the antihero who is usually less admirable than the hero.

 

 Characterization

“The method by which an author creates the appearance and

 personality of imaginary persons and reveal their characters.”

 Characterization is the ability to bring the people of his/her imagination to life

 for the reader. It is judged one of the most important attributes of a writer of 

fiction. Successful characterization is also crucial to the development of a 

narrative, since the events that move the story forward are strongly influenced 

by the natures of the persons involved.

Point of view

First person point of view 

In the first person point of view, the author tells the events through a 

character who refers to himself as ‘I’. Such a narrator generally plays a

 major role in the action. 
 

The events are recounted as he/she experiences them or remembers them or

 reflects about them. Sometimes a first person narration can have multiple

 narrators, each of whom recounts his/ her own story. 

Third person narratives

Third person narratives are of two types

 omniscient
and
limited

Omniscient point of view
 
The omniscient narrator, adopts the point of view of an all knowing narrator

 who is able to recount the action thoroughly and reliably as well as to enter the

 mind of the character in the work at any time in order to reveal his or her 

thoughts feelings and beliefs directly to the reader. 

Limited point of view

In the limited point of view, the story is revealed through the eyes of a

single character. The reader has access to the inner thoughts and feelings of

 only one character and receives the story as that character understands and

 experiences it, although not in the character’s own voice. Such a narrator is

 generally an observer of the action or a participant in it

 

Second person point of view

 

Second person point of view is very rare. There the narrator would address a ‘you.’