The Scheme of Story Analysis

                        1. Type of story    Is it a science fiction/crime/love/psychological story?

                         2. A brief account of events (5 sentences)

                          3. Plot     How are the events arranged?

What conflict is there at the core of the story?

What is the turning point?

Is the ending predictable/tidy/troubling/thought-provoking /surprising?

                           4. Setting           Give examples of some elements and their function.

                             5. Narration      Label the narrator and the effect created.

                              6. Description    How effective is the author’s language?

Does the writer employ any figures of speech/emotive words? What effect do they create?

                                   7. Characters     Categorize the characters (major/minor/static/dynamic/complex /simple).

How does the author reveal what his characters are like? Is it through their statements and thoughts/the opinion of other characters/their actions/their names, environment, or does the author say directly what the characters are like?

Does the author employ implicit or explicit characterization?

Give examples of some personality traits attributable to the characters and provide evidence from the text.

8. Message  and theme    

  Identify the theme of the story.

    Is it about love/friendship/parents’ love for their children/a person’s quest for happiness/bullying/sense of life/trials of life/     crime and punishment?

                                     What is the central idea of the story?

  What message does the author try to get across to the reader, in your opinion?