Study tips for reading fiction

A story requires a narrator, someone who tells the story (not to be confused with the "real-life" author who wrote the story). He or she might play a part in the events, or be just an observer, more or less objective. This person will see things from a certain perspective, or point of view. He or she may be reliable, telling the truth, or unreliable, lacking in perspective or knowledge. Here is a list of some points of view:

1. 1st person narrator with the restricted point of view, perhaps an innocent or a naive narrator who fails to understand the implications of the events in the story. E.g. Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain; The Tell-Tale Heart by Edgar Allan Poe, Cathedral by Raymond Carver.
   
2. 3rd person omniscient narrator, all-knowing, who is able to see into the minds of all or some characters. E.g. The Story of an Hour by Kate Chopin, The Destructors by Graham Greene,  Good Country People by Flannery O'Connor.
   
3. 3rd person objective narrator, who is just an external observer, and who doesn't comment or interprets the events. E.g. Indian Camp by Ernest Hemingway.

Who is the the main and minor character in the story? Consider his/her appearance, family background, social class, marital status, etc. When you have established those you might want to look at how the author handles characterization?

1. Does the author describe the character directly?
   E.g. "she will stand hopelessly in corners, homely and ashamed of the burn scars down her arms and legs, eyeing her sister with a mixture of envy and awe." (from Everyday Use by Alice Walker, in Black Roses, ed. Juncker & Juncker, Kaleidoscope 1984)
   
2. Or is it through the conversation of the characters?
   E.g. ""The girls and I have fun," said Shirley, "we really do! Who needs money? The beach is free and the sun and the air, and the people are so wonderfully kind. Life is what you make it!" (from Oh Mary Don't You Cry Any More by Fay Weldon, in The Entrance, ed. Mulbjerg & Rosenvold, Systime 1989)
   
3. His or her actions?
   E.g. "When Clara Tilling was fifteen and a half she took off all her clothes one morning in school assembly." (from Clara's Day by Penelopy Lively, in The Entrance, ed. Mulbjerg & Rosenvold, Systime 1989)
   
4. Or combination of these methods?

Suggestions for further reading: First Confession by Frank O'Connor, in The Entrance, ed. Mulbjerg & Rosenvold, Systime 1989

The setting is the time and place of the story. To analyse the setting in a story you might find these questions relevant:

1. What is the time setting for the action? Period of history? Season? Time of day? How much time does the story cover; a few minutes or a lifetime?
   E.g. "Spring - warm, eager, restless - was there, waiting for him in the golden light, ready in front of everybody to run up, to blow in his white beard, to drag sweetly on his arm." (from An Ideal Family by Katherine Mansfield in Modern English Short Stories, ed. Bitter, The Macmillan Press, 1966)
   
2. Where does the story take place? In a house or on a street? In a city or in the coutryside?

Further suggestions for reading: The Man Who Loved Flowers by Stephen King in The Lift, ed. Børgensen, Bissenbakker, Gyldendal 1993