CHAP I. REVIEW OF LITERATURE

1. INTRODUCTION

                                       This chapter focuses on the review of literature. It aims at giving general information about the two aspects of literature that I have chosen to tackle.

I.1. LITERATURE ON PLOT

Plot   is comprised of a succession of events.

Plot is the arrangement of the writer of the events to dramatize a particular conflict. But according to Griffith, (1982:26), cited by MILENGE Dieudonné (2007:8), plot develops not only what happens in a story but also the sequence in which the incidences or events of the author are arranged.

I.1.1. Definition of key concept

                                 Pot is a set of event on which a story, plan, film etc is based. It also a pattern of carefully selected, causally related events that contains a conflicts (Kelley Griffith 1982:26), cited by Ombeni Kaharamba 2007:8).

According to “oxford advanced learner’s dictionary of current English”, plot is the series of events that form the story of a novel, play, film/ movie etc.

                                    Further more, the Germanic Celtic Gustav Freytag developed the theory on plot in 1963 cited by Ombeni kaharamba (2007:8). Freytag meant it by submitting five steps in developing plot, those steps should be: the unstable situation, rising action, climax, falling action and stable situation.

These steps are said in addition by German critic as follows:

• Unstable situation: this shows the plot setting in motion. the author exposes the nature

                                       Of the matter, he introduces the character,  he describes the       place and time followed by the historical background.

• An exposition: which is the background information about the characters and Setting? This sets the scene for the conflict that follows.
• The rising action: develops the conflict to the climax.
• The climax: which is the point of the highest interest, conflict or suspense in the Story? This is then followed by the following action.
• The following action: which shows what happens to the characters after the climax
• The stable situation: which is the end of the conflict? There is here the restoration of peace/ harmony that was lost in the unstable situation.

                                 Quoted from(analyzing literature)

The Freytag pyramid is represented as follows:

Regarding the all details given in this part of the chapter, one understands that the dominated point in plot is conflict  which may be described by respecting the succession of events so that  reader or the listener gets the point of the story or the or what is said in a narrative.

I.2. LITERATURE ON CHARACTERISATION

I.2.1 definition

                            Characterization is the study of characters in a work of art. It is also the process by which the author fashions the fictional figures.

That is the way that A writer makes characters in a book, play, film etc seem real, that is, the way in which somebody or something is described or defined.

The study of actions, reactions and interaction of characters within a work of art. It aims at revealing the personality traits of an individual character though his/ her description and his/her relationship with other characters.

I.2.2. strategies

To understand the  term” characterization”, it requires the grasp of its constituents such as characters, persons, animals or any  other creatures involved in the story, their manner of acting, reacting and interacting. as   for  characters, they are  presented in many different ways such as description of actions and reactions, thoughts, dealings etc,within a novel or any other literary work.

Hawthorn (1989) is   a scholar who written about characterization. He avails to the novelist the most important methods of characterization. His methods stress the comment of   the narrator or the relation between characters, i.e, the action, reaction, thoughts and feelings of the characters. Cited by MILENGE Dieudonné.

There is no common way of presenting characters because every written presents they the way he / she likes and therefore, no one is right to contraduct a way of presenting characters. The description of our characters will follow the pattern of physical, moral, intellectual and psychological features of each character.

                                      When discussing about characters, there is matter of complexity. The reason is that the author can sometimes in the novel develop many kinds of characters at the sometime.

Some of them are presented as human being, animals, things and others as moral, physical or psychological person.

                                      Moreover, he can even present the characters as super natural beings. Apart from this kinds of presenting characters as many writers suggest, description is according to us another manner of presenting the characters. By describing characters, the reader is facilitated to know what a character says and thinks about himself or herself. What the others or think about him or her.

                                      Kinds of characters

                                      Very many scholars have written theories on characterization. They have analysed characters and classified them following the importance they attribute to each of them. Uspensky (2007:8) classifies characters as central and subsidiary ones according to the role they play in a work of art.

He declares that “a central character” is the one who develops in complete individuality. He takes so active part in most of the narrative conflicts that he becomes a remarkable personality. As for “Subsidiary characters”, secondary or minor characters, they are not at top of the story as do the central characters. They help the central characters to reach their purposes.

                        Probably, a flat character never changes in the story from the beginning up to the end of the end of the story, a simple personality dominated by a simple quality or idea.  In other words, he is a static character whose actions and ideas do not change.

                        A round character is a complex personality. His actions and reactions go on changing as long as the action evolves. He changes from a state to another, creating different feelings into the reader. His actions and reactions are hard to predict character who fights for the benefit of his population/society but an Antagonist is that character who is considered as selfish or does not want the interest of the community, he is against the main character or the main protagonist.

                        Also, we can compare a heroic to a non heroic characters, a heroic is able to defeat any enemy and to fulfill whatever task whereas a non heroic character is weak, unable an coward.

            In this part of work, we distinguish the main characters from the subsidiary characters, the main characters are the ones on whom the story centers and subsidiary characters are the ones involved in the story, the simply help the main character.

I.3. PARTICAL CONCLUSION

            The chapter has dealt with the “Review of Literature on plot and characterization” which have been detached. Normally, these two elements are involved in the narrative. Plot deals with the succession of events withim different conflicts from the beginning up to the end of the story, whereas, characterisation in a narrative, with their actions, reactions and interaction, their behavior and ranks they occupy and the roles they play in it.