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English 10-1

English 10-1 · Worksheets

Story and character

Ten questions of mixed difficulty, covering Story. Print it, or work through it on screen — the answer key starts on its own page.

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Story and character

English 10-1 · maddyhelps.com

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Circle the best answer for each question. Show your work in the space provided.

  1. The conflict of a story is

    1. a) the ending
    2. b) the narrator
    3. c) the setting
    4. d) the struggle that drives the plot

  2. A foil is a character who

    1. a) opposes the protagonist physically
    2. b) narrates
    3. c) contrasts with another and so highlights their qualities
    4. d) appears once

  3. A flashback most often functions to

    1. a) confuse the reader
    2. b) end the story
    3. c) slow the story down
    4. d) supply earlier information that explains present behaviour

  4. An internal conflict is a struggle

    1. a) against society
    2. b) against nature
    3. c) against another character
    4. d) within a character

  5. Indirect characterization reveals a character through

    1. a) a direct statement from the narrator
    2. b) action, speech and effect on others
    3. c) a physical description
    4. d) the title

  6. A story told in first person uses

    1. a) you, addressing the reader
    2. b) he and she, with access to every mind
    3. c) I and we, from inside one character's experience
    4. d) no pronouns

  7. The climax of a story is

    1. a) the last line
    2. b) the point of greatest tension, where the conflict turns
    3. c) the setting
    4. d) the opening

  8. Setting contributes most to a story when it

    1. a) is named early
    2. b) is described in detail
    3. c) shapes what the characters can do, believe or become
    4. d) is a real place

  9. A third-person limited narrator

    1. a) knows every character's thoughts
    2. b) is a character in the story
    3. c) follows one character's thoughts, using he or she
    4. d) knows no thoughts

  10. A dynamic character is one who

    1. a) appears in more scenes
    2. b) changes internally over the course of the story
    3. c) moves between settings
    4. d) speaks the most

Answer key · Story and character

English 10-1 · maddyhelps.com

  1. d) the struggle that drives the plot — Without a struggle there is no story, only a sequence of events. Naming the conflict precisely — who wants what, and what is in the way — is usually the fastest way into a text.
  2. c) contrasts with another and so highlights their qualities — A foil need not be an enemy — a cautious friend beside a reckless protagonist is one. The contrast is what makes the other character's qualities visible.
  3. d) supply earlier information that explains present behaviour — The useful question is why it appears <i>where</i> it appears. One placed just before a decision usually tells you what is really driving that decision.
  4. d) within a character — Character versus self covers doubt, guilt, temptation and divided loyalty. Many good stories run an internal and an external conflict at once.
  5. b) action, speech and effect on others — Showing rather than telling. It is also stronger evidence in an essay, because an action can be quoted and interpreted while a label can only be repeated.
  6. c) I and we, from inside one character's experience — First person gives immediacy and limits you to what that character knows, notices and will admit. Both the access and the limit are choices a writer makes.
  7. b) the point of greatest tension, where the conflict turns — The climax is where the outcome is decided, not where the action is loudest. A quiet decision can be the climax of a violent story.
  8. c) shapes what the characters can do, believe or become — Setting includes time, place and social conditions. If moving the story elsewhere would change nothing, the setting is scenery; if it would break the story, the setting is doing work.
  9. c) follows one character's thoughts, using he or she — It combines the outside view of third person with the restricted knowledge of first. Omniscient narration moves freely between minds; objective narration stays outside all of them.
  10. b) changes internally over the course of the story — The change has to be in understanding, values or self, not merely in circumstances. Showing what caused it is almost always a better paragraph than showing that it happened.