The list is relatively endless, but being able to categorize a narrative is vital because once the reader can categorize the narrative, they automatically know what to expect. This is called narrative expectation . For instance, if you are watching a movie and a giant robot appears to fight the evil Emperor Ming, then you will probably expect the story to be science fiction. Each genre has expectations about characters, plot, setting, imagery, and theme. The best example of flouting expectations comes in humor and satire where stock characters act in ways that are not expected.
Characters are the people who are involved in the action of the narrative.
Characters may also be animals or non-animate objects that the author anthromorphizes. If the characters are to be realistic and lifelike, the author must describe their actions, thoughts, words, and what others think of them. Each author creates each character to serve as a symbol of some belief, world view, or group. As such, it is important to question what the author is trying to say by their portrayal of each character. For instance, when an author introduces a Step-mother we know, from the narratives we have heard all our lives, that she is going to be evil.