Boot Camp A.P. Literature

Part 4: Symbolism, Irony, and Satire

Symbolism Definition: Literary devices

developed from the connections that real-life people make between their own existence and particular objects, places, or occurrences through either experience or reading. (Roberts & Jacobs 393)

Symbols = specific details (creates a meaningful connection between an object, scene, character, or action and ideas, values, persons, or ways of life)

Allegories = stories or parts of stories that have a second meaning beneath the surface that gives added significance Biblical Greek Heroic cycle

Purpose and Types Purpose = compression that expands

meaning Types of Symbols

Cultural = universally recognized (water in Foster)

Contextual = only applies in individual works (the white whale in Moby Dick)

How do I know it’s a symbol? How much importance does the

author give it? emphasis repetition position

Meaning must be established and supported by the entire context of the story. Symbol has its meaning in the story, not outside it.

Item must suggest a meaning different in kind from its literal meaning.

It may have multiple meanings. Example: Kite, tree, etc. in Kite

Runner

Mr. Sato’s Symbolism Video https://

www.youtube.com/watch?v=69A6xyXGC-M

Symbol PromptChoose one symbol from your selected story, discuss its meaning, and how understanding this symbol impacts your understanding of the work as a whole.

You might want to focus on how it impacts characterization, setting, or theme.

You may choose to write about “Araby,” OR “A Rose for Miss Emily,” OR “Miss Brill” OR Where are you going, Where have you been?”

Irony & Satire Irony

Definition: A contradiction or incongruity between appearance or expectation and reality.

Purposes of Irony (Effects) To convey a truth about

human experience Allows the author to

achieve compression. (Suggest complex meanings without stating them.)

Achieves its effects through misdirection.

Methods of Irony Verbal Irony = a figure of

speech in which the speaker says the opposite of what he or she intends to say. (Simplest form) Sarcasm = designed to hurt,

ridicule Dramatic Irony = the

contrast is between what a character says or thinks and what the reader knows to be true. (Conveys truth about the character or character’s expectations.)

Situational = the discrepancy is between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment, or between what is and what would seem appropriate.

Where have we seen Irony? “Where are You Going, Where Have you

Been?” “A Rose for Miss Emily” Other common novels or stories?

Satire

Definition: A literary genre that uses irony, wit, and sometimes sarcasm to expose humanity’s vices and foibles, giving impetus to change or reform through ridicule. Jonathon Swift Oscar Wilde

Swift and Wilde were two famous satirists who took aim at British society. Swift’s “A Modest Proposal” pointed out the heartlessness England’s social policies in Ireland, while Wilde wrote about the emptiness of high society in works such as “The Importance of Being Earnest”.

Don’t the miss effects

Mr. Sato on Satire

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PuvjDK3mpA0

Where have we seen satire? “Where are You Going, Where Have you

Been?” “A Rose for Miss Emily” Other common novels?

Where have we seen satire? TV? Movies?

Effect of Irony Analysis On your own sheet of paper:

Make a t-graph (minimum of 5 entries) Left side: Ironic Quotes Right side: Explanation—how ironic? Your choice—either story (and/or both!)

Write a thesis on the effect of irony in the story. Use the symbolism analysis structure.