Characterization: refers to a characters personality or the method by which the writer reveals this...

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iterary Terms & Story Elements

Transcript of Characterization: refers to a characters personality or the method by which the writer reveals this...

Literary Terms & Story Elements

CharacterCharacterization: refers to a

characters personality or the method by which the writer reveals this personality.Direct Characterization: the writer tells

you directly about the character. Indirect Characterization: the writer

lets you learn about the characters through their thoughts or through what other characters think about them.

Motivation: character’s reason or reasons for saying or doing something.

Character Character Traits: all of those qualities that

make a person unique.› Examples of common character traits:

Adventurous, friendly, loud, anxious, rude sad, evil, foolish, intelligent, lucky, stubborn, sweet, tired, honest, hopeful, curious, greedy, popular, young, worried, loving, confused, clumsy, lazy, ambitious, shy, loyal, silly, humorous, etc.

Write down at least five character traits that represent you.

Protagonist The principal or main character

around which a literary work usually revolves.

Examples:› Katniss from Hunger Games› Rapunzel from Tangled› Batman (any of the movies)

Antagonist The character who opposes the

central character, causing conflict.

Examples:› Mother Gothel from Tangled› Joker from The Dark Knight› Scar from The Lion King

Foil Character who contrasts

another character. Example:

› Edward and Jacob from Twilight

Point of View: the position of the narrator in relation to the story.

Perspective: Shaped by many factors, including his or her gender, age, cultural heritage, and personal experiences.

Empathy: Ability to put yourself in someone else’s shoes.

Point of View

First-person Narration: the story is told by one of the characters in it, with the character referring to himself or herself as “I.”

Third-person Narration: the narrator is a voice outside the story who refers to all the characters as he, she, or they.

Omniscient Narrator: When a third-person narrator is all-seeing and all-knowing. An omniscient narrator can tell us things

that the characters in the story do not know. This narrator can enter the minds of the characters, telling us what they think and feel and how they view events.

Point of View

The theme of a story is the general idea or insight into life that the story presents.

Theme

AbandonmentAmbitionAmerican

Dream, TheComing of AgeSurvivalCrueltyDeathEducationFamilyFate

FreedomGriefHeroismIdentityIllnessIndividual and

SocietyIsolationJusticeLoveNationalism

NatureOppressionPrideRaceRegretRejectionReligionViolenceSpiritualitySuccess

 

ThemeCommon themes found throughout literature:

Symbol A person, place, or thing that is

present as a representation of a larger meaning.

Your Turn: List as many symbols as you can in our daily lives.

Setting The location and time period

where the plot takes place.

Style The combined defining elements of

how language is used within a literary work, by an author, or as a category of expression.

Genre Various classifications of literary

works. Examples:

› Mystery› Comedy› Fantasy› Science Fiction› Drama› Romance

Dialogue The representation of conversation

within a literary work. Slang = informal language used by

particular group of people.

Allusion A reference to a famous person, place, or event.

The Bible is the most alluded piece of literature.

Figurative Language

Words that affect a meaning other than the usual or literal meaning of the words. (Simile, metaphor, personification, etc.)

Metaphor To compare similar things or ideas without using the words like or as.

Simile To compare different

things or ideas by using the words like or as.

Personification Attribution of human qualities to an

inanimate thing. Examples:

› The pen danced across the paper.› Opportunity was knocking at your door.› The wind howled.› Time creeps up on you.› The storm attacked the town.

Hyperbole Deliberate exaggeration to give

emphasis or focus. Examples:

› I’ve told you a million times› It was so cold I saw polar bears wearing

jackets.› I am so hungry I could eat a horse.› He is as skinny as a toothpick.

Foreshadowing

A feeling, object, or occurrence that forewarns of an event and which is only fully understood in hindsight.

Paradox A statement that initially seems to

contradict itself but, in fact, includes a fundamental truth.

Examples: › It was Bittersweet› Wise fool› The beginning of the end› Nobody goes to that restaurant because

it is too crowded.

Irony When the expected outcome differs

from what actually happens. Examples:

› Firehouse catching on fire› Tow truck getting towed› Dying in your living room› Getting hit by an ambulance

Idiom An expression that is clear only to

those who are familiar with the language of its origin; cannot be understood based on its literal meaning.

Examples:› Sick as a dog› Chip on your shoulder› Rub someone the wrong way

Pun The use of similar or identical sounding

words to create an alternate meaning to the sentence in which they are used.

Examples:› I’ve been to the dentist so many times, so I

know the drill.› I went to buy some camouflage pants

yesterday and couldn’t find any.› Being struck by lightning is a shocking

experience!

Oxymoron To combine two words with

contrasting meanings to convey a single idea or thought.

Examples:› Jumbo shrimp› Least favorite› Random order› Act naturally

Cliché An expression that has been used

too often that its meaning and impact are no longer effective.

Examples:› Opposites attract› All is fair in love and war› Read between the lines› What goes around comes around

Euphemism A polite word or phrase used in place

of an offensive or crude word or phrase.

Examples:› “Passed away” instead of “died”› “Correctional facility” instead of “jail”› “Between jobs” instead of

“unemployed”› “Flatulence” instead of “farts”

Onomatopoeia Words that imitate sounds. Examples:

› Zip, bang, boom, swoosh, splash, fizz, beep clap, buzz, drip, zoom, achoo, belch, etc.

Alliteration Repetition of the same sound

beginning several words in sequence.

Consonance The repetition of consonant

sounds within or at the end of words in a phrase or sentence.

Assonance The repetition of identical or similar

vowel sounds found within or at the end of words and phrases.

In this example by Carl Sandburg, in Early Moon, the long “o” sounds old or mysterious.

“Poetry is old, ancient, goes back far. It is among the oldest of living things. So old it is that no man knows how and why the first poems came.”

Imagery The use of figurative language to paint

a sensory picture for the reader. Example: “Daffodils” by William

WordsworthA host, of golden daffodils;

Beside the lake, beneath the trees,

Fluttering and dancing in the breeze.

Continuous as the stars that shine

And twinkle on the Milky Way

Plot Exposition — gives background on

setting and characters Complication — the problem or

challenge that main character(s) must resolve

Rising Action — emotion and conflict build as the character(s) deal(s) with complication(s)

Climax (or turning point) — the highest point of emotion; the complication is at its worst

Falling Action — the complication begins to move toward resolution

Resolution — the complication is resolved in some way

PlotTypes of Conflicts Internal

Mental or emotional struggle that occurs within a character.

ExternalStruggle that occurs between a character

and outside forcesPerson vs. person Person vs. nature Person vs. fate