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Narratives-cont.

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Character

The people (or actors) in the story plot.

They can be animals, people or anything

the author chooses.

Characterization?

The techniques an author uses to develop

the personality of a character in a literary

work.

The description of the personalities of the

characters in the story and the way in

which an author reveals their

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Types of Character

1. Protagonist

The main character in a story

Always involved in the main conflict and its

resolution.

2. Antagonist The person opposing the protagonist

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Describing Characters

Static Characters

- Characters that stay the same

throughout the story.

Dynamic Characters

- Characters that learn and change

something during the story.

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Flat Characters

- Characters with very few personality traits

described.

- Do not change much throughout the story

sometimes can be symbols of

stereotypes.

Round Characters

- Convincing and true-to-life characters.

- Have different personality traits.

- Undergo changes throughout the story.

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We learn about a character by examining 5

areas:

1. what he says

2. what he thinks

3. what he does

4. what is said about him by other charactersand the narrator

5. an author's direct statement

In character analysis, look at the character'sdialogue; his appearance; his actions; his

environment; his character type; what

motivates the character; is his motivation

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Theme

The main idea of a literary work, usuallyexpressed as a generalization.

When stating a theme, state the themein five words or less. Often it can be

stated in one word.

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the author's underlying meaning or

main idea that he is trying to convey.

The theme may be the author's

thoughts about a topic or view of human

nature.

The title of the short story usually points

to what the writer is saying and he may

use various figures of speech to

emphasize his theme, such as: symbol,allusion, simile, metaphor, hyperbole, or

irony.

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Style

The ways the author expresses himself

and conveys his ideas and centralpurpose.

Style is very personal - no two writing

styles are alike. In order to determine a writer's style, we

must look at the following areas:

i. Dictionii. Sentence Structure

iii. Point of View

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Diction - word choice. Word choice can beformal, informal, colloquial or slang.

Formal diction is usually found in academic

texts, academic papers and formal discourse. Informal diction is relaxed conversation and is

found in writing that has a lighter tone and is

sometimes humorous. Colloquial diction is the everyday usage of a

particular group. Example: In Cape Bretonpeople say "A bun of bread", "A sup of pop",

etc. Slang is defined as a newly coined word not

accepted for formal usage yet, and is usually

not found in the dictionary.

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Sentence structure -

Indicated by whether or not the sentencesare short, long, simple, compound,

complex, compound-complex.

Point of View -

The vantage point from which the authorpresents the action of the story. It is the

person telling the story: the narrator.

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Irony

some sort of discrepancy between whatis expected and what actually happens.

i. Verbal irony - the opposite is said fromwhat is really intended (sarcasm)

ii. Dramatic irony - a contrast betweenwhat a character says and what the

reader knows to be true.

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Symbolism

A literary symbol means somethingitself in the story but also suggests a

wealth of meaning beyond what it

actually is.

An object, a situation, and actions can

all be symbolic tools.

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Conflict

Essential to plot - without conflict there is

no plot.

Conflict is not merely limited to open

arguments, rather it is any form of

opposition that faces the main character.

Within a short story there may be only one

central struggle, or there may be one

dominant struggle with many minor ones.

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1. Internal - man versus himself

2. External - man versus man

man versus nature

man versus society

man versus unknown

man versus supernatural man versus time