Literary Terms
CONFLICT
Conflict Definition: the problem, issue or struggle in a story that triggers the action Protagonist versus MAJOR PROBLEM Other obstacles: conflicts EXTERNAL CONFLICTS - Person vs. person - Person vs. society - Person vs. nature - Person vs. Fate INTERNAL CONFLICTS - Person vs. self
Conflict Improv 1. Choose a conflict from the box. 2. With your group, create a brief improv skit. Your improv must have a beginning, a peak and a resolution.
Freytag s Triangle Climax Rising Action Falling action/ Denouement Exposition Resolution
Conflict Review What type of conflict is portrayed in each of the following examples?
CHARACTERIZATION Authors can describe characters in two major ways. Direct Indirect
Direct Characterization The author tells us directly what the character is like. Frank was a fun-loving guy who enjoyed baseball and synchronized swimming, but never had the courage to try either of these events himself.
Indirect Characterization Indirect is when the author uses other means besides description to SHOW a character. These means include: Appearance Actions Speech Private thoughts Reactions of others
Characterization in Puerto Vallarta Find an example of direct characterization. Find an example of indirect characterization. Is this direct or indirect characterization? He would glance at his watch as though tracking events somewhere else (316).
Characterization exercise
Character Types FLAT characters, known as 2-D characters, generally do not develop during the course of the story. Also known as static characters. ROUNDED characters, known as 3-D characters, develop and grow as the story progresses. Also known as dynamic characters. STOCK characters are stereotypes, pulled off the shelf. Think of the jock, the nerd, the evil stepmother.
Characterization Exit Quiz Write your name on the slip of paper. For each of the three following examples, write whether direct or indirect characterization is used. 1. Thank God, she [her mother] cried. I thought you d been robbed or something (311). 2. Her father told jokes and chose restaurants, whatever people wanted. He was Master of Ceremonies (311). 3. Ellen smiled at him. She felt as though some force were acting on her, making her breathless and dizzy (321).
Heartache What is one example of indirect characterization in this story? Is there any direct characterization? What is the conflict in this story? What type of conflict is it?
Setting Definition: The time and place in which the events of the narrative occur What is the setting of Heartache? Turn to a partner and describe it.
Imagery Definition: The sensory details appealing to the five senses Find 3 quotations from the text (of 1-6 words each) that create imagery. How does this imagery affect your reading of the story?
Figurative Language Metaphor: an implied comparison between two unlike things Simile: an explicit comparison between two unlike things, often using like or as Personification: a figure of speech in which human characteristics are assigned to nonhuman beings.
STRUCTURE Look at how you outlined this story. Compare it to a neighbor. Do any patterns emerge?
Irony Definition: The contrast between what appears to be and what really is. (NOT coincidence)
Verbal Irony: art of using words to say one thing and mean another (sarcasm, for example) What a brilliant essay!
Dramatic Irony::when the reader or spectator knows more than the characters do (horror movies)irony
Situational Irony: a contrast between what is expected or intended and what actually happens
Where is the irony in Heartache?
Theme Definition: the main idea or underlying meaning of a literary work A theme gives some idea or insight about human life and human nature that gives meaning to the story. What does the story reveal to its readers? (NOT the moral) What is the story s message about human life or human nature?
Theme practice What do we learn in each of these stories about humans or human nature?
The Hunger Games
Beauty and the Beast
Other stories What was the theme of Heartache? What was the theme of Puerto Vallarta?
What about Foster?
Symbol Definition: a word, phrase, or object in a work of literature which signifies something beyond itself.
Passage Analysis The last graveyard flowers were blooming, and their smell drifted across the cotton field and through every room of our house, speaking softly the names of our dead. What story is this from? How does the author use personification in this passage?
Come down to the well with me, she says. Now? Does now not suit you? Something about the way she says this makes me wonder if it s something that we are not supposed to do. Is this a secret? What? I mean, am I not supposed to tell? She turns me around, to face her. I have not really looked into her eyes until now. Her eyes are dark blue, pebbled with other blues. In this light she has a moustache. There are no secrets in this house, do you hear? What story is this from? What is the CONTEXT of this passage? ( This is when Who is in the scene? Where are they? What has happened or is about to happen?) Describe either the author s use of irony or foreshadowing in this passage.
It was too late to turn back, for we had both wandered too far into a net of expectations and had left no crumbs behind. What story is this from? How does the author use metaphor in this passage? How does the author use allusion?
Allusion Definition: A literary reference to a familiar person, place, thing, event, or other story Example: It was too late to turn back, for we had both wandered too far into a net of expectations and had left no crumbs behind. Leaving crumbs behind = allusion to the crumbs of Hansel and Gretel