Literary Terms – Part 3
C. Short Story/Novel Terms
A short story is a fictional narrative. It is difficult to set forth the point at which a short story becomes a short novel (novelette), or the page number at which a novelette becomes a novel. Here are some examples which may help in determining which is which: Ernest Hemingway's "Big Two-Hearted River" is a short story; John Steinbeck's "Of Mice and Men" is a novelette; and Nathaniel Hawthorne's "The Scarlet Letter" is a novel.
1. Plot: - a series of events connected by cause and effect
A. Introduction/Exposition:
- introduces setting, characters and situation
B. Trigger Incident:
- action or decision that sets up the conflict/problem
Conflict
Conflict occurs when the protagonist is opposed by some person or force in the play. The conflict is not merely expressed as “person vs person.” In addition to this, the conflict must be described, as in the following examples:
· In Henry Ibsen's drama "An Enemy of the People" Dr. Thomas Stockmann's life is complicated by his finding that the public baths, a major source of income for the community, are polluted. In trying to close the baths, the doctor comes into conflict with those who profit from them, significantly, his own brother, the mayor of the town.
· In the film "Star Wars” Luke Skywalker learns that Princess Lea is being held prisoner by the evil Darth Vader. Luke Skywalker sets out to rescue her. In doing so, he becomes involved in the conflict between the empire and the rebels which Lea spoke of in her holograph message in the drama's exposition. Since Luke is the protgonist of "Star Wars," the conflict in the drama crystallizes to that between Luke and Darth Vader.
C. Rising Action:
- the part of the plot where the situation becomes more
complicated or exciting
- more obstacles to overcome
D. Climax / Crisis
- the point of highest emotion
- a crucial or decisive point or situation; a turning point
- a point in a story or drama when a conflict reaches its highest tension and must be resolved
E. Resolution:
- the part of a story or drama which occurs after the climax
- establishes a new norm, a new state of affairs-the way things are going to be from then on
- the resolution is the point at which the conflict is solved
- ties up loose ends
Terms to Know:
Episode
A portion of a narrative that relates an event or a series of connected events and forms a coherent story in itself; an incident: an episode in a picaresque novel.
Motif
A recurrent thematic element in an artistic or literary work.
Plant
• this is a story element that has been inserted earlier in the story with the intention of mentioning it again later in the story
• includes information woven into the plot for purpose of making later incidents in the story consistent and believable
• also useful for creating satisfying resolutions that have deeper meanings
2. Setting: the time and place of the story
The setting is the where and when of the story. It includes the following elements:
a) Geographical location
· the region of the universe in which the piece is set
· might include the country, region or city in which action occurs
b) Specific location
· the exact location of the action
· might include the room, the particular street corner, the part of the yard, the neighborhood, the store or the office where the story takes place
c) Temporal (time) location
· this can also be quite general or more specific
· can include the era, year, season, and date, time of the day in which the story takes place.
d) Mood and/or Atmosphere
· the general “feeling” of a literary work
· usually established at the beginning and is often closely related to the setting
Purposes of Setting
1. A place for the story to occur
2. Creates mood or atmosphere (the dominant tone or mood of a work of art) NOTE: It is unlikely that an author would set:
· a romantic story in a graveyard on a cold, dark, windy night, or
· a scary story in a peaceful, sun dappled porch in spring.
3. May be essential to the plot
4. May be symbolic or contain symbols
Terms to Know:
Pathetic Fallacy
The attribution of human emotions or characteristics to inanimate objects or to nature; for example, angry clouds; a cruel wind.
3. Character: a person (or any thing endowed with a personality) in a story
Characters can be described as major or minor; central or secondary. Any of these may be:
1. Static: - does not change or grow, may be two-dimensional or flat
2. Dynamic: -changes, grows, matures in some way as a result of experiences
Terms to Know:
Character
A person, or any thing presented as a person, e. g., a spirit, object, animal, or natural force, in a literary work. In a cartoon scene, firemen may be putting out a fire which a coyote has deliberately started, while a hydrant observes the scene fearfully. The firemen, the coyote and the hydrant would all be considered characters in the story. If a billowy figure complete with eyes, nose, and mouth representing the wind thwarts the efforts of the firemen, the wind, too, qualifies as a character. Animals who figure importantly in movies of live drama are considered characters. Mr. Ed, Lassie, and Tarzan's monkey Cheetah are examples.
Characterization
The method a writer uses to reveal the personality of a character in a literary work. This can be done directly or indirectly:
1. Direct: - the narrator tells the reader the character’s traits (ie. “Sue is generous.”)
2. Indirect: - the narrator shows the reader the character’s traits by
a. his/her words b. his/her actions c. his/her appearance d. the reactions/opinions of others (ie. “Sue always shared her money with others.”)
Character Trait
An adjective that describes a character’s personality (not appearance), e.g. honest, untrustworthy, fearful, encouraging.
Character Foil
A character in a play who sets off the main character or other characters by comparison. In Shakespeare's Hamlet, Hamlet and Laertes are young men who behave very differently. While Hamlet delays in carrying out his mission to avenge the death of his father, Laertes is quick and bold in his challenge of the king over the death of his father. Much can be learned about each by comparing and contrasting the actions of the two.
Archetype
In Jungian psychology, an inherited pattern of thought or symbolic imagery derived from the past collective experience and present in the individual unconscious. See Popular Culture examples at http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/ArchetypalCharacter.
Antagonist
A person or force which opposes the protagonist in a literary work. In Stephen Vincent Benet's "The Devil and Daniel Webster," Mr. Scratch is Daniel Webster's antagonst at the trial of Jabez Stone. The cold, in Jack London's "To Build a Fire" is the antagonist which defeats the man on the trail.
Protagonist
The hero or central character of a literary work. In accomplishing his or her objective, the protagonist is hindered by some opposing force either human (one of Batman's antagonists is The Joker), animal (Moby Dick is Captain Ahab's antagonist in Herman Melville's "Moby Dick"), or natural (the sea is the antagonist which must be overcome by Captain Bligh in Nordhoff and Hall's "Men Against the Sea," the second book in the trilogy which includes "Mutiny on the Bounty").
4. Style: the language the author uses in writing the story
Terms to Know:
Diction: - word choice / the vocabulary used
- denotative (the literal meaning) and connotative (the emotional associations of the word)
- consider the level of usage: formal, informal, colloquial, slang (NOTE: Colloquialism is writing that contains words or phrases that are characteristic of or appropriate to the spoken language or writing that seeks the effect of speech; informal (also see p.13 in Student Booklet).
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Sensory Imagery - the five senses: sight, smell, sound, touch and taste
Use of Figurative Language or Literary Devices:
See handout on Figurative Language
Sentence Structure (arrangement of words):
See p. 22 in Student Booklet and notes on Sentence Structure
Adoption of Language to appeal to the audience: You should consider:
- The author’s assumptions about the kind of audience s/he is addressing (eg. The scientific community, young people, a television audience) will be revealed by the author’s diction and level of usage.
- The way in which the author established a relationship with his audience through the use of tone, persona and voice.
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Manipulation of time: You may wish to consider the author’s use of flashbacks or other alterations of chronological development.
Flashback : A reference to an event which took place prior to the beginning of a story or play. In Ernest Hemingway's The Snows of Kilamanjaro, the protagonist, Harry Street, has been injured on a hunt in Africa. Dying, his mind becomes preoccupied with incidents in his past. In a flashback Street remembers one of his wartime comrades dying painfully on barbed wire on a battlefield in Spain.
Foreshadowing: A method used to build suspense by providing hints of what is to come. The hints must be fairly specific in order to be considered foreshadowing.
Method of presenting material to the audience: Consider whether the author explains the relationship between each point, or presents information or images and leaves the reader to deduce a relationship.
Style of the period in which the author wrote: e.g. Early Renaissance style is quite different from the style author’s use today.
Genre in which the author has chosen to write: tragedy, comedy, fantasy, romance, satire. Has the author decided to write a novel, a play, a lyric poem, an expository essay? Is the style the writer has chosen appropriate to that particular genre? Has the writer fulfilled the reader’s expectations with regard to the appropriateness of the style, or has s/he chosen to experiment?
5. Point of View: the way in which the narrator tells the story
Terms to Know:
Narrative
An account, report, or story, as of events, experiences, etc. The part of a literary work that relates events.
Narrative Voice
Narrative voice is another name for the persona telling the story. Someone needs to let the reader know that John tripped over his cat as he darted out the door, that the dark clouds were roiling like eddies in the sky, that Sarah’s heart pounded in her chest when her handsome neighbor smiled at her, or that the policeman drew his gun.
It isn’t so much what is said…as how. This sets the tone. The two spoken words, ‘Come here,’ could depict completely different meanings depending on who speaks them and how. A stern father commanding his miscreant son to step forward has a completely different tone than a young man asking his sweetheart to ‘Come here,’ so he can show her an engagement ring and ask her to marry him. Notice that the narrative voice of this definition differs from the tone used in the other definitions? (Also see p.25 of Student Booklet.)
Persona
A voice or character representing the speaker in a literary work.
Pathos (note, in comparing “No Great Misheif” and Madly love story – which works?
This is a quality of a work of literature that serves to arouse feelings of pity, sympathy, tenderness, or sorrow in the audience.
Unreliable Narrator
An imaginary storyteller or character who describes what he witnesses accurately, but misinterpets those events because of faulty perception, personal bias, or limited understanding. Often the writer or poet creating such an unreliable narrator leaves clues so that readers will perceive the unreliablity and question the interpretations offered. Examples of unreliable narrators arguably include the character of Forest Gump in the movie of the same name.
A humorous definition: The person telling you the story is a patent liar. His facts contradict each other. If you ask him to go back a bit and retell it, the events come out a little differently. It is like dealing with a used car salesman. You still want to hear the story because, buried somewhere under all the BS, is an actual car you might want to buy. In there, somewhere, is the real story.
Narrative Point of View – Continued
= the narrator = the world of the story
= a character = cannot read the character’s thoughts
= can read the character’s thoughts
Type
/ Diagram / CharacteristicsFirst Person / First Person Major – the story is told from the point of view of the protagonist
First Person Minor – the story is told from the point of view of a secondary character / - the narrator is inside the world of the story
- the narrator cannot tell the thoughts and feelings of others
- the narrator can be in only one place at a time
- the narrator refers to him/herself as “I” - encourages the reader to sympathize with the narrator
- gets the reader involved
- may have bias, only one character’s point of view