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Literary Term Quiz Review Sheet

Staying Fat for Sarah Byrnes

Literary Terms:

idiomhyperbolemetaphorsimileparadoxoxymoronallusion

Part 1: Match the literary terms with their definitions.

  1. ______a direct comparison that does use like or as.
  2. ______a reference to a famous book, movie, person, event, or idea in order to build background knowledge for the reader.
  3. ______an extreme exaggeration.
  4. ______two contrasting or opposite words placed side by side for effect.
  5. ______a commonly used phrase or expression whose meaning does not match the definitions of the actual words.
  6. ______a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth
  7. ______a direct comparison that does not use like or as.

Part 2:Commonly used literary terms. Identify the literary term used in the examples below.

  1. ______It’s not over until the fat lady sings.
  2. ______Nobody goes to that restaurant; it's too crowded.

10. ______I tried a thousand times.

11. ______The baby is as cute as a button.

12. ______Christy didn't like to spend money. She was no Scrooge, but she seldom purchased anything except the bare necessities'.

Part 3: Find the literary term in the passage below. Identify it. Explain what it means and then explain the effect of it. There may be more than one literary term that applies to each passage.

Passage / Literary Term(s) / Meaning / Effect
Mom glares, looking genuinely stunned.
“You were ruining my romance intentionally.” Carver nods again.
All this time I thought he was Cream of Wheat. No Way. This guy is Grape Nuts. / Allusion & Metaphor / Using an allusion and metaphor, Carver is compared to two boxes of cereal: Cream of Wheat and Grape Nuts. / This is the point at which Moby develops more respect for Carver, his mom’s boyfriend. All this time, Moby saw Carver as boring and flat like a box of Cream of Wheat. Instead, he was like a box of Grape Nuts because he effectively tricked Moby’s mom into dating him by getting rid of her previous boyfriend. The Grape Nuts reference alludes to the fact that Moby finds Carver “crazy” in a humorous fashion.
“Something’s up and you know what it is , young Calhoune...”
Then Virgil Byrnes was gone. The staff didn’t leave Sarah Byrnes and me alone long enough for any conversation after that, and I have a feeling she would have remained a statue (168).
Dale Thornton is still nota guy I want on my bad side…
Ellerby leans back into his customized bucket seat as I step out. “What if he kills you?”
“What if he kills you?”
“If you are sure I’m dead, drive away (183).