Figurative Language
A figure of speech in which an object or animal is given human feelings, thoughts, or attitudes
Personification
"I wanted to laugh. Who did he think he was, Lyndon Johnson? (Bodega Dreams)
allusion
A device in literature where an object represents an idea
symbol
Gonna live off the fatta of lan
Lennie
The perspective from which a story is told
point of view
A comparison using "like" or "as"
simile
“ They’re mammoth filing cabinets of human lives, like bees in a honeycomb, crowded and angry at paying rent for boxes that resemble prison cells.” (Bodega Dreams)
simile
A struggle between opposing forces
conflict
“I hope she'll be a fool -- that's the best thing a girl can be in this world, a beautiful little fool.”
Daisy
A narrative device that hints at coming events; often builds suspense or anxiety in the reader.
foreshadowing
A comparison that says one thing is another
metaphor
“So we beat on boats against the current borne back ceaselessly into the past” (The Great Gatsby”)
alliteration
external conflict
A struggle between a character and an outside force
And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.
Jordan Baker
The feeling or atmosphere that a writer creates for the reader
mood
An extreme exaggeration.
hyperbole
“The flame cracked up among the twigs and fell to work” (“Of Mice and Men”)
personification
Time and place that the story takes place
setting
My main mellow man
Sapo
A writer's attitude toward his or her subject
tone
A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, thing or idea of historical, cultural, literary or political significance.
allusion
“And I like large parties. They’re so intimate. At small parties there isn’t any privacy.”
― F. Scott Fitzgerald, The Great Gatsby
irony
A method of narration in which present action is temporarily interrupted so that the reader can witness past events
flashback
Someday the silver cord will break
Three shots
Central idea of a work of literature
theme