Literary Terms
The universal truth or life lesson that readers take away from a story and can apply to their own lives.
Theme
This is an action or event that destabilizes the initial situation and opens up a major conflict.
Inciting incident
A very interesting or captivating opening line to an essay that draws the readers in.
Hook
This character is viewed as the greatest antagonist of the novel.
Bob Ewell
This character said, "...’t’s morbid, watching a poor devil on trial for his life. Look at all those folks, it’s like a Roman carnival"
Miss Maudie
This is a unified group of lines in a poem, often indicated by spacing.
Stanza
When the author uses an object to reference a deeper meaning in the story.
Symbolism
Commonly known as the turning point, this is the moment of greatest intensity; this is also the moment when the fate of the characters is decided.
Climax
The writer’s main claim in an essay that clearly and concisely answers the prompt or question.
Thesis
The novel is written in this point of view.
First Person
This character said, "It’s like bein’ a caterpillar in a cocoon…like somethin’ asleep wrapped up in a warm place. I always thought Maycomb folks were the best folks in the world, least that’s what they seemed like"
Jem
This poetic device is the repetition of vowel sounds in a text.
Assonance
This is how the author feels toward the subject they are writing about.
Tone
This is where all of the “loose ends” are tied and the primary conflict is resolved.
Resolution
A sentence or two that follows a quote, explaining how that piece of evidence supports a writer’s claim.
Reasoning
This scene is considered to be the climax of the novel; the turning point for the main characters.
The evening when Scout and Jem are attacked by Bob Ewell and saved by Arthur "Boo" Radley.
This character said, "The thing is, you can scrub Walter Cunningham till he shines, you can put him in shoes and a new suit, but he’ll never be like Jem"
Aunt Alexandra
This device is a reference to a famous person, place, or event in history.
Allusion
This is a character who heavily contrasts with another character; typically, a character who contrasts with the protagonist, in order to better highlight or differentiate certain qualities of the protagonist
Foil
This is where complications intensify and the seriousness of the main conflict is heightened or made even worse.
Rising action
The opposing side of an argument or position that the writer states in order to prove why it is weaker than their side of the argument or position.
Counterclaim
This character helped Jem learn that real courage is not just a man with a gun in his hand.
Mrs. Dubose
This character said, "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view…until you climb into his skin and walk around in it"
Atticus
This is the measured arrangement of beats or sounds in a poem.
Meter
This is a character who undergoes some important and significant change during the course of the story; they are very different from the beginning compared to the end.
Dynamic
The new and stable situation that gives readers a sense of closure.
Conclusion
A direct quotation from another source that writers use in their essays to help support their claims.
Evidence
This is the main life lesson that Atticus attempts to teach Scout and Jem throughout the novel.
You never really know a person until "you walk around in their skin" or consider things from their perspective
This character said, "...I never figured out how Atticus knew I was listening, and it was not until many years later that I realized he wanted me to hear every word he said"
Scout
This device is used when a thought in one verse ends abruptly without punctuation and continues onto the next line.
Enjambment