Literary Terms #1
Literary Terms #2
Literary Terms #3
Stories #1
Stories #2
100
The lesson, message, or moral of a story. You often can determine this by asking, What did I learn? Or What did the characters learn?
What is Theme?
100
Characters who are one dimensional and only reveal one or two personality traits.
Who are flat characters?
100
When the writer directly tells the reader about a character's personality trait. For example, "Jane is kind." Readers do not need to infer anything about the character's traits.
What is Direct Characterization?
100
Describe the setting of Gary Soto's "Seventh Grade" (a list is fine for the game). What can we infer about the setting based on clues in the story?
What is Fresno, California - middle school (7th grade) - homeroom, English class, lunch, French class - late summer/early fall - Mexican-American community - hot climate - Not wealthy area - bell and water fountain in school and picking grapes for school clothes
100
Who is the protagonist in "All Summer in a Day"? Who is the antagonist?
What is Margot (protagonist) The sun; William (antagonist)
200
The problem or struggle in the story.
What is conflict?
200
Characters who go through an internal change throughout the course of a story.
Who are dynamic characters?
200
Stereotypical characters that we see again and again in stories (including literature, TV shows, movies, etc.)
Who are stock characters?
200
Using one of the short stories as an example, explain what dialect is in a text. What can it reveal about a character's personality, as well as the setting of a story?
What is dialect is a regional way of speaking, which includes a character's accent and use of slang (word choice). Since we can learn about a character's traits by what he or she says, we can learn about a character's personality, social status, place where he or she is from, level of education, etc. Since dialect is a regional way of speaking, it can help readers infer where the story takes place. For example in "Thank You Ma'm," we could infer that the story took place in Harlem based on the dialect of Mrs. Jones and Roger (as well as the background information we learned about Langston Hughes).
200
What is the internal conflict in "The White Umbrella"?
What is the narrator is struggling with her own shame and embarrassment over her mother having to work.
300
The time and place (when and where) of a story.
What is Setting?
300
The main character in a story. This character undergoes some sort of conflict (internal or external).
Who is the protagonist?
300
Characters who are essential to the conflict and the development of the story (plot).
Who are major characters?
300
Describe one of the central conflicts in "All Summer in a Day." Is it an internal or external conflict?
What is Margot vs. William OR Margot vs. her homesickness/sadness over not seeing the sun. The first conflict is external (character v. character). The second can be viewed as internal (character v. self) or external (character v. nature).
300
Explain why Roger is a dynamic character in "Thank You Ma'm"
What is Roger is a dynamic character because he goes through an internal change during the course of the story. He begins the story as a boy who does not take the "right" path to get what he wants; through Mrs. Jones' kindness, Roger turns into a boy who wants to be trusted. Therefore, he changes his attitude during the story.
400
The sequence of related events in a story.
What is Plot?
400
The enemy or opponent who stands in the protagonist's way. The antagonist can be a character or an idea or feeling.
Who is the antagonist?
400
Characters with opposite traits who highlight something about another character.
Who are foil characters?
400
"All Summer in a Day" is a science fiction story. Give at least two reasons this story fits this genre. Consider what we know about the genre of science fiction.
What is the story is set in the future. While people cannot live on Venus, Bradbury used some elements of real science (what scientists knew about Venus at the time) with imaginative elements.
400
Describe the mood in "The White Umbrella" when the narrator does not want to go inside her music teacher's house when it's raining outside. Be able to explain why this is the mood.
What is the mood is anxious and tense. We know the narrator does not want to face the fact that her mother is working and is late because she is working. She is fighting with herself over this internal struggle.
500
The way the writer reveals the personality traits or characteristics of his or her characters.
What is Characterization?
500
Characters who have complex personalities and seem like real people.
Who are round characters?
500
When readers must infer the traits of a character through what the character says, thinks, his/her effect on others, his/her actions, and his/her looks (STEAL).
What is Indirect Characterization?
500
Explain Mr. Bueller's role in "Seventh Grade." Why is he so important to the development of the plot.
What is Mr. Bueller directly impacts the resolution of the story. If he revealed the truth about Victor's "French speaking," Teresa would most likely not show interest in Victor and as such, the story would end differently.
500
Explain why Mrs. Jones is a static character in Thank You Ma'm."
What is Mrs. Jones does not change throughout the story. She is firm, understanding, and motherly from the beginning of the story to the end. Because she does not go through an internal change, she is a static character.
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