Argument
A doctor argues that people should exercise regularly because it prevents heart disease. Which rhetorical appeal is implicit due to their position?
What is ethos?
"Her heart was as cold as ice." is an example of this poetic device.
What is a simile?
In a dystopian novel, this is a tool that authors use to show readers what's wrong with a society — it can be an object, color, or action that represents a bigger idea.
What is a symbol?
This signpost is when an author ask a big question in the book but never directly answer it.
Tough Question
A literary and theatrical device where the audience or reader knows crucial information that the characters in a play, movie, or book do not.
What is dramatic irony
An advertisement shows a crying child and says "Help us save hungry children in Africa." Which rhetorical appeal is being used to persuade viewers to donate?
What is pathos?
"The wind whispered through the trees / The leaves danced in the breeze" is an example of this poetic device.
What is personification?
In dystopian novels, characters often respond to power in different ways. Name two different ways a character might respond to an unjust rule or authority figure.
What is submit to it, exert it, resist it, or seek it?
Words of the Wiser most usually point to what in a story?
What is theme?
a narrative device used by authors to plant subtle clues, warnings, or hints about events that will occur later in a story.
What is foreshadowing?
An author argues for stricter gun control laws. To strengthen her argument, she acknowledges: "Some people believe the Second Amendment protects individual gun ownership, but research shows countries with stricter gun laws have fewer gun deaths." What rhetorical strategy is she using?
What is a counterargument?
The fog comes / on little cat feet / and sits looking / over harbor and city." — Carl Sandburg. What poetic device is used and what does it help the reader imagine?
What is personification, and it makes readers see the fog as a living creature moving quietly and mysterious?
What element of Dystopian fiction directly affects the choices characters make and who they become?
What is that the (harsh) setting, rules or conditions?
This signpost shows a shift in the character's perspective, actions, or thinking.
What is an Aha Moment?
A literary device where the author plants false clues to purposely mislead the audience.
A student argues: "we should have later school start times because studies show teenagers perform better academically when they get more sleep." What rhetorical device is the student using?
Shakespeare wrote: "All the world’s a stage, And all the men and women merely players." What type of figurative language is used here?
What is a metaphor?
In "Perfect Match," the app promises to find your soulmate through algorithms and data. What real trend in society is the author criticizing through this dystopian technology?
What is our over-reliance on technology, or the belief that data can control human relationships?
A character says "I hate my job" but works late every night and volunteers for extra projects. This is an example of which Signpost?
What are Contrasts and Contradictions?
a storyteller—typically in a first-person narrative—whose credibility is compromised, providing an audience with inaccurate, biased, or distorted information.
What is an unreliable narrator?
A politician argues: "My opponent wants to ban cars, which would destroy the economy and leave people unable to get to work." But the opponent never said to ban cars — they only suggested stricter emissions standards. What logical fallacy has the politician committed?
What is a straw man argument?
"Hope is the thing with feathers" — Emily Dickinson. What poetic device is being used here?
What is a metaphor?
In "There Will Come Soft Rains," the automated house continues to function perfectly even after nuclear war destroys all human life. What theme does this bleak setting reveal about technology?
What is that technology is indifferent to humanity — it serves its function regardless of whether humans exist to benefit from it?
The Again and Again signpost is a reading strategy that occurs when a word, phrase, object, or situation repeats, signaling a likely deeper meaning-- and it is also known as a. . .
What is a motif?
"Lamb to the Slaughter" by Roald Dahl, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson, and "The Monkey's Paw" by WW Jacobs all rely heavily on this literary device to create a twist in their stories.
What is situational irony?