Literary Devices 1
Odysseus telling the story of his journey from Troy to Calypso's island, and the narrative moves to the past.
Flashback: When the story's narrative moves to the past.
When the child was introduced in "The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelas" as the surprising moment intended to shock the reader and change the course of the narrative.
Plot Twist: A shocking moment in the story intended to shock the reader and change the course of the story.
"Fear the frenzy of the frightening faithful."
Alliteration: The repetition of initial consonant sounds between two or more words in a sentence.
“Dr. Mengele was holding a list: numbers. He nodded to the Blockalteste. We can begin! As if this were a game.”
Simile: Comparing two different things using like or as.
Comparing selection to a sports game.
A. What fact determines who the protagonist of a story is more than any other?
B. What fact determines who the MAIN antagonist of a story is more than any other?
A. Protagonist: The main character of a story, determined by the character whose perspective the audience gets the most.
B. (Main) Antagonist: The character who offers the greatest opposition and challenge to the protagonist.
A. Many modern-day things being references to well-known events/people in the Odyssey (Starbucks logo = sirens, calling men pigs = Circe's magic, Ajax cleaning brand = the warrior Ajax, Bermuda triangle = Charybdis monster, etc.)
B. What type of ____________ is this?
A. Allusions: References to a well-known person, place, event, literary work, or work of art from the past.
B. Classical Allusion: Reference to a literary classic such as Greek mythology.
The famous inscription inside the One Ring from Lord of the Rings:
"One Ring to rule them all, one ring to find them, one ring to bring them all, and in the darkness bind them."
Parallel Structure: Repetition of similar grammatical words or phrases in writing to reinforce a larger idea.
Eliezer's Blockalteste was Alphonse, a German Jew, who was tasked with holding order within his bunk.
Oxymoron: Two contradictory words or ideas next to another.
"The air felt bitter, cold...lifeless, even - and I could hear the echoes of the damned as the taste of life drained from all sensation."
Imagery: Writing that makes an especially strong appeal to the five senses (sight, sound, taste, touch, smell).
The opening section of the Prince of Egypt that plays with the song "Deliver Us" is separated from the rest of the plot but sets up all important information, character, conflict, etc. for the entire story. This section of a story is known as the _____________.
A. Prologue: The opening section of a story that is separate from the rest of the narrative, to help set the stage for the main plot, characters, setting, and conflict of the story; often taking place even before the exposition/introduction.
Rainsford's beliefs about how little he cares of the feelings of prey hinting towards Rainsford becoming the prey later in the story in Zaroff's game.
Foreshadowing: Directly or indirectly hinting at something that will happen later in the story.
Eliezer placing the "heaven" of the sky above next to the "hell" in the concentration camp, to contrast the sharp differences in life's circumstances.
Juxtaposition: Placing two contrasting or opposite things next to one another to highlight an important difference or meaning.
The Tsurya roofing tiles banding together and bracing the elements against the weather, nature. etc.
Personification: Giving life-like characteristics and behaviors to non-life-like things/objects.
"You.. you.. you..." They (Nazis) pointed their fingers (at the Jewish slaves) the way one might choose cattle, or merchandise.
Metaphor: Comparing two different things NOT using like or as; directly or indirectly stating a person or thing is something else.
Comparing Jews to animals/merchandise.
The "siblings to enemies" plot device is a favorite of many people, sitting at the heart of beloved stories like Prince of Egypt, Fox and the Hound, The Lion King, Thor and Loki from MCU, etc.
Trope: A common (sometimes cliche) plot device used throughout many stories.
The concept of faith being used repeatedly throughout Night to point towards one of the story's main themes.
Motif: A repeated single main idea in a story that points towards a theme; the actual “thing” that repeats in parallelism.
A. Rameses oppressing and villainizing slaves throughout the entirety of the Prince of Egypt, then surprisingly becoming the biggest "slave" by the end of the story as a slave to his family/culture's traditions.
B. What subtype of _________ is this?
A. Irony: Something happens that goes against previous expectations in an amusing or surprising way.
B. Situational - Poetic Justice: Goodness is rewarded, or evil is punished, in a poetic and fitting way. (slave master ironically becoming the story's biggest slave)
"You only get lucky and find money on the ground somewhere once in a blue moon."
Idiom: A common figurative phrase or expression with a true meaning that differs from the phrase's literal meaning.
"Never shall I ever, even were the sun to die and all the years of life were utterly spent, forgive thy lowly kind..."
Hyperbole: Exaggerations to provoke strong emotion, create humor, or to make a point.
Eliezer faced with the difficult choice of staying in Auschwitz and putting his father at risk, or evacuating with the death marches on an infected foot.
Dilemma: A difficult choice between two different options in a situation/circumstance.
Eliezer leaving his father behind in Buchenwald, just like Rabbi Elihau's son leaving his father behind in the death marches; the repetition of sons leaving their fathers behind in the story
Parallelism: Repeated moments in a story that leads to important character developments or themes.
Moses giving Rameses his ring back, to represent his way of saying his bond with his brother is now broken.
Symbolism: Simple things or actions in stories that represent more complex and significant ideas.
A pregnant lady walks up, who already has 3 other young children ages 1-3.
"Are are these children yours? Goodness me, you have been productive lately..."
Euphemism: A nicer way of saying something, instead of saying something more harsh or sensitive; aka sugarcoating.
"The houses and possessions all belonged to everyone since they belonged to no one."
Paradox: A statement that seems to contradict itself, and seems both true and false at the same time.
"Yea, this way we can kill two stones with one bird."
"Artificial food sucks, orgasmic food is where it's at."
"I may lose the war, but I've won this battle."
"As they say, one door opens, and another one closes."
Malapropism: The unintentional – and usually humorous - use of mistaking a word or phrase that sounds like another word, or similar in concept.