Literary Elements

Point-of-View

100

What are the three basic types of Point-of-View?

1st Person, 2nd Person, and 3rd Person.

200

1. What is it called when the characters speak? 2. What is it called when the narrator speaks?

1. Dialogue 2. Narration

300

What are the three different kinds of Third Person Narrative?

1. Omniscient (knows everything about everyone) 2. Limited (knows everything about only one person) 3. Objective (only knows what characters say and do)

400

What style of narration is used in the selection below, and how do you know: The huge man dropped his blankets and flung himself down and drank from the surface of the green pool. The small man stepped behind him. "Lennie!" he said sharply. "Lennie, for God’s sake don’t drink so much." Lennie continued to snort into the pool. The small man leaned over and shook him by the shoulder. "Lennie, you gonna be sick like you was last night." Lennie dipped his whole head under, hat and all... "Tha’s good," he said. "You drink some, George." He smiled happily.

This is Third Person Objective because the narration only tells us what the characters say and what they do.

500

What kind of narration is used below, and how do you know: They were standing under a tree, each with an arm round the other's neck, and Alice knew which was which in a moment, because one of them had "DUM" embroidered on his collar, and the other "DEE." "I suppose they've each got "TWEEDLE" round at the back of the collar," she said to herself. They stood so still that she quite forgot they were alive, and she was just looking round to see if the word "TWEEDLE" was written at the back of each collar, when she was startled by a voice coming from the one marked "DUM."

This is Third Person Limited, because we only know what Alice is thinking and feeling.

Character Types

100

What are the two main types of characters in a story?

1. Protagonist 2. Antagonist

200

There are four character descriptions that every character in a story could be called. Each of these comes in a pair. What are these pairs?

1. Static vs. Dynamic 2. Flat vs. Round

300

What is the difference between a Dynamic character and a Round character?

A Dynamic character changes and grows during the story. A Round character has complex emotions and is a realistic character.

400

What is the difference between a Static character and a Flat character?

A Flat character is no depth and is not very realistic. A Static character has no growth in the story and does not change.

500

In "The Most Dangerous Game", Rainsford has a friend on the yacht named Whitney. Is Whitney a protagonist or an antagonist?

Neither. Whitney is a sidekick character, like Ivan; Rainsford is the protagonist and Zaroff is the antagonist.

Story Structure

100

What shape is most commonly used for story structure charts?

A pyramid.

200

What three extra Literary Elements are required for a good story?

1. Setting 2. Plot 3. Conflict

300

How many 'steps' are there in the Story Structure?

There are seven.

400

What are all seven steps of the Story Structure, in the correct order?

1. Exposition 2. Inciting Incident 3. Rising Action 4. Climax 5. Falling Action 6. Moment of Final Suspense 7. Resolution

500

One of the tips for identifying a story's structure is to find the climax of the story. How do you recognize the climax of that story -- which part is it?

The climax of a story is usually *not* the most exciting part of the story. It is when the characters finally have what they need to deal with the main conflict.

Theme

100

What is 'theme' in a story?

A theme is what the story is really about. It's the author's message, the thing they want you to know. It's the moral of the story -- the connection to the 'Real World'.

200

Themes usually relate to 'Big Parts' of people's lives. Name at least one possible 'Big Part'.

Possible Answers: Responsibility, Love, Loss, Family, Friendship, Ambition

300

Themes focus on 'Big Topics', and 'Big Topics' are a single word like "Love" or "Ambition". Are themes also a single word? Include an example.

No, themes are full and complete sentences. Possible examples: "Killing isn't easy." "Never judge a book by its cover." "Hunt or be hunted." "Love conquers all." "Everyone ends up alone."

400

1. What part of a story often gets confused with theme, but really has nothing to do with theme at all? 2. How are they different?

1. Plot. 2. The plot is the actual events of the story itself; this is all of the things that happen in the story. A theme is the hidden message.

500

There are three questions to ask yourself when you're trying to find plot events in a story that might help you learn the theme. What is at least one of these questions?

1. Is this event important to the story, and why? 2. What does this event mean? 3. Do the characters understand what this event means?

Figurative Language + Tone

100

Is there a difference between figurative language and literal language?

Yes. Literal language means exactly what it says, but figurative language means that the phrase has a different interpretive meaning.

200

Name the following examples of figurative language: 1. The streets are calling me. 2. We're all going to die! 3. I'll be as quick as a wink. 4. All the world is a stage. **BONUS** I just want one single potato chip!

1. Personification 2. Hyperbole 3. Simile 4. Metaphor **BONUS** Understatement

300

What is tone?

Tone is how the narrator feels about what's happening.

400

If tone is how the narrator of the story feels about things, then what's mood?

Mood is how the reader is supposed to feel while reading.

500

What is the tone of the following, and how do you know: "Piping down the valleys wild,?  Piping songs of pleasant glee,? On a cloud I saw a child,? And he laughing said to me:"

The tone is happy and pleasant because he is playing "songs of pleasant glee" on his pipe for a laughing child.