General Vocab
What is the difference between a Short Story, a Novel and a Novella?
A Short Story is usually under 7500 word and has only one main event.
The novella has 20,000 to 50,000 words and is more complex than a Short Story.
The Novel has at least 50,000 words and has multiple plots, themes.
There eyes were watching God would be a Novel.
Who wrote this Novel and what is it about?
This Novel is written by Jan Lowe and it follows Joan Wong, a third-generation Chinese-Guyanese woman, as she uncovers her family's complex history. Spanning from her grandmother Clarice Chung's arrival in British Guyana in 1879 to joan's journey to china in the early 21st century. The narrative explores themes of identity, cultural heritage, and the interplay between personal and collective histories.
who says these lines and why?
1) Ah done been tuh de horizon and back.
2) You got tuh go there tuh know there
3) God made it so you spent your own money first
4) Ah didn't want yuh tuh stay off in dat house by yourself
5) Somebody got to think for women and chillun and chickens and cows.
6) You ain't got no particular place. Its wherever ah need yuh.
1) Janie reflects on her journey and growth. This line shows her inner peace and independence at the end of the novel.
2) Janie again stating that true understanding comes from through lived experience, not second hand stories.
3) Tea cake says these lines when he comes back from taking Janie's 200$ and leaving. Janie brought the money just in case things went wrong, tea cake comes back and says he took the money to keep a party and he will repay soon. he used these lines to lighten the mood and justify his actions.
4) This line shows tea cakes love and care for Janie.
5) This line shows the belief of Joe Starks that women are incapable of leading or thinking.
6) This shows Logan's traditional view of marriage.
In your own words what do you think is meant by Choice of language in literature?
Choice of language pays attention
to the issue of form, as well as the
stylistic and linguistic choices of
prose fiction writers in conveying
meaning.
Give a description of Clarice chung, Susan Leo, Joan Wong.
Clarice: This is Joan's grandmother, and iron willed matriarch who upholds Chinese traditions and values, often through strict discipline.
Susan Leo: Joan's other grandmother whose life choices and relationships with Indian men reflect a departure from traditional expectations
Joan Wong: The protagonist whose quest to understand her families past leads her to confront complex truths about identity and heritage.
Dramatic significance?
Extratextual Material?
His refers to the elements of drama, acting in unity to effect the purpose of the play. If something is dramatically significant it may serve to advance the plot, develop a character, heighten the conflict, create audience expectancy and create irony.
Any reference, separate and apart from the primary text, that is used to support or bolster a point/argument. This can include: an evaluative comment by a critic on the genre, writer, or specific text; comments made by an author on his/her own work; comments or judgements of other writers about the author of a prescribed text; historical, social, philosophical, biographical and contextual information relating to a writer or prescribed text.
Social and historical context
Set against the backdrop of British guyana's colonial past and its transition to independence. The novel shows the experience of Chinese indentured laborers. It shows the complexities of racial, and cultural identity.
It highlights the challenges faced by immigrant Chinese communities trying to maintain their heritage whilst adapting to their new environment.
State 5 different types of Literary Context
(a) social;
(b) historical;
(c) political;
(d) religious;
(e) ethnic;
(f) moral;
(g) ideological;
(h) cultural;
(i) physical;
(j) psychological; and,
(k) biographical.
Meaning of spectacle and Stage craft (Drama)
Spectacle refers to the conventions used, visual and auditory, that create the world of the play on stage or film. This includes the set, costume, lighting, and music. It can be simple as the set or stage in An Echo in the Bone or a display that is large, lavish, unusual, and striking, usually employed as much for its own effect as for its role in a work. For example, the appearance of the witches in Macbeth and the arrival of Banquo’s ghost at the feast are examples of spectacle. Spectacle often occurs in drama or film, but can also be found in the novel.
The skill or experience in writing or staging plays; The technical aspects of theatrical production including: scenic design, stage machinery, lighting, sound, costume design, makeup.
Where is the theme of Race seen?
This is seen with the character of Clarice. She is strict about preserving her Chinese heritage amidst the challenges of colonial life.
She insist on traditional customs, discourages interethnic marriages and upholds racial purity believing herself to be a descendant of emperor Chengzong.
State 6 elements of prose
Narrative technique, Point of view, characterization, Dialogue, themes, plot and style.
WHat is the difference between Structure form and style?
Although used interchangeably with the word “form”, there are slight differences. Structure refers to more than what is immediately visible in terms of the arrangement of a text. It is the frame of a work. It focuses on the internal development and relationships between the different parts/elements of a text. It relates to areas such as stanzas, chapters, paragraphs, lines, syllables, and rhyme. Structure refers to the organisational coherence and unity of a work. In fiction, for example, plot, point of view, setting and characterisation are regarded as aspects of structure.
Form refers to the shape, or format of a literary work example, stanzas, verses, chapters, meter, rhyme, Acts, scenes.
Style refers to the author's words and the characteristic way that a writer uses language to achieve certain effects. An important part of interpreting and understanding fiction is being attentive to the way the author uses words. What effects, for instance, do word choice and sentence structure have on a story and its meaning? How does the author use imagery, figurative devices, repetition, or allusion? In what ways does the style seem appropriate to or discordant with the work's subject and theme? Some common styles might be labelled ornate, plain, emotive, and contemplative. Most writers have their own particular styles.
What type of language is used in the novel?
Creolised English, Mandarin, and Hakka.
What is referred to as structural techniques in LIE?
Give 4 examples of structural techniques.
this is how an author or authors use narrative choices and techniques to obtain the desired meaning:
examples
(a) stream of consciousness;
(b) interior monologue;
(c) flashback;
(d) foreshadowing;
(e) chapter organisation;
(f) timeline (time frame, order of
events – chronological and achronological);
(g) motif; and,
(h) juxtaposition.
How do we evaluate the Critics?
Critics can be evaluated on the basis of their authority, currency, accuracy, relevance, objectivity, coverage. Integrate views of critics to generate an informed, personal response to the text.