Literary Odds & Ends
“I’m so hungry I could eat a horse” is often labeled as two different devices. Name them both and briefly explain.
What is hyperbole for exaggeration, and a cliché because it is overused?
A cramped basement, reeking of garbage and mold, best fits this word meaning “sordid; dirty; marked by filthiness.”
What is squalid?
In a plot diagram, this is the part where conflict is introduced, characters appear, and the setting is established, often triggered by a key incident.
What is the introduction
A memoir that recounts true events from the author’s life, like *Educated*, belongs to this category of writing
What is nonfiction
Change the cliché “Love at first sight” into a fresher, original sentence that keeps a similar meaning.
What is, for example, “The moment they met, it felt like their stories had always been tangled together”?
When misinformation on social media doubles, then doubles again, and again, it is doing this, meaning “rapidly increasing in numbers.”
What is proliferating
A story’s turning point, where the reader finally sees how the main conflict will likely be resolved, is labeled with this term.
What is the climax
Once upon a time, there were three little pigs…” signals this category of literature, which presents made‑up stories.
What is fiction
Provide a colloquial version and a more formal version of this sentence: “I am not going to the party.”
What is, for example, colloquial: “I ain’t going to the party,” formal: “I am not going to the party”?
For someone fleeing danger, even a small church or hidden room can serve as this, meaning “a refuge; a place for worship.”
What is a sanctuary
A story in which all loose ends are tied up and explained with a positive outcome has this specific type of ending.
What is an expository happy ending
This category of writing includes stories like “The Three Little Pigs,” where events and characters are invented rather than drawn from real life.
What is fiction?
Explain how the phrase “He passed away” changes the tone compared to “He died,” and name the device.
What is that “passed away” softens the harshness and sounds more respectful; it is a euphemism?
A spy who can slip through crowds, change routes, and leave no trace manages to do this to capture, meaning “cleverly avoid.”
What is elude
A disappointing finish to an otherwise intense story, where the payoff does not match the build‑up, is described by this term.
What is an anti‑climax
A book in which the narrator “gathers one evening to hear him read aloud from Isaiah” and describes real family experiences is part of this shelf of the library.
What is nonfiction
In a story where a farmer’s failing crops stand for a family’s broken relationships, name the device and explain the deeper idea.
What is symbolism, and the crops symbolize the weakening of the family’s connection?
The final and most remote goal in a long journey, sometimes called the “endgame,” matches this word meaning “final; farthest; most remote in space or time.”
What is ultimate
This element of fiction includes the time, place, and environment of a narrative and affects mood, characters, conflict, and theme.
What is setting
A classroom anchor chart contrasts “made‑up stories like ‘The Three Little Pigs’” with “true accounts like Educated.” Name the two broad labels at the top of that chart.
What are fiction and nonfiction