Unit 4, Part 2

1. Unit 4, Part 2 From Every Corner of the Land

2. Short Stories • Short Story – brief work of fiction • No specific length • Usually between 500 words and 50 pages • Short enough to be read in one “sitting”

3. Elements of a Short Story • Plot • Characters • Setting • Theme • Point of View • Tone • Mood or Atmosphere • Symbol

4. Plot • Plot – sequence of events that make up a story • Conflict – struggle that the main character faces • External – character struggles against an outside force • Character vs. Character • Character vs. Nature • Character vs. Society • Internal – character struggles with opposing feelings, beliefs, needs, or wants • Resolution – resolves the conflict

5. Plot Structure • Exposition – introduces the characters, setting, and conflict • Rising Action – conflict increases in intensity • Climax – Turning point – highest point of tension • Falling Action – conflict lessens in intensity • Resolution – resolves the conflict • Often subtle • Sometimes no resolution

6. Characters • Characters – the people, animals, or objects who participate in the action of the story • Protagonist – the main character • Antagonist – the character who is working against the protagonist • Characterization – techniques used by writers to develop and reveal a character’s personality

7. Setting • Setting – the time and place of the story • Can simply be the background for the story • Can play a crucial role in the story’s plot or conflict

8. Theme • Theme – main idea, central message, or insight revealed by the story • Usually implied • Reader has to piece together clues from the story • Often it is what the protagonist learns or how the character changes as a result of the story

9. Point of View • Point of view – perspective or vantage point from which a story is told • First person – main character is the narrator and uses “I” throughout • Third person • Limited – main character is outside the story and simply relates the story • Omniscient – main character is outside the story, but knows the thoughts and feelings of more than one character; even knows events that have occurred in the past that the characters don’t know

10. Tone • Tone – the writer’s attitude towards the characters, the reader, or the subject matter • Closely related to the narrator’s voice • Cool, detached, compassionate, understanding, etc.

11. Mood • Mood or atmosphere – the feeling that the story evokes in a reader • Usually depends on the setting • Spooky, eerie, oppressive

12. Symbol • Symbol – person, place, or object that has its own meaning but also stands for something larger than itself • Ex. Veil in “The Minister’s Black Veil”

13. Reading Strategies • Identify the conflict • Interpret the theme • Read passages aloud

14. Author’s Style • Author’s style – manner in which the author puts ideas into words • Syntax – sentence style • Word Choice – adjectives? • Tone or emotional attitude – events suggesting emotions? Explanations?

15. Theme • Theme – message about life that the author seems to impart based on his or her literature

16. Latin prefix in- • In- • A location or direction (in, into, within, on, or toward) • A negative (no, not, without) • If In- comes before a word that starts with p, we use Im- • See Word analysis on page 831

17. Stream of Consciousness • Stream of consciousness – follows the not-so-linear thought patterns of humans • Presents sequences of thought as if they were coming directly from a character’s mind • Leaves our transitional words and phrases found in traditional prose • Connects details only through a character’s associations • Flashback – interruptions in which an earlier event is described • Memory • Story told about a character • Dream or daydream • Switch in time to past

18. Greek Prefix Dys- • Difficult or bad • Dysfunctional (functional means working properly) = not working properly • Dyslexia (lexis means word or speech) = difficulty with words or speech • Dysentery (entry means intestine) = disturbance or difficulty with the intestines • Dyspepsia (pepsis means digestion) = difficulty with digestion • Dystopia (topos means place) – place filled with difficulty

19. Archetype • Archetype – plot, character, symbol, or idea that recurs in the literature or mythology of many different cultures across the world • Hero’s quest – classic quest tales • Hero is on a journey to obtain something of great value • Hero encounters obstacles that test his or her character • Hero overcomes these obstacles, often with the aid of others, and often at great sacrifice • Hero receives a boon, or benefit, that is used to help others • Hero’s quest symbolizes the larger journey of life

20. Humorous Essay • Humorous essay – short, funny work of literature • Hyperbole – exaggeration or outrageous overstatement • Understatements – downplaying a dramatic event, or saying less than what is meant • Opposite of Hyperbole • Idioms – expressions in which the literal meanings of the words do not add up to the actual meaning • Ex. “raining cats and dogs” • Dialect – ways of speaking that are particular to a region or group

21. Apostrophe and Personification • Apostrophe – literary device in which a speaker directly addresses a thing, concept, or person who is dead or absent • Personification – nonhuman subject is given human characteristics

22. Poetry of Robert Frost • Blank Verse – unrhymed iambic pentameter (5 repetitions of unstressed/stressed) • Pastorals – poems that deal with rural settings

23. How to read poetry No punctuation – continue to read at the same pace Comma, dash, or semi-colon – pause before continuing Period, exclamation point, or question mark – Full stop

24. Latin Root –lum- • -lum- means giving off light • Illuminate – giving off light • Luminous – glowing • Illumination- explanation (shedding light onto something)