Short Story Test Preview

1. Short Story Test Preview • Short Stories: Approx. 35 multiplechoice questions over 7 assigned storiesand general literary elements. • Literary Elements: 25 matching (term/definition) plus identifying examples used in stories • Vocabulary: 10matching (words/definitions)

2. Troublesome Terms • Allusion: Think “reference to something” – Which story contained an allusion? • Flashback: In what story does the narrator, who is now an adult, tell us about his childhood with his disabled brother? • Foreshadowing: In which story are Whitney’s tales of Ship-Trap Island an example of this?

3. Imagery: Language that appeals to the senses Suspense: Uncertainty or anxiety the reader feels about what is going to happen next Symbolism: Something represents or stands for something else

4. Figures of Speech Comparisons of unlike items that share a common quality Metaphor - an implied comparison not using like or as The autumn leaves, hands wrinkled with age, floated down. Simile – expresses a comparison using like or as (not comparing humans) The baby was as restless as a terrier pup. Personification - gives human/living characteristics to non-human entities. The willow tree danced in the wind. Hyperbole - an extreme exaggeration I’m so hungry I could eat my shoes!

5. VerbalIrony A character says one thing but means the opposite Example I think the murder weapon might be right under our noses! DramaticIrony You know something that a character doesn’t. Example We know the murder weapon the police are looking for is in the oven! SituationalIrony When what actually happens is the opposite of what is expected. Example The hunter (Rainsford) becomes the hunted.

6. Point of View First Person • Told through the eyes of one character • Uses the pronoun "I" • Reader only knows that character's thoughts/feelings/reactions Third Person Limited • Outside narrator (unbiased) - tells the story focusing in on one character • Events are told just like they happened to the one character • Lets you know things about a main character that they wouldn't tell you, or that another character couldn't tell you

7. Third Person Omniscient • Omniscient means "all knowing" • Outside narrator lets the reader know all important things about all characters • Includes how every character thinks and feels Point of view has a large impact on a story • Think about how different the story would be if it was told from a different point of view • The best writers try experimenting with different points of view to achieve the best effect

8. Theme • A theme is the central idea of a story – the message the author wants the reader to take away; the subjectof a story is simply the topic • A theme usually reveals a truth about human nature; it has a universal application • A theme applies to the whole piece of literature What story has this theme? Civil war can tear families apart.

9. Tone Definition: the writer's or speaker's attitude toward the subject and the audience. Understanding tone in prose and poetry can be challenging because as the reader you can’t “hear” the writier’s voice. Word choice, details, imagery, and diction all contribute to the understanding of tone. Below is a list of some words you can use to describe tone: Angry Sad Sentimental Afraid Sharp Cold Detached Contemptuous Silly Happy Confused Bitter Peaceful Ominous Mocking Sarcastic Nostalgic Condescending Somber Vexed

10. The Tale Tell Heart TRUE! nervous, very, very dreadfully nervous I had been and am; but why WILL you say that I am mad? The disease had sharpened my senses, not destroyed, not dulled them. Above all was the sense of hearing acute. I heard all things in the heaven and in the earth. I heard many things in hell. How then am I mad? Hearken! and observe how healthily, how calmly, I can tell you the whole story.

11. Mood Definition: The feeling the work of literature gives the reader Example: I looked upon the scene before me – upon the mere house, and the simple landscape features of the domain – upon the bleak walls – upon the vacant eye-like windows – upon a few rank sedges – and upon a few white trunks of decayed trees – with an utter depression of soul which I can compare to no earthly sensation more properly than to the afterdream of the reveler upon opium – the bitter lapse into everyday life – the hideous dropping off of the veil. There was aniciness, a sinking, a sickening of the heart – an unredeemed dreariness of thought which no goading of the imagination could torture into aught of the sublime. What was it – I pause to think – what was it that so unnerved me in the contemplation of the House of Usher? From “The Fall of the House of Usher” by Edgar Allen Poe