Literary Elements: The Vocabulary of Literature Of Mice and Men

1. Literary Elements:The Vocabulary of LiteratureOf Mice and Men English I

2. Setting Definition:The place where the story takes place. Setting includes: • the geographical location • Ex: Wyoming, London, Australia • the time period • Ex: 1865, during World War II, today • the socio-economic conditions • Ex: wealthy suburbs, Depression dustbowl • the specific building, room, etc. • Ex: a boarding school, a bus

3. Setting: Mood Can be used to set the mood for the story. “During the whole of a dull, dark, and soundless day in the autumn of the year, when the clouds hung oppressively low in the heavens, I had been passing alone, on horseback, through a singularly dreary tract of country” - Edgar Allan Poe, “The Fall of the House of Usher” What mood does the setting create in Poe’s story?

4. Characterization Definition: The process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character. There are two types of characterization: • Direct Characterization: The author tells the reader what the personality of the character is like. • Indirect Characterization: The author shows things that reveal the personality of the character. • How might an author use direct characterization to show the readers the Grinch’s personality? How might he use indirect characterization?

5. Indirect Characterization: STEAL There are five methods of indirect characterization:

6. Plot Definition:The arrangement of actions and events within a story:

7. Plot: Conflict Definition: The dramatic struggle between two forces in a story. Types of conflict: External Conflict • Human vs. Human • Human vs. Nature • Human vs. Society Internal Conflict • Human vs. Self

8. Plot: Foreshadowing Definition: early on in the story, the author gives hints of what will come later in the story. These hints are called foreshadowing. Ex: Early in the film, Bambi's mother warns him of the dangers in the forest, none greater than man with his gun. Later in the film, Bambi’s mother is killed by a hunter. The death of Bambi's mother is foreshadowed by her conversation about the threat of man.

9. Symbol Definition: a person, place, or thing that is used to represent something else. A symbol communicates a deeper meaning. • In the movie Shrek, what does the onion represent?

10. Imagery Definition: Language that appeals to the senses.

11. Theme Definition: The central idea or central message of the story It usually contains some insight into the human condition– telling something about humans and life. • You understand theme when you say, “Shrek is a movie about the importance of not judging people” instead of “Shrek is a movie about an ogre who falls in love with a princess.”

12. The interaction of the literary elements (plot, setting/mood, characters, and symbols/imagery) develops the themes of the story. setting/mood symbols/imagery characters plot theme

13. Essential Question • How do authors use literary elements -- such as setting, characterization, imagery, plot, and symbolism-- to develop the themes of their stories?