Literary Terms

1
Literary Terms

• What you need to know.
• Based on the Bari Nirenberbs presentation

2
Character

• A person in a literary text.
• Who are the major characters in All My Sons?
• Keller, Mother and Chris.
• Who are the minor characters?
• Jim and Sue Bayliss and Frank and Lydia Lubey.

3
Antagonist / Protagonist

• The protagonist, also known as the hero is the
  main character in a literary text.
• The antagonist is a main character in conflict
  with the protagonist.
• In Rules of the Game, who is the protagonist?
• Waverly
• Who is the antagonist?
• Mrs. Jong

4
Plot / Climax

• Plot is the structure and patterns of events of
  the story, novel or play.
• Climax is The turning point of a text, the point
  of make or break.
• What is the climax of the story Mr. Know All?
• The moment that Mr. Kelada has to declare whether
  or not the pearls are real.

5
Setting

• Where and when a story takes place.
• Why is the setting of Mr. Know All significant?
• The story takes place on a passenger ship after
  World War I. At this time, accommodations were
  scarce, so the narrator has to share a cabin with
  Mr. Kelada. Because theyre on a ship, they are
  in constant contact with each other theres
  nowhere to run away to.

6
Narrator

• A literary character who tells a story.
• What do we know about the narrator in Mr. Know
  All?
• He is British, he is traveling on a ship from San
  Francisco to Yokohama and he is prejudiced
  against those who are not British.

7
Point of View

• The focus from which a story is told.
• Name one behavior of Mr. Keladas that was
  annoying from the narrators point of view.
• He was too chatty.
• This is significant because perhaps from the
  point of view of others on the ship, Mr. Kelada
  wasnt so annoying.

8
Conflict

• The struggle in a text often between the
  protagonist and the antagonist.
• Name one of the main conflicts in the play All My
  Sons.
• The conflict between family loyalty, which is
  what Joe believes is most important, and
  responsibility to society, which is what Chris
  believes in.

9
Foreshadowing

• A literary device used by writers to give their
  readers clues or hints about future events in the
  story.
• What does Joe say that foreshadows the end of the
  play?
• Im his father and hes my son, and if theres
  something bigger than that Ill put a bullet in
  my head!

10
Theme

• The main topic or message of a literary text.
• What is the theme of All My Sons?
• Responsibility to society .
• What is the theme of Mr. Know All?
• Prejudice
• What are the main themes of Rules of the Game?
• Mother-daughter conflict and a cultural conflict
  between American and Chinese cultures.

11
Stereotype

• A figure typical of and therefore representative
  of a whole social or ethnic group. A stereotype
  can be created through physical appearance,
  accent, clothing, behavior, etc.
• What features of Mr. Keladas appearance and
  behavior described early on in the story make him
  a stereotype?

12

• His hooked nose, his long black hair, his dark
  skin, his exuberant gestures and his
  over-familiar behavior all make him appear to be
  Middle Eastern and certainly not a British
  gentleman.

13
Metaphor

• Describing one thing in terms of something else.
• When explaining a metaphor, first state what two
  things are being compared, then explain how they
  are alike and give examples.
• Rules of the Game refers to the rules of chess,
  but chess can also be seen as a metaphor.
  Explain.

14

• Chess is a metaphor for life. In both chess and
  in life, there are rules you have to follow, for
  example, be patient and have foresight.
• In The Road Not Taken the two roads are metaphors
  of the options or choices we make in life. In
  both cases we have to examine each road or option
  very carefully before continuing our journey.

15
Symbol / Symbolism

• Something which is both itself and also
  represents an idea. For example, a rose may
  symbolize beauty.
• What does the wall symbolize in the poem As I
  Grew older?
• The wall symbolizes the obstacles which prevent
  the speaker from achieving his dream, such as
  prejudice and racism.

16
Stanza / Verse

• A group of lines which form a unit in a poem.
• A single line of a poem.
• How many stanza are there in the poem The Road
  Not Taken? 4
• How many verses are there in each stanza? 5

17
Tone

• The attitude with which a story is told or the
  attitude with which something or someone is
  described, for example, ironic, cynical, humorous.