English 8 H Semester Exam Study Guide

Wednesday, May 21st

Allegory

A story written to reveal a hidden meaning about a historical topic, whether moral or political

Alliteration

Repetition of beginning sounds
Ex: Sandwiches sounded so scrumptious

Allusion

Indirect or direct reference to something (culture, historical figure, etc.)
Ex: I fell down a rabbit hole (Alice in Wonderland reference)

Antagonist

A character that works agains the protagonist, not always human
Ex: Voldemort from Harry Potter

Protagonist

The main character of a story, not always good
Ex: Harry Potter from Harry Potter

Anaphora

Repetition of a word of phrase at the beginning of successive clauses
Ex: A house of mysteries, a house of secrets.

Anthropomorphism

A nonhuman entity behaving and acting like a human
Ex: Characters from Animal Farm

Ethos

Persuasion using a person’s credibility
Ex: A doctor claiming he’s a good doctor

Logos

Using statistical evidence to persuade an audience

Ex: “A human is 50% related to bananas”

Pathos

Using emotions to persuade an audience
Ex: “I know how you feel, and I feel the same way”

Characterization

How the author conveys traits of a character

Ex: Tall, short, handsome, British, etc.

Indirect Characterization

Readers must infer a character’s traits using words provided by the author
Ex: “He stared at his phone. It must’ve been hours since he sent that text to her, but she still hadn’t replied. What if she’s ignoring him?”

Direct Characterization

A character’s traits are plainly stated by the author
Ex: “A young man walked over, a boyish grin on his face, cornflower blue eyes glistening under the chandelier light, messy chocolate brown curls on his head, a curtain part showed a light scar across his forehead.”

Characterization Methods

Speech - What character says about themselves or others (Ex: “ ‘Do you even have a heart?’ ‘A cold one’ “)
Thoughts - What character thinks (Ex: “Seriously? A newbie? She thought, disdain clear in her eyes as she half-heartedly shook the agent’s hand”)
Effects on Others - How other characters react (Ex: “ ‘I dunno, she’s always scared me a little. Those eyes that see everything, uncovering your secrets with only a glance…’ ”
Actions - What character does (Ex: “Reporters, like vultures, yelled out questions left and right, but Juliet pushed past them, never batting an eyelash”
Looks - What character looks like (Ex: “Her stormy ocean blues met his kind ones”)

Conflict

Struggle or opposition that drives plot

Ex: Katniss and Peeta

Internal Struggle (Man vs. Self)

Internal struggle with opposing desires, may include moral struggles

External Struggles

Character opposes someone outside of their control

Man vs. Man

Character against another character

Ex: Beatty vs. Montag

Man vs. Technology

Protagonist against man-made creations, like technology

Ex: Montag vs. the Hound

Man vs. Society

Societal ideas, classes, government oppose protagonist

Ex: Montag vs. World

Man vs. Supernatural

Ghosts, gods, witches, etc. oppose protagonist

Ex: Percy Jackson vs. the Minotaur

Diction

Specific word and phrase choice

Epigraph

A quote at the beginning of a book that summarizes the theme

Ex: “If they give you ruled paper, write the other way.” - Juan Ramon Jimenez
From Fahrenheit 451

Flashback

Current timeline is interrupted to show previous events

Ex: When Katniss tells about how she got Lady the Goat in TGH

Figurative Language

Non-literal language used to achieve a more powerful/complex effect

Metaphor

Compares two different things

Ex: Love is a battlefield (Love and battlefield are two different things and the word “is” compares love to a battlefield, highlighting how to achieve true love, you often have to fight for it)

Simile

Compares two unlike things with “like” or “as”

Ex: I slept like a dog (Comparing the narrator to a dog shows how the narrator slept really well. Even though the narrator isn’t an actual dog, dogs are known to be heavy sleepers, which illustrates the narrator’s sleep through the comparison)

Personification

Non-human things described as having human attributes

Ex: The rain mocked the wedding guests’ plans (Though rain cannot actually mock, the personification gives “personality” to the rain and livens the scene)

Hyperbole

Exaggeration

Ex: My backpack weighs a ton (Does it actually weigh a ton? No, but the words paint the idea that the backpack is very heavy)

Idiom

Phrase conveying figurative meaning, specific to culture, region, time, etc.

Ex: Raining cats and dogs (Not actually raining cats and dogs, but it means it’s raining heavily)

Foil

Two characters whose traits contrast with each other to highlight differences

Ex: Katniss’s distrust and Peeta’s naivety. Cinderella’s kindness and her step-sisters’ cruelty.

Foreshadowing

The author hints at later plot developments

Ex: When Montag keeps referencing the vents, which contained books

Imagery

Vivid sensory

Ex: The bright sun, the beautiful blue flowers.

Irony

Situational - What occurs is the opposite of what is expected (Ex: a soccer-player kicking the ball into his own goal while trying to block a shot)
Dramatic - Audience knows more than the characters (Ex: Macbeth)
Verbal - What is said is opposite of what is meant (Saying you love going in the rain while it’s raining, even though you hate the rain)

Juxaposition

Placing contrasting elements next to each other to highlight their differences

(Ex: Big paragraph next to a short sentence)

Motif

A repeated idea

(Ex: Love, violence, fear)

Mood

Tone of the passage

Ex: Happy, sad, depressed, angry

Paradox

An idea that appears to contradict but contains a truth within

Ex: Less is more

Parallelism

Repeated structure/pattern in writing

Ex: He saw the clouds. I saw the moon. (Subject, past sense, article, noun)

Plot

Events in a story

Exposition

The beginning of a story, introduces character, atmosphere, and setting

Ex: Katniss introduces her and her life in District 12, including how she lives, hunts, and takes care of her family

Inciting Incident

An even that pushes the story forward

Ex: Prim gets chosen for the Hunger Games, Katniss ends up volunteering

Rising Action

Events that build up to the climax

Ex: Katniss trains for the hunger games and fights for her life in it

Climax

Conflict or tension is at the highest, protagonist at the most risk

Ex: When Katniss decides whether or not to eat the berries/Her fight with Cato

Falling Action

Events after the climax

Ex: Katniss and Peeta wins and are brought back to the base

Resolution

Story ends, loose ends are tied up

Ex: Katniss and Peeta depart from the train