Terminology for Midterm Exam ENGL 320

Vocabulary flashcards defining essential literary devices, terms, and narrative concepts for the midterm exam.

ALLUSION

A figure of speech whereby the author refers to a subject matter such as a place, event, or literary work by way of a passing reference, leaving it up to the reader to make a connection to the subject being mentioned.

Ambiguity

Occurs when words, sentences, and texts have more than one meaning, which can be deliberate or unintentional.

ATMOSPHERE

Creates the mood of a story and its emotional impact on readers, often emerging from the story’s situations and settings.

CHARATERNYMS

A literary technique in which distinctive personality traits of a character are reflected through his or her name itself.

CONNOTATION

The associations people make with words that go beyond their literal or dictionary definition, often creating or evoking emotions or feelings in the reader.

DICTION

The selection of words in a literary work, forming one of its centrally important literary elements as writers use words to convey action, reveal character, imply attitudes, identify themes, and suggest values.

EMPATHY

The ability to sense other people’s emotions, coupled with the ability to imagine what someone else might be thinking or feeling.

EPIPHANY

A revelation of such power and insight that it alters the entire world-view of the thinker/character who experiences it.

EXPOSITION

A device through which a writer provides the reader with background information about the setting and the characters of the story.

IMAGE or IMAGERY

The concrete representation of a sense impression, a feeling, or an idea, which can predominate in some literary works by recurring throughout the work or appearing at a critical point in the plot.

IMPERATIVE

Sentence constructions that include forms of verbs that issue direct commands.

INITIATION STORY

A kind of short story in which a character—often a child or young person—first learns a significant, usually life-changing truth about the universe, society, people, or himself or herself.

IRONY

A contrast or discrepancy between what is said and what is meant or between what happens and what is expected to happen in life and in literature.

JUXTAPOSITION

The arrangement of two or more ideas, characters, actions, settings, phrases, or words side-by-side (or in similar narrative moments) for the purpose of comparison, contrast, rhetorical effect, suspense, or character development.

METAFICTION

A literary (sub)genre in which texts refer to the act of writing itself, making readers aware of the construction and fictional nature of the texts they are reading.

POINT-OF-VIEW

The manner in which a story is narrated / depicted and who it is that tells the story, determining the angle and perception of the story unfolding and manipulating the reader’s understanding of the narrative.

PROFILING

The act of suspecting or targeting a person on the basis of observed characteristics or behavior.

PUNS / PUNNING

A literary device wherein a word is used in a manner to suggest two or more possible meanings (or meanings of similar-sounding words), generally done to create humor, irony, or wryness.

SATIRE

A style of writing that mocks, ridicules, or pokes fun at a person, belief, or group of people in order to challenge them, often holding up human failings to ridicule and censure.

SCAPEGOAT

A person who is blamed and punished for the wrongdoings, mistakes, or faults of others, especially for reasons of expediency.

SETTING

Constituted by both the location and the time (historical and/or cyclical) in which the plot of a story occurs.

STEREOTYPE

A character who is so average or unoriginal that he or she seems like an oversimplified representation of gender, class, religious group, or occupation, which can be intentionally employed for particular purposes.

SUBVERSION

Occurs when a concept or text aims to undermine an established idea.

SURREALISM

The principles, ideals, or practice of producing fantastic or incongruous imagery or effects in art, literature, film, or theater by means of unnatural or irrational juxtapositions and combinations, often marked by the intense irrational reality of a dream.

SYNTAX

The grammatical structure of sentences, specifically the format in which words and phrases are arranged to create sentences.

TOKENISM

The policy or practice of making only a symbolic effort (as to desegregate).

TONE

The perspective or attitude that the narrator adopts with regards to a specific character, place, or development, ranging from solemn and critical to witty and humorous, which influences the reader’s understanding.

UNRELIABLE NARRATOR

A narrator who depicts what they observe and experience, but misinterprets those dealings because of defective perception, personal bias or agenda, or limited understanding.

UTOPIA

An imaginary location/society where political and social perfection have been reached, and where people are generally clean, virtuous, healthy, and happy.

VERISIMILITUDE

The use of real-life details to ground a story in a sense of reality.

Sticks

-George Sanders

-A metal pipe erected in a front yard that is dressed up in old clothes, holiday decorations, or humorous signs to reflect the changing moods and seasons of an isolated father.

• What to look for: References to the metal pole, holidays, or seasonal decorations.

Ten Words or More

• Ruth Moose

• A restricted or minimal form of communication (such as classified ads or telegrams) that forces characters to boil complex emotions or conflicts down to a strict word limit.

• What to look for: References to word counts, brief messages, or classified advertisements.

Jumper Down

• John Shea

• A dramatic, high-stakes moment involving a rooftop crisis or an individual standing on the edge contemplating a fatal plunge while onlookers gather below.

• What to look for: References to a ledge, a jump, height, or rescue attempts.

Good Country People

• Flannery O’Connor

• A wooden prosthetic leg hollowed out to conceal a flask of whiskey, playing cards, and a pack of dirty cards, or a woman carrying a glass eye in a hollowed-out Bible.

• What to look for: References to a wooden leg, a glass eye, a Bible salesman (Manley Pointer), or Joy/Hulga.

Everything that Rises Must Converge

• Flannery O’Connor

• A hat identical to one worn by an African American woman on a segregated or integrated city bus, leading to a humiliating social clash and a mother's devastating medical collapse.

• What to look for: References to Julian, his mother, purple and green-striped hats, integration, or a stroke on the sidewalk.

The Man Who Loved Levittown

• W.D Wetherell

• An aging resident fiercely loyal to his suburban housing development who reacts with bitter rage to demographic shifts, new drug treatment centers, or changing property values.

• What to look for: References to Artie Maloney, lawn maintenance, Levittown, or real estate values.

How I contemplated the world from the Detroit House of correction and began my life over again

• Joyce Carol Oates

• A narrative structured like a school assignment or clinical report, beginning with items like "1. Events" and detailing a privileged suburban girl's descent into delinquency and a correctional facility.

• What to look for: References to the Detroit House of Correction, numbered lists/sections, or private school backgrounds.

The Lesson

• Toni Cade Bambara

• A visit to FAO Schwarz toy store in Manhattan where children from Harlem are confronted with wildly expensive toy sailboats and economic inequality under the guidance of Miss Moore.

• What to look for: References to Miss Moore, toy stores, expensive sailboats, or "white folks' currency."

Rich

• Ellen Gilchrist

• A focus on independent, fiercely strong-willed Southern characters navigating family money, personal rebellion, and the eccentricities of wealthy family dynamics.

• What to look for: References to Nora Jane, family wealth, or independent Southern lifestyles.

The President of the Louisiana Live Oak Society

• Ellen Gilchrist

• Deep regional reverence for ancient, moss-draped live oak trees in Louisiana, serving as a symbol of local history, deep roots, and endurance against time.

• What to look for: References to live oaks, Louisiana geography, canopy trees, or historic preservation.