novel types & writing movements and genres

allegory

the expression by means of symbolic fictional figures and actions of truths or generalizations about human existance. this is intended by the author

hunger games, animal farm, chronicals of narnia, allegory of the cave

bildungsroman

a novel about the moral and psychological growth of the main character.

spiritual education and formative years

the catcher in the rye, to kill a mockingbird, little women

epistolary novel

a novel written as a series of documents, most commonly letters or diary entries

frankenstein, pride and predjudice, martian

picaresque novel

genre of prose fiction that followes the adventures of a low born, roguish hero who survives by their wits. frequently used for satire. the adventures of huckleberry finn

gothic

1790-1820. genre of fiction popularized in the 18th century to early 19th centuries. characterized by an atmosphere of mystery and horror and having a pseudomedival setting. romance

Camila and dracula

impression

late 19th to early 20th century

focuses on capturing subjective impressions and sensory details to convey a character’s experience rather than providing a detailed objective account
mrs. dalloway, heart of darkness

modernism

1920-1945 represents a conscious and radical break from traditional literary conventions

great gatsby, ulysses

naturalism

late 1800-mid 1900

attempt to apply scientific principles of objectivity and detachment to the study of human being

truthful to how life is, there are forces beyond a person’s control

grapes of wrath, call of the wild

puritnism

1620-1770

focus on religious instruction, moral guidance, and the glorification of god

sinners in the ahnd of an angry god

postmodernism

1960-1970s. characterized by experientation, FRAGMENTATION, and a rejection of grand narratives. embrases metafiction, unreliable narration, self reflexivity, and intertextuality, often questioning reality and the nature of the truth

slaughterhouse five

realism

1850-1900 style that aims to represent reality truthfully and accurately, focusing on everyday life and experiences, particularly those of the middle and lower classes without idealization or romancization

magical realism

1960-1970

literature in particular with magical or supernatural phenoma presented in an otherwise real world or mundane setting

usually latin american/south american

gabriel garcia marquez (eyes of a blue dog)

romanticism

early 1800 - 1870

explores darker aspects of human nature, includingg sin, self-destruction, and the supernatural

often uses grotesque and macabre imagery

the raven by edgar allan poe

transcendentalism

1830s-1840s

philosophy that emphasizes the a priori conditions of knowledge and experiene or the unknowable character of ultimate reality that emphasizes the trascendent as the fundemental reality. 

individualism, must connect with nature

nature by ralph waldo emerson

walden by henry david thoureau