Creative Writing Final (Authors/Text & Vocab)

rara avis

T.C. Boyle

Night Women

Edwidge Dandicat

The Lifeguard

Mary Morris

The House Behind

Lydia Davis

A Family Supper

Kazuro Ishiguro

The Immortals

Martin Amis

The Courtship of Mr. Lyon

Angela Carter

Are These Actual Miles?

Raymond Carver

The Elephant Vanishes

Haruki Murakami

The Old Man Slave and the Mastiff

Patrick Chamoiseau

Happy Endings

Margaret Atwood

The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

T.S. Eliot

Adolescence II

Rita Dove

the mother

Gwendolyn Brooks

Lying in a Hammock on William Duffy’s Farm in Pine Island, Minnesota

James Wright

The Little Girl by the Fence at School

William Stafford

This Be the Verse

Philip Larkin

Girl

Jamaica Kincaid

“Logic in the House of Sawed-Off Telescopes"

Jeffery McDaniel

[I like your handsome drugs. Your pleasant…]

Joshua Beckman

Waiting for Godot

Samuel Beckett

One Hundred Demons

Lynda Berry

Girl, Interupted

Susanna Kaysen

Kindred

Octavia Butler

Allegory

• piece of writing that can be interpreted to reveal a hidden meaning—typically a moral/political one

• why: used for exploring multiple meaning within a singular narrative

  • Animal Farm: Communism

Allusion

• something in a piece of writing that refers to another work outside the tale

• Why: to add depth to the work

  • The Courtship of Mr. Lyon

Archetype

• a general/ typical Idea of a person

  • Night Women; a prostitute making a good mother figure

• why: to give more depth to a character, and see what’s beneath the surface

Catharsis

• an emotional release

  • Josh Micheals crying on Lovenheims shoulder

  • The Elephant Vanishes; the main character vents abt the elephant to his date

• why: used to emotionally engage the audiene

Climax: turning point, highest tension

• Waiting for Godot: When the messenger comes to tell the news

• Kindred: Rufus tries to rape Dana

• Why: used to captivate the audience and hold them there for a few seconds and to create excitement/ anticipation when reading

Comedy

• person gets to end up where they wanted to be in society/ the end

  • Waiting for Godot: No one dies

  • The Courtship of Mr. Lyon: Happy Ending

Dynamic Character

• changes as the story progresses

  • Courtship of Mr. Lyon

  • Kindred: dana realizes the extent of slavery and how brutal it actually was, experiencing it first hand

  • 100 Demons… Lynda grows up and realizes its okay to be different and like different things

• Why: used to engage readers with the characters on a deeper level

Epigraph

• use of quotation at the beginning of a work that’s from another source & hints at the theme of the work

  • Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock

Epiphany

• sudden realization

  • The Lifeguard: Josh Micheals realizing he’s not all that glorious, nor is he fit for the role of lifeguard

Exposition

• background information, start of a piece of writing/story

Falling action

• event after climax and leads to resolution

  • Dana stabs and kills Rufus after he tries to rape her

Gratuitous

• more than what’s necessary

  • The House Behind: the poor man killed the nice rich lady from the front of the house for nothing other than spite/jealousy

• why: used to add curiosity or suspense to what the audience is feeling, to make them want more

In Medias Res

• in the middle of things—exposition of a story

  • The Courtship of Mr. Lyon: starts slowly into action

Magic Realism

• fantastical elements in a real world setting

  • The Courtship of Mr. Lyon

Metahpor

-Comparison without using like or as

Microcosm

• an insignificant detail viewed with heavy significance because it’s a samll, artificial world

  • The House Behind: why mention he’s married during the murder?

  • [I like your handsome drugs…] “Katie was mentioned twice…

• Why: used as a foreshadowing tool

Motif

• Tangible and reflects a subject/ or idea (much like a symbol)

  • light and darkness in Family Supper: the father might be planning something evil?

Point of View

• perspective from which a story is told

  • Girl, Interrupted, Kindred 1st person

Post-Modernism

• after WWII

• fear of evolving/ progress

• era of skepticism and doubt towards the absolute truth of something

  • ppl more open-minded and don’t focus on one particular answer

Resolution

finale

• Kindred: dana comes home after killing Rufus and loses her left arm in the process

Sensual Language

• Appeals to the senses

  • defeat feels like biting into a rotton apple

Simile

• Comparison using like or as

Stanza

• standard 14 lines

Static Character

• they stay the same throughout the story

  • Are these actual miles?: Leo’s attitude stay the same, wondering where his wife is and doubting her faithfulness

  • Waiting for Godot: Estragon is weak and helpless, relying on Vladimir for protection

Stereotype

• generalized belief abt a group of people; only sees what’s on the surface, not what’s beneath…

  • prostitutes are not responsible people and are bad mothers

Symbol/Symbolism

• A CONCRETE object representing an abstract idea

  • Kindred:

    • Dana’s left arm represents her leaving some of herself behind and how she’ll never get that version of Dana back

    • the Whip: represents power in masters and fear from the slaves

Theme

• Central message

  • girl interrupted: Perception v. reality

  • Kindred: Power & Identity

  • The Lifeguard: Appreciate what you’ve been given

Tone

• authors attitude towards audience

  • adolescence II: anticipation and fear

  • This Be the Verse: sarcastic, ironic

Topic

• #’s; 1 or 2 words; cliche

  • Kindred: #slavery #lostarm #timetravel

  • Girl, Interrupted: #painting #NYC #psycho #girls

Tragedy

• when a character doesn’t end up where they want to in the end—dead, or exiled

  • Kindred: Rufus is dead

  • Waiting for Godot: Doesn’t get to meet Godot

Unreliable Narrator

• as the reader, we see more than what’s given

  • ex: child, mental illness, on drugs

  • Girl, Interrupted: mental illness

  • Rara Avis: a child