College English Chapters 5-7

 What is the omniscient point of view? Which of the stories we have read are told from this point of view?

An omniscient point of view is one in which the story is told in the third person by a narrator whose knowledge and prerogatives are unlimited. Such narrators are free to go wherever they wish, to peer inside the minds and hearts of characters at will and tell us what they are thinking or feeling. These narrators can interpret behavior and can comment, if they wish, on the significance of their stories. They know all. They can tell us as much or as little as they please. 

From the stories we have read, the Short Happy Life and the Destructors are told from an omniscient point of view.

What is third person limited? Give an example.

A third person limited point of view is one in which the story is told in the third person, but from the viewpoint of one character in the story. Such point-of-view characters are filters through whose eyes and minds writers look at the events. Authors employing perspective may move both inside and outside these characters but never leave their sides. They tell us what these characters see and hear and what they think and feel; they possibly interpret the characters’ thoughts and behavior. They know everything about their point-of-view characters-often more than the characters know about themselves. But they limit themselves to these characters’ perceptions and show no direct knowledge of what other characters are thinking or feeling or doing, except for what the point-of-view character knows or can infer. For example, the story the Interpreter of Maladies is told from the perspective of the main character.E

Explain stream of consciousness

The stream of consciousness is a variant of the third person limited point of view that presents the apparently random thoughts going through a character’s head within a certain period of time, mingling memory and present experiences, and employing transitional links that are psychological rather than strictly logical.

What advantages/disadvantages are there in telling a story from first person?

A first person point of view allows the author to disappear into one of the characters who may be a major or minor character. Advantages of this technique include a gain in immediacy and reality, since we get the story directly from a participant, the author being eliminated as an intermediary. It also offers excellent opportunities for dramatic irony and for studies in limited or blunted human perceptiveness. However, the disadvantage is that it offers no direct interpretation made by the author and there is constant danger that narrators may be made to transcend their own sensitivity, their knowledge or their powers of language in telling a story. Identifications of a narrator’s attitudes with the author’s must always be undertaken with extreme caution because they are justified only if the total material of a story supports them or if outside evidence supports such an identification.

Explain objective/dramatic point of view. What is required of the reader?

In the objective point of view, the narrator disappears into a kind of roving sound camera. This camera can go anywhere but can record only what is seen and heard. It cannot comment, interpret, or enter a character’s mind. With this point of view (sometimes also called the dramatic point of view) readers are placed in the position of spectators at a movie or play. They see what characters do and hear what they say but must infer what they think or feel and what they are like. The author is not there to explain. For example, a story written entirely in dialogue. This type of point of view requires readers to draw their own inferences and rely heavily on external action and dialogue with no opportunities for direct interpretation by the author.

In choosing a point of view, what does the author need to consider?

The author must choose the point of view that enables them to present their particular materials most effectively in terms of their purposes. For example, a murder mystery revolves around thrills and suspense, so using the point of view of the brilliant detective or murderer will reveal secrets and insights too early to take away from the value of the story.

Why is point of view important for both understanding and evaluating the story?

Point of view is important for both understanding and evaluating the story because readers should know whether the events of the story are being interpreted by a narrator or by one of the characters. If by one of the characters, they must ask how this characters’ mind and personality affect the interpretation and whether the character is perceptive or reliable. The readers must also ask whether the writer has chosen the point of view for maximum revelation of the material or for another reason. The author could deliberately mislead readers by framing the events through a false interpretation made by one of the characters. Readers should also ask whether the author has used the selected point of view fairly and consistently.

What is compression?

Compression is the aim of the writer to say as much as possible as briefly as possible. Nothing is wasted and the author chooses each work and detail carefully for maximum effectiveness.

What are three resources an author has to achieve compression?

Symbol, allegory, and fantasy.

What is a symbol and what are the different kinds?

A literary symbol is something that means more than what it suggests on the surface. It may be an object, a person, a situation, an action or some other element that has a literal meaning in the story but that suggests or represents other meanings as well. Includes both name and object/action symbolism.

Why is it better to miss a symbol than mistake its meaning?

It is better to miss a symbol than mistake its meaning because we need to remember that most countries operate almost wholly at the literal level and that, even in highly symbolic stories, the majority of details are purely literal. A story is not an excuse for an exercise in ingenuity. We do not want to pervert the story’s meaning by discovering symbols that are nonexistent.

What four cautions must the reader be aware of when looking for symbolic meaning?

1. The story itself must furnish a clue that a detail is to be taken symbolically

2. The meaning of a literary symbol must be established and supported by the entire context of the story.

3. To be called a symbol, an item must suggest a meaning different in kind from its literary meaning; a symbol is something more than the representative of a class or type.

4. A symbol may have more than one meaning. It may suggest a cluster of meanings. But this doesn't mean that we can say anything we want to; the area of possible meaning is always controlled by the text.

What is allegory?

An allegory is a story that has a second meaning beneath the surface, endowing a cluster of characters, objects, or events with added significance; often the pattern relates each literary item to a corresponding abstract idea or moral principle. It is different from symbolism in that it puts less emphasis on the literal meanings and more on the ulterior meanings, which are usually more fixed.

What is fantasy?

A nonrealistic story, one that transcends the bounds of known reality. After all, truth in fiction is not the same as fidelity to fact. The story could be entirely implausible or even impossible. 

Explain suspension of disbelief?

In order to create an entirely implausible or impossible story, the story requires from the readers a suspension of disbelief, which means that the reader is willing to accept the author’s premise of a strange and marvelous world, in which a character falls down a rabbit hole or climbs up a beanstalk or finds himself in an alien spaceship. The reader must be willing to detach from the typical beliefs of reality and immerse themselves in this new world in which fantastic and magical events may be woven into mundane and ordinary situations.

Granting every story its initial premise or assumption.

Can a story that has elements of fantasy be literary? Explain.

Yes, elements of fantasy and fantasy works can be commercial or highly literary in nature. A fantasy story may employ the techniques of symbolism or allegory, providing an exotic or non-realistic setting as a way of observing human nature and providing significant insight into the human condition. 

What is the difference between a serious story and a solemn one?

A serious story describes a story or writer whose intensions are literary and artistic rather than primarily commercial. It does not necessarily have to be solemn; it can be comedic or tragic, including elements of humor. However, a solemn work is one that avoids humor, and attempts to evoke a sense of awe or importance by keeping the tone serious and not as lighthearted.

Explain irony

Irony is a technique to employ humor. It is a term which has a range of meanings that all involve some sort of discrepancy or incongruity. Characters are put in incongruous situations that evoke laughter in the reader but also reveal a significant insight about human nature. It is more complex than just sarcasm and its a technique used to convey a truth about human experience by exposing some incongruity of a character’s behavior or a society’s traditions.

Discuss the different types of Irony

Verbal irony is the simplest kind and is a figure of speech in which the speaker says the opposite of what he or she intends to say. Dramatic irony is a contrast between what a character says or thinks and what the reader knows to be true. Irony of situation is usually the most important kind for a fiction writer and is the discrepancy between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment, or between what is and what would seem appropriate. 

What does irony allow the author to achieve?

Irony like symbol and allegory is a means for the author to achieve compression. 

How does irony achieve this effect?

By creating an ironic situation or perspective, the author can suggest complex meanings without stating them. Irony is such an important technique because it achieves its effects through indirection. They help an author create an impact by helping to temper and control the emotional content of a story, evoking responses that are both intellectual and emotional.

Explain Sentimentality

Stories that try to elicit easy or unearned emotional responses are guilty of sentimentality. Sentimentality in fiction is not the same as genuine emotion; rather it is contrived or excessive emotion.

How do we recognize sentimentality?

A narrative contains genuine emotion when it treats life faithfully and perceptively. A sentimental narrative oversimplifies and exaggerates emotion in the attempt to arouse a similarly excessive emotion in the reader. Genuine emotion is presented indirectly, not dramatized. Sentimental writers are recognizable by editorializing (commenting) on the story and instructing us how to feel. They are also shown through language poeticization, or using immoderately heightened and distended language to accomplish their effects. Sentimentality is also seen in excessive and oversimplified details. Sentimentalists rely heavily on the stock response- an emotion that has its source outside the facts established in the story (automatic response in reader, like the image of a mother).

Why do authors use humor in stories?

Authors use humor in literary stories to enhance the emotional impact of their stories and give us a clearer look at human experience. A complex human reality requires a complex narrative and many authors think that using humor allows for the whole picture of human experience to be integrated into their visions.

Sarcasm vs Verbal Irony

all sarcasm is verbal irony, but not all verbal irony is sarcasm. Sarcasm is more of an insulting jab, but verbal irony does not any sort of connotation, could be anything said that means the opposite

Historical/Biographical Reading

Goes over events of a writers life, who they are, their viewpoints who influenced them , and their political or societal views

Marxist Reading

Focuses on who are the power/powerless in the text, class conflict, distribution of wealth, what society values, and system oppression

Feminist Reading

Focuses on how females are portrayed. Are the oversimplified, play major or minor roles, supportive or independent, powerful in any sense, how do they interact with each other and males?

Mythological/archetypal reading

Examines characters, their situations and how they may change over time. Focuses on the deeper meaning and larger archetypical sense of symbols and representations in the book. How does it remind us of myths or lessons that we already know or what common elements/motifs are present

New Critic Reading

Focuses on the structure, form in which the story is told. Chronology, POV, narration style, recurring elements, foreshadowing, setting, any literary elements like plot, etc

Psychoanalytic Reading

Focuses on traits, thoughts and actions of the characters and their motivations. How does the author portray characters and how do they change throughout the story. What are the relationships between characters and what are the different ways the author achieves a deeper characterization? Are there any internal conflicts?