House on Mango Street Vocab

Vignette

A short, evocative piece of writing that often has some qualities of both poetry and prose.

Lens

A style of analysis or way of reading.

Reader Response Lens

A style of literary analysis focused on reading a text and making connections to one's own experiences, feelings, memories, and culture.

Formalist Lens

A style of analysis focused on how a text is written—noticing literary devices and structural choices to unveil deeper meaning.

Youth Lens

A way of reading that examines what a text, film, or movie conveys about being young, loss of innocence, and conformity.

Metaphor

A comparison between two things for the purpose of demonstrating an idea, emotion, or image.

Simile

A figure of speech comparing two different things using 'like' or 'as'.

Personification

A figure of speech that attributes human qualities to nonhuman things.

Imagery

Descriptive writing that engages the five physical senses.

Syntax

The structure and arrangement of sentences, such as the intentional use of fragments or run-ons.

Colloquial Language

Conversational, informal speech or slang used in everyday communication.

Repetition

The intentional reuse of a word or phrase for emphasis or artistic effect.

Unreliable Narrator

A storyteller whose perspective or account of events is incomplete, distorted, or untrustworthy.

Theme

The underlying message, moral, or central idea of a work of art or literature.

Symbol

An object, person, or action that represents a deeper, abstract concept beyond its literal meaning.

Othering

Viewing or treating a person or group of people as intrinsically different and alien from oneself.

Indeterminate Element

A portion of a poem or story that is left inherently mysterious, ambiguous, or open to interpretation.

Diction

An author's specific choice and use of words.

Connotation

The implied, associative, or emotional meaning of a word based on context.

Denotation

The literal, dictionary definition of a word.

Lesko's Characteristics of Adolescence

A framework defining youth as a distinct phase characterized by traits like rebelliousness, peer orientation, conformity, and popularity concerns.

Characterization

The process and techniques through which an author constructs and develops a fictional persona.

Social Construct

An idea or concept created, defined, and accepted by society rather than existing naturally.

Intentional Fragment

An incomplete sentence deliberately chosen by an author for literary or stylistic impact.

Allusion

An indirect reference to a separate cultural artifact, such as a novel, film, song, or historical event.