Langlit final 1

Metaphor

• A direct, non-literal comparison between two unlike things by stating one as another without using “like” or “as”.

• Example: Love is a battlefield. 

Simile

•  Comparing two things to each other by using “like” or “as”.

• Example: As strong as an ox. 

Imagery

• A visually descriptive or figurative language, especially in literary work.

• Example: The sunset blazed with crimson and gold.

Symbolism

• The idea that things represent other things.

• Example: A white dove represents peace and purity.

Personification

• Giving human qualities, actions, or emotions to objects, animals, and abstract ideas.

• Example: The wind whispered through the trees.

Dramatic Irony

• When the significance of a character's words is fully known to the audience, but not to the characters.

• Example: When Oedipus curses whoever killed the king, not knowing he is cursing himself.

Regular Irony

•  When you express yourself by using language that signifies the opposite.

• Example: A flight attendant who is scared of heights.

Foreshadowing

• A warning or hint of what is to come.

• Example: A character says, “I have a bad feeling about this”, and then something goes wrong.

Frame Story

• When there is another story inside the main story.

• Example: Shrek, as it opens with a story being told. The rest of that movie is inside the story.

Flashback

• A scene in a story that is set earlier in time than the main story.

• Example: When Odysseus recounts what happened in his journeys to Alcinous.

Mood

• The emotional feeling or general atmosphere of a piece of work. It is often created by descriptive language.

• Example: A horror novel will set a tense, dramatic mood by using things like “It was a dark and stormy night.”

Tone

• The author's attitude toward the audience, subject, or themselves. It is also the attitude or feelings the author tries to convey.

• Example: Short, direct sentences set a tone of urgency.

Theme

• The central universal idea, message, or deeper meaning of a text or piece of work.

• Example: The theme of Oedipus Rex is that hubris and ignorance can be your downfall, as well as trying to change your destiny.

Allusion

• A brief, indirect reference to a person, place, thing, or idea.

• Example: Saying one weakness is your “Achilles heel” is an allusion to the myth of Achilles.

Motif

• A recurring element like an object, image, sound, or phrase that is repeated to point towards the theme of the story.

• Example: The green light in The Great Gatsby is recurring and represents greed. 

Characters of “An Utterly Perfect Murder” by Ray Bradbury

• Doug

• Doug’s Wife

• Ralph Underhill

Doug(main character)

A 48-year-old man. Decides that he will kill Ralph Underhill. He packs for a journey to find Ralph.

Doug’s wife

Seen at the beginning of the story. Wants Doug to fly instead of going on a train.

Ralph Underhill

• Doug’s childhood bully.

• Very abusive to Doug

• He once pushed Doug in the mud and snow when Doug had a new tweed knicker suit.

• During the Great Depression, when they were young, Doug wanted a Tarzan radio statue. Doug traded his brother’s mitt for the statue.

• When Doug would toss up bits of gravel to invite Ralph to play, he would never do the same.

When does Doug decide to kill Ralph?

Doug decides on his 48th birthday that he will kill his childhood friend/enemy from 36 years ago.

How does Doug travel to get to Ralph and what does he think during the way?

He boards a train, and on the way there, thinks about his childhood and how unfair Ralph was.

How does Doug describe Ralph when he sees him after a long time?

• Ralph never grew much after 12

• A little old man

• Seems sick, frail, and weak

How many times does Doug shoot Ralph in his imagination?

6 times

What does Doug whisper to himself?

“Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. Bang. You’re dead. Oh god, Ralph, you’re dead.”

What familiar action does Doug do when he walks away from Ralph?

He picks up a piece of gravel and throws it at the window of his own house to show that was something Ralph should’ve done

Characters of “There Will Come Soft Rains” by Ray Bradbury

• The house

• Robotic mice

• The family

• The dog

The house

• A robotic house from a post-apocalyptic world.

• The house made breakfast, told the time, gave the family advice, watered the lawn, and cleaned the house.

• The house also tries to talk to the family, reading a poem for the mother every night.

Robotic mice

• Small mice that come out from the walls at 9:15.

• They clean the house and suck up the dust, then go back into the wall.

• They try to put out the flames with water when the fire happens.

The family(McClellans)

• Never actually seen, but they are often alluded to

• Consists of a father, mother, a young boy, and a young girl

• They were killed as they were outside the house, playing and gardening, when the bomb went off.

The dog

• It’s a suffering dog with sores that just enters the house

• The house refers to it as the family dog

• When the dog realizes there is nobody, it chases its tail, then dies.

• The mice then clean up the body of the dog.

What time does the day start at?

Seven o’clock

What is the first thing that the house does?

It makes breakfast while talking about birthdays, anniversaries, insurance, and bills

What happens at eight o’clock?

• The house says it’s time for the family to go, although the house is empty

• The food gets thrown away

What happens at nine?

The house cleans itself with mechanical mice

10:15?

The sprinklers in the lawn turn on

2?

• The house refuses to let animals touch the house, but recognizes a malnourished dog.

• The dog frantically runs through the house, likely looking for something, but cannot find it.

• It curls up on the rug and dies, and then its body is cleaned up by the mice

2:35?

Bridge tables appear, and music plays

4:30?

The nursery appears, a place for the children to play

5?

• A bath is filled with water

• The dishes are done

• The folders are ready.

8?

The fire in the study is lit

9?

• The beds begin to warm

• The house asks Mrs. McClellan what poem she would like.

• When there is no response, the house picks a favorite.

How does the house get destroyed?

• A gust of wind blows, and a branch crashes through the window

• Knocking a bottle of solvent and setting the house on fire

• Water pumps trying to put out the fire, but it spreads on the floor

• The house yells, “Fire! Fire! Fire!” and tries to save itself, and eventually, reinforcements come.

• But the house explodes, and the voices of the technology cry out for help. Slowly, they begin to “die” and stop.

• The house continues to make food, and the cleaning mice continue to clean, even as they are burning and dying. 

• Eventually, one wall is standing. The last voice says, “Today is August 5, 2026.” Another day has started, but the house is ruined.

Characters of “The Possibility of Evil” by Shirley Jackson

• Miss Adela Strangeworth

• Mr. Lewis

• The Crane Family

• Miss Chandler

• Mrs. Foster

• Linda Stewart

• Dave Harris

Miss Adela Strangeworth

• Has prize roses

• 71 years old

• Knows everyone in town

• Her grandfather built the first house on Pleasant Street

• Her family had lived there for more than a hundred years

Mr. Lewis

• Grocery store worker

• Receives a letter saying his grandson is stealing cash from the grocery store register.

The Crane Family

• Don and Helen Crane are married

• They have a baby girl whom they spoil

• Helen Crane worries that the baby isn’t moving enough for six months

• They receive a letter from Miss Strangeworth

Miss Chandler

• A busy librarian

• Also has received a letter from Adela, about whether Mrs. Shelly’s first husband had really died.

Mrs. Foster

• An old woman who was scheduled to have an operation next month

• The letter she receives from Adela implies that her nephew may pay the doctor to kill her during the surgery for money.

Linda Stewart

• Cries at the post office

• Has a relationship with Dave Harris, but Linda’s father won’t let him come around anymore. 

Dave Harris

• Tries to call Miss Adela Strangeworth when the letter falls

• Takes the letter to the Cranes because they may need good news

• Dave and Linda walk away sadly, holding hands

How does the story begin?

• Miss Strangeworth runs errands to the grocery store

• During her errands, she judges the townspeople and notices that many of them seem a bit off

• She also stops by the library before returning home.

What does Miss Strangeworth do when she gets home?

• When she arrives home, she sits down at her desk and begins to write letters

• They are all anonymous and on pastel pieces of paper, addressed to some townspeople

• They all contain information that may not be true and can harm the townspeople's lives.

  • She tells the Cranes that their child may be disabled, that Mr. Lewis’s grandson is stealing from him, and that the man Miss Chandler is seeing may be a murderer

What happens when Miss Strangeworth goes to mail the letters?

• She sees Dave Harris and Linda Stewart, who are having relationship problems (likely from one of the letters)

• Miss Strangeworth drops one of the letters without realizing

• Then Dave Harris says he is going to give the letter directly to Mr. Crane. 

What happens the next day after she sends out the letters?

• Adela wakes up with a feeling of joy, as soon as people see her letters.

• However, she sees an envelope on her hall floor that looks similar to the ones she mails.

• Inside it says, “Look out at what used to be your roses.” Adela begins to weep.

Characters of “By the Waters of Babylon” by Stephen Vincent Benet

• John

• John’s Father

• The Forest People

• The Dead “God”/The Gods

John

• The son of a priest

• He is allowed to touch metal and go out on expeditions in the Dead Places

• He lives by laws saying that only a priest or son of a priest can touch metal, and that nobody can go east into the Place of the Gods.

• John lives in a post-apocalyptic world that was presumably destroyed by war and mankind

• He embarks on a journey of self-discovery and growth, but it is forbidden to travel east

• He defies his father and goes east anyway.

John’s Father

• A priest

• He is the one who allows John to go on his journey

• He raises John to be a priest

• The dad makes John help him collect metal at a young age

• He also forgives John at the end and tells him that they will not tell the others of their discoveries

The Forest People

• Another group of post-apocalyptic survivors

• They are seen by John and the others as ignorant people who eat grubs from trees and live like savages

• John encounters some of these people on his trip.

The Dead “God”/The Gods

• At the end of John’s journey, he discovers a “Dead God” in a chair.

• He is dead, and his skin is dry and leathery, and he seems fragile

• He dies with a look of sadness, but with acceptance on his face

• When John sees him, he realizes that the “gods” were humans, just like him

What truth does John find out on his journey?

• John learns that many of the tales he learned about the places are inaccurate.

• The Place of Gods do not have burning grounds or evil spirits

• But instead are made up of ruined towers and buildings

What does John do at the beginning of the story?

• John makes his way east

• Fights off dogs that are trying to hunt and eat him

• He closes a metal door on them, then explores the house he had entered.

What does John explore on his journey?

• He explores abandoned buildings filled with instruments like a sink, stove, and more

• He spends the night there and receives a vision of how the city was once full of gods, light, and magic

• He then sees how the “gods” destroyed themselves, with fire and poison

• Then John cries

What does John see the next morning?

• The next morning, John sees a dead “god”

• The man looks sad and leathery, and he had sat in a chair by the window and watched his city die

• His body had been lost, but not his spirit

• John realizes that the god is not a god, but a man

• He realizes that all of the gods were just people from a more advanced society

• He returns home, unafraid, determined to share his knowledge

What happens when John returns home?

• John’s father recognizes John as a priest and a man

• John’s father refuses to punish John for breaking the law, as he says they can change

• The father refuses to tell the tribe about the discovery, as he says that it can be dangerous for society to acquire technology too quickly

• John agrees, but they now go to the Dead Places for books and writings

• John calls the place of the gods, New York, saying that they will build again.

Stage 1

• Separation

  • Status Quo

  • Call to Adventure

  • Assistance

  • Departure

0. Status Quo

• Hero exists

• Exposition

• Safe space

• Daily Life

• Relatable

1. Call to Adventure

• Threat to family

• Action

• Dramatic

• Manifested

• Forced

• Moment of realization

2. Assistance

• Guide/Mentor comes to assist

• Hero needs something that the Mentor can help with

  • insight on the events to come

  • wise advice

  • practical training

  • self-confidence

• Object of great importance

• Crucial turning point

• Beginning of quest

3. Departure

• Ready to act

• Truly begins the cast

• May be forced to do so

• leaves regular life

• Begins to show commitment

Stage 2

• Initiation & Transformation

  • Trials

  • Approach

  • Crisis

  • Treasure

  • Result

4. Trials

• Rising action

• Out of comfort zone

• Faced with obstacles

• Negative/positive

• Reveals the flaws

• Finds out who to trust

• Powers being tested

5. Approach

• Climax

• Time to face their biggest fear

• Signals to the audience of the importance of the situation

• Self-assessments

• Final preparations

• Same doubts and fears may come back

6. Crisis

• Hero’s darkest hour

• Where he/she faces death and even possibly dies, only to be reborn

• This is the ultimate test

7. Treasure

• Prize/reward

• Could be ticket back home

• Pay-off for completing the tasks/obstacles

• Becoming a better person

• Staying alive

8. Result

• The effect on the plot

• Does the hero make it out of the crisis?

• Are they reborn

• Do they gain any new knowledge or wisdom in order to get back home?

Stage 3

• The Known World

  • Return

  • New Life

  • Resolution

9. Return

• Opposite of call to adventure

• Exoneration/forgiveness

• Return home, or starting point

• Last moment before the hero commits to final stage

• Still needs one more push to get back to ordinary/regular life

10. New Life

• Realizes they are a different person

• Fresh start

• Outgrown their old life

• May even face on more final test before going back to regular life

11. Resolution

• Reward may be literal or metaphoric

• Last stage where the hero goes back to ordinary life as a changed man

• Gives everyone, a new perspective

• May bring new hope

• More wiser

0. Status Quo

• Nothing is the same

• Different level

• New capabilities

• New perspective

• Gained different mentors/friends/enemies

Monomyth

• The story pattern seen above

• Created by Joseph Campbell. Broken into 3 acts: departure, initiation, and return

• Also known as “The Hero’s Journey”

Joseph Campbell

• Coined the term “The Monomyth”

• Wrote the books “The Hero’s Journey” and “The Hero with a Thousand Faces,” explaining his beliefs

The Hero with a Thousand Faces

The book Joseph Campbell published, explaining the monomyth. His book explained his belief that all heroes are really the same character at their core

Tiresias

The blind seer who tells Odysseus his future in the Underworld and gives him advice

Poseidon

• The father of Polyphemus

• An indirect antagonist

• Often blew Odysseus’ crew off track

Scylla

• The six-headed sea monster that lives in the sea by Charybdis

• Odysseus sacrifices six men to her to avoid Charybdis, who would’ve killed them all

Zeus

• King of gods

• God of storms, thunder, and lightening

• Often sending signals using thunder or lightening to hep Odysseus

• Strikes down Odysseus’ boat and crew

Calypso

• A nymph who fell in love with Odysseus

• Kept him on her island, Ogygia for seven years while having an affair

Charybdis

The whirlpool to the left of Scylla

Apollo

• God of sun and archery

• Odysseus says “So help me, Apollo” when Odysseus is about to shoot an arrow at Antinous

Odysseus

• Main character

• Captain of the crew

• Fought in the Trojan War

• Dangerously curious

• Only survivor of the journey

Antinous

• The worst suitor

• Insults and throws a stool at Odysseus when he is disguised as a beggar

• Tries to convince the other suitors to kill Telemachus and forcibly marry Penelope

• Killed first by Odysseus

Circe

• Goddess of sorcery

• The crew ends up on the island of Aeaea

• She turns the man who explore the island, into pigs

• She tries to drug Odysseus, but his herbs(moly) protect him

• Circe and Odysseus have an affair for a year in order to turn the men back to normal

Penelope

• Odysseus’ wife

• Courted by the suitors ever since Odysseus left

• Tries to avoid marriage by weaving a burial shroud for Laertes, and unweaving it every night for three years

• Then she gets caught so she had to finish it up

• She stays faithful to Odysseus, hoping that he will return and the suitors will leave

Athena

• Goddess of war, wisdom, and battle strategy

• fights alongside of Odysseus, Telemachus, and the servants against the suitors because she likes violence and battle

• She is one of the gods that helps Odysseus the most, protecting both Odysseus and Telemachus.

Helios

• An indirect antagonist

• He calls for Zeus to strike Odysseus’ boat with a lightening bolt, which kills the rest of the crew

• Helios cared for his cattle so when the crew ate the cattle after specifically told not to, he refuses Odysseus’ apology

Telemachus

• The son of Penelope and Odysseus

• A young adult

• Next in line to be king, but the suitors planned to kill him

• Eventually helps Odysseus slaughter the suitors

Persephone

• Goddess of spring and vegetation

• Odysseus prays to her and encounters her in the Underworld

Polyphemus

• The cyclops

• The crew steal his food and trick him into drinking wine

• He got caught off guard and got stabbed in the eye with a hot sharpened stake

• Then the crew ends up stealing the sheep

• Call Poseidon(his dad) to curse the crew

Hermes

• God of thieves and messages

• Gives Odysseus a bag of herbs, called moly, to protect him from Circe’s magic