ELa Notes

Additional Literary Terms

CHARACTER TERMS

1. Protagonist- typically your main character. This character  is round, and usually dynamic. You want to route for this character’s safety and security. 

2. Antagonist- the character who causes conflict for your main character

3. Motivation-why does a character ACT the way that they do. What do they want? Need? Desire?

LITERARY DEVICES

1. Simile- comparison of two unlike ideas using the words like or as.

2. Metaphor- comparison of two unlike ideas (not using with words like or as)

3. Hyperbole- Purposeful Exaggeration

4. Imagery- Creating an image by using details about the sight, sound, smell, taste and touch details of the moment. (Not all will be used at once)
   
   

ELEMENTS OF STYLE

1. Foreshadowing- hinting at what is to come. Giving a “shadow” before that a reader can use as a suggestion of what will occur in a text. 

   • Flashback- a speaker is talking about the present, then “flashes back” to their past to tell the story. 

   • Tone- the author’s attitude toward their topic. Usually tone (like tone of voice) is positive or negative. Think about David Sedaris’s sarcastic tone in his Halloween story.

   • Mood- how you (the reader) feels when reading a text, but this is author intended. How do they want you to feel?

   • Suspense- a feeling of tension created in the story.

   • Irony

     1. Situational Irony- when the reader expects one thing to happen, but the opposite occurs.

     2. Dramatic Irony- when a reader knows something a character does not- creates the feeling of suspense.

     3. Surprise ending - often helps create situational irony through a turn of events that takes a reader by surprise.  To make a surprise ending believable, an author builds clues into the story that make the ending logical

 Characterization Flat vs. Round - Static vs. Dynamic

FLAT CHARACTERS are two-dimensional in that they are relatively uncomplicated - often stereotypes

ROUND CHARACTERS are complex - have many layers and facets to their personalities

DYNAMIC CHARACTERS - A dynamic character is a character who undergoes significant internal change throughout the course of a story. The development of a dynamic character is often subtle and unstated and is not due to a change in the character’s circumstances. A dynamic character is one who learns a lesson or changes as a person (either for better or for worse). Most main characters and major characters in stories are dynamic.

STATIC CHARACTERS - Static characters are the opposite of dynamic characters; while dynamic characters change throughout a story, static characters stay the same.

The term “dynamic character” is often confused with “round character,” and while they often overlap, they are not the same. A dynamic character is one who changes significantly throughout the story, whereas a round character is simply one who is interesting and layered. A character can be round without ever undergoing any changes throughout a story, so characters can be round without being dynamic.
Indirect and Direct Characterization

Characterization is the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.

Characterization is revealed through direct characterization and indirect characterization.

Direct Characterization tells the audience what the personality of the character is.
Example: “The patient boy and quiet girl were both well mannered and did not disobey their
mother.”
Explanation: The author is directly telling the audience the personality of these two children. The
boy is “patient” and the girl is “quiet.”

Indirect Characterization shows things that reveal the personality of a character. There are five
different methods of indirect characterization:
SPEECH - What does the character say? How does the character speak?
THOUGHTS - What is revealed through the character’s private thoughts and feelings?
EFFECT ON OTHERS - What is revealed through the character’s effect on other people? How do
other characters feel or behave in reaction to the character?
ACTIONS -  What does the character do? How does the character behave?
LOOKS - What does the character look like? How does the character dress? What does their physical appearance reveal about their person
PLOT MOUNTAIN

EXPOSITION - introduction to characters, setting (time, place. etc), the "everyday' of the characters' lives

INCITING INCIDENT - "What makes today different" - often the conflict is introduced here - catalyst for the story being told

RISING ACTION - events leading towards climax - building the story - events and obstacles that the protagonist faces - if the conflict isn't introduced in the inciting incident it is introduced in the rising action.

CLIMAX - the moment of most tension - TURNING POINT OF THE STORY

FALLING ACTION - wrap up of the story - tying up of loose ends

RESOLUTION - how the story ends

DENOUEMENT - "new everyday" - life has changed as a result of the story - i.e. "Happily ever after"

 Symbolism Notes

symbol - a person, place or object that has a literal meaning and also stands for something larger, such as an idea, emotion or concept.  Symbols may be particular to a specific literary work (something the author creates) or universal.

symbolism - the use of symbols in literature.  For examples, a writer might use a dove as a symbol for peace or a voyage as a symbol for the journey of life.

allegory - a poem or story that has parallel literal and symbolic meaning.  On the literal level, the story appears simply as it is told.  On the symbolic level, every element in the story, including the characters, events and descriptions, and features of the setting, has a symbolic meaning.  While an allegory can be understood on the literal level, its full meaning is only clear on the symbolic level. 
Types of Conflict

7 Types of Conflict in Fiction

There are two basic kinds of conflict: external and internal

Internal Conflicts

A conflict that happen inside the character’s mind or heart. When your main character has an inner turmoil that’s causing some emotional pain, it increases the tension of the story.

1. Person vs. Self

A character battling inner demons, one who has an inner moral conflict or is simply striving to become a better person is in a Person vs. Self conflict.

External Conflicts

External conflict pits the character against some exterior force or world-view and happens outside the character’s body. Six of the seven types of conflicts are of the external kind.

2. Person vs. Person

Also called protagonist vs. antagonist, this is the most common type of external conflict. It is clear and universally understood as a good vs. evil story in which an unambiguous challenger opposes the main character.

The heart of this type of story involves two characters with opposing outlooks, opinions, or goals.

3. Person vs. Nature

This type of conflict counters a character against some force of nature, such as an animal or the weather.

4. Person vs. Society

When a novel sets a character against a tradition, an institution, a law, or some other societal construct, it is a Person vs. Society story.

5. Person vs. Technology

When science moves beyond human control, conflicts of Person vs. Technology develop. 

6. Person vs. Supernatural

Vampires, werewolves, aliens, and ghosts – any typically unbelievable, supernatural, or inexplicable phenomena – provide Person vs. Supernatural conflicts. 

7. Person vs. Destiny (Fate/Luck/God)

This is type of conflict sometimes gets split up among the other categories.