LITERARY TERM STATIONS MAKE UP Define the following literary terms in Cornell Notes format. 1. Irony 10. Protagonist 2. Dramatic Irony 11. Antagonist 3. Situational Irony 12. Setting 4. Verbal Irony 13. Tone 5. Foreshadowing 14. Mood 6. Flashback 15. Theme 7. Conflict (types) 16. Symbol 8. Point of View (types) 17. Prose 9. Characterization STATION ONE: The Three Types of Irony Coincidence is NOT irony As George Carlin and others have pointed out, sportscasters, particularly baseball announcers, have an irony problem. Many of them simply don’t understand what the word means. Usually they mistake coincidence for situational irony. For example, an announcer might say, “It’s ironic that Stubby McGillicutty broke the single season RBI record in Anaheim where Angel great Jackie Fullcup, whose record McGillicutty broke, spent his entire career.” No. IT’S COINCIDENTAL. The Three Types of Irony 1) Verbal Irony—Saying what you DON’T mean Definition: A speaker means something different than, often the opposite of, what she says. Examples: “I can’t wait to start writing these forty-seven reports.” “My walk home was only twenty-three blocks.” (Note: The terms sarcasm and irony are often used interchangeably, but there is a difference. Sarcasm is meant to insult or cause harm. So strictly speaking, “Great, I forgot my umbrella” is ironic, whereas “You call this a cup of coffee?” is sarcastic.) 2) Situational Irony— The outcome is different than what you wanted Definition: When the outcome of actions or events is different than the desired or expected result Examples: If Dave died because he was allergic to the antibiotics that were supposed to save him, he is not merely a victim of bad luck. There is an oddly perverse poetry in Dave’s plight. Such a phenomenon as situational irony would only occur to a species which has a concept of fairness and a tendency to automatically anthropomorphize Fate. The Psychic Friends Network went bankrupt due to “unforeseen circumstances.” The gods are laughing at me by giving me ten thousand spoons when I just need a knife. 3) Dramatic Irony—The reader or audience knows something fictional characters don’t Definition: When we say something is ironic, we almost never mean dramatic irony. Dramatic irony occurs when the reader or audience has important knowledge which is withheld from a character or characters in a story, a movie, or a play. The most obvious example of this is when the young lady in the slasher flick doesn’t realize that the guy in the hockey mask with the meat cleaver is hiding behind the hot tub —but we do. When a person makes a harmless remark, and someone else who hears it knows something that makes the remark have a different, and usually unpleasant, meaning. For instance, if you were in a restaurant and said out loud, 'I can't wait to eat the veal marsala I ordered,' and there were people around who knew that the veal marsala was poisoned and that you would die as soon as you took a bite, your situation would be one of dramatic irony. Evaluation State whether the following are examples of verbal irony, situational irony, dramatic irony or not ironic in any way. 1. “Oh, great! It’s raining and I forgot my umbrella.” 2. I failed the test because I did not study. 3. Dave’s blood pressure medication gave him a heart attack. 4. Batman doesn’t know that the Joker is waiting for him, but the audience does. 5. In Oedipus Rex, a Greek tragedy by Sophocles, Oedipus desperately tries to find the murderer of King Thebes, whereas he is unaware that he is the one who has murdered the king. 6. The box of airdropped humanitarian aid landed on the refugee and killed him. 7. I missed the job interview because I overslept. 8. “Thank you for this ticket, Officer. You just made my day.” 9. Three celebrities died in three separate plane crashes yesterday. 10. “I heard that sun block causes cancer.”
STATION 2: Flashback and Foreshadowing Practice Exercises Practice 1: The Grasshopper and the Ant An Aesop's Fable Retold Read the selection, and then answer the questions that follow. (1) One fine summer day, Grasshopper was hopping about in the field. As he chirped and danced, he spied Ant carrying a big kernel of corn to his nest. Grasshopper watched as Ant came back, lifted another kernel, then carried it to the nest as well. This happened repeatedly. Finally, Grasshopper asked, "Ant, why do you work so hard on such a lovely day?" (2) "Soon it will be winter," replied Ant. "I'm gathering food for my family. I suggest you do the same!" (3) "Why bother about winter?" asked Grasshopper. "There's plenty of food in the fields now!" (4) Ant remembered last winter and how deep snow had covered everything. There had been no way to get out of his anthill, let alone try to find food! Now, an even worse winter was predicted. "You'll feel differently when the big snow comes!" said Ant, as he shook his head and walked away. (5) When winter came, Grasshopper had no food. The fields were covered with deep snow. Grasshopper was very hungry and sad, knowing that Ant had food enough because he had worked hard to prepare in advance. 1. In this fable, the author uses flashback to have a. Grasshopper remember a song he used to sing. b. Ant remember where Grasshopper used to live. c. Ant remember how bad last winter was. d. Grasshopper remember where he hid seeds during the summer. 2. Which best foreshadowed what might happen in the story? a. Grasshopper hopped about in the field. b. An even worse winter was predicted. c. Ant walked away. d. Grasshopper chirped. 3. Based on the story, which do you predict could NOT happen? a. Grasshopper begs Ant for just a small bit of food. b. Ant feels sorry for Grasshopper and gives him food. c. Grasshopper digs under the snow and finds lots of food. d. Grasshopper gets weaker without any food. Practice 2: Signs of the Times Read the selection, and then answer the questions that follow. (1) "It's going to be one of those days," Marek thought to himself as he looked up at the board labeled DEPARTURES. His flight was delayed. He thought back to how the day had begun. When he woke up, the sun had been shining brightly and robins that had built a nest outside his window were chirping loudly. He'd jumped out of bed, anxious to start the first day of his vacation. But he'd tripped over the clothes he'd carelessly dropped on the floor the night before and banged his knee on the closet door. (2) Now he sat at the airport thinking, "I guess I should have known this morning! Maybe it was an omen." He wasn't exactly sure what an omen was, but his mom always said that when things went wrong, so he figured it fit! He pulled his cell from his backpack. Quickly, he sent a text to his mom at work, alerting her that although he should be in the air on the way to his dad's place in Florida, he hadn't left the ground. Next, he sent a message to his dad, so he wouldn't be waiting at the airport in Florida for a flight that didn't come. (3) When he was finished, Marek went to look for something to eat. He thought about the last time he'd gone on vacation with both Mom and Dad. They'd gone to that new theme park and had a great time. That had been the last time Dad had taken any real time off… Mom insisted he worked too much. Then things changed, and now he was caught between two homes … the one he shared with Mom and the one we visited to see Dad. (4) Marek looked out the window and saw that everything was covered in a thick blanket of fog! Just then, he heard an announcement: "Due to the fog, all flights are delayed." Could this be another omen? he wondered. (5) For hours, Marek and the other passengers waited for news. The fog remained. No flights. Then Marek heard his cell. It was his dad. "Listen, you're still stuck up there and now they're forecasting a hurricane down here. I want you to have a great vacation, so why don't I come up there? … We can spend some time together, then fly here together next week. I can grab a flight now… They say by the time we get up there, the fog will have lifted and we can land. What do you think?" (6) "I think it would be great, Dad!" Marek replied, wondering what Mom would think. "Can't wait to see you!" (7) Marek called his mom, relaying the change in plans. She told him to stay at the airport and she'd come to pick him … and his dad … up. Slowly, the fog lifted, and was totally gone when his dad landed and his mom picked them up. (8) On the way home, Marek noticed that Mom seemed happy to see Dad … and he seemed happy to see her. They laughed and talked about "the old days" all the way home. "Maybe Dad was supposed to come here instead of me going there … maybe this whole thing was an omen. Could it mean they'll get back together?" Marek wondered.
4. The author uses flashback to have Marek a. remember when he and his mother moved into the house. b. recall that his father had been a champion swimmer. c. recall when he tripped over his clothes that morning. d. remember where he had hidden his old suitcase. 5. The author also uses flashback to have Marek explain a. why he likes Florida better than the place where he lives. b. what his life had been like before his mom and sad split up. c. how the airports had changed since the last time he was there. d. why he didn't like hamburgers. 6. Which best foreshadows that something important would happen later in the story? a. Marek tripping over his clothes b. Marek hearing the birds chirping c. the foggy skies d. Mom being at work 7. Which foreshadows that Marek will discover that his dad has changed? a. Dad offers to take days off work to spend with Marek. b. Marek goes to find something to eat. c. Dad once took the family to a theme park. d. It's the first day of Marek's vacation.
STATION 3: Point of View Choose from these points of view: first person, third person omniscient, third person limited
1. From Maniac Magee by Jerry Spinelli
So he turned and started walking north on Hector, right down the middle of the street, right down the invisible chalk line that divided East End from West End. Cars beeped at him, drivers hollered, but he never flinched. The Cobras kept right along with him on their side of the street. So did a bunch of East Enders on their side. One of them was Mars Bar. Both sides were calling for him to come over.
Point of view? ______
2. From From the Mixed-Up files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler, by E. L. Konigsburg
Claudia was furious . . . She refused to look at Jamie again and instead stared at the statue. The sound of footsteps broke the silence and her concentration. Footsteps from the Italian Renaissance were descending upon them! The guard was coming down the steps. There was just too much time before the museum opened on Sundays. They should have been in hiding already. Here they were out in the open with a light on!
Point of View? ______
3. From The Twenty-One Balloons by William Pene du Bois
It is funny that my trip has ended by being such a fast trip around the world. I find myself referred to now as one of the speediest travelers of all times. Speed wasn’t at all what I had in mind when I started out. On the contrary, if all had gone the way I had hoped, I would still be happily floating around in my balloon, drifting anywhere the wind cared to carry me – East, West, North, or South.
Point of View? ______
4. From Number the Stars by Lois Lowry
One of the soldiers, the taller one, moved toward her. Annemarie recognized him as the one she and Ellen always called, in whispers, “the Giraffe” because of his height and the long neck that extended from his stiff collar. He and his partner were always on this corner. He prodded the corner of her backpack with the stock of his rifle. Annemarie trembled. “What is in here?” he asked loudly. “Schoolbooks,” she answered truthfully. Point of View? ______
5. From Missing May by Cynthia Rylant
The day after May didn’t come to us, Ob didn’t get out of bed. He didn’t get me up either, and from a bad dream I woke with a start, knowing things were wrong, knowing that I had missed something vitally important. Among these, of course, was the school bus. It was Monday, and OB should have called me out of bed at five-thirty, but he didn’t, and when I finally woke at seven o’clock, it was too late to set the day straight.
Point of View? ______6. From The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe by C.S. Lewis
He himself was a very old man with shaggy white hair which grew over most of his face as well as on his head, and they liked him almost at once. But on the first evening when he came to meet them at the front door he was so odd- looking that Lucy (who was the youngest) was a little afraid of him, and Edmund (who was the next youngest) wanted to laugh and had to keep on pretending he was blowing his nose to hide it.
Point of View? ______
7. From I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings by Maya Angelou
For one whole semester the streetcars and I shimmied up and scooted down the sheer hills of San Francisco. I lost some of my need for the Black ghetto’s shielding-sponge quality, as I clanged and cleared my way down Market Street, with its honky-tonk homes from homeless sailors, past the quiet retreat of Golden Gate Park and along closed undwelled-in-looking dwellings of the Sunset District.
Point of View? ______
8. From The Olympic Games by Theodore Knight
While still a teenager, Lee met and began to train with some of the best divers in the country, among them several former Olympians. One former champion – Farid Simaika the Egyptian 1928 silver medalist who had moved to this country—gave Lee a piece of advice that he took to heart. He told the young diver that he might encounter prejudice in competition because he was of Korean descent. Simaika told Lee he would simply have to work twice as hard as other athletes. “You’ve go to be so much better that they have to give you the medal,” Simaika said.
Point of View? ______
9. From “Through the Tunnel” by Doris Lessing
He was an only child, eleven years old. She was a widow. She was determined to be neither possessive nor lacking in devotion. She went worrying off to her beach. As for Jerry, once he saw that his mother had gained her beach, he began the steep descent to the bay. From where he was, high up among red-brown rocks, it was a scoop of moving bluish green fringed with white. As he went lower, he saw that it spread among small promontories and inlets of rough, sharp rock, and the crisping, lapping surface showed stains of purple and darker blue.
Point of View? ______
10. From “Pictures on a Rock” by Brent Ashabranner One spring day a few years before the Rough Rock Demonstration School was opened, a five-year old Navajo boy named Fred Bia was watching the family sheep flock in the arid countryside near the little town. It was his daily chore to follow the sheep as they drifted over the red, rocky earth in their endless search for grass and leaves of semi-desert plants.
Point of View? ______
STATION 4: Tone and Mood
Watch out! Tone and mood are similar!! Tone is the author’s attitude toward the writing (his characters, the situation) and the readers. A work of writing can have more than one tone. An example of tone could be both serious and humorous. Tone is set by the setting, choice of vocabulary and other details. Mood is the general atmosphere created by the author’s words. It is the feeling the reader gets from reading those words. It may be the same, or it may change from situation to situation Read more about it! Authors set a TONE or MOOD in literature by conveying an emotion or emotions through words. The way a person feels about an idea, event, or another person can be quickly determined through facial expressions, gestures and in the tone of voice used. MOOD: (sometimes called atmosphere) the overall feeling of the work Mood is the emotions that you (the reader) feel while you are reading. Some literature makes you feel sad, others joyful, still others, angry. The main purpose for some poems is to set a mood. Writers use many devices to create mood, including images, dialogue, setting, and plot. Often a writer creates a mood at the beginning of the story and continues it to the end. However, sometimes the mood changes because of the plot or changes in characters. Examples of MOODS include: suspenseful, joyful, depressing, excited, anxious, angry, sad, tense, lonely, suspicious, frightened, disgusted TONE: the way feelings are expressed
Tone is the attitude that an author takes toward the audience, the subject, or the character. Tone is conveyed through the author's words and details. Use context clues to help determine the tone. In literature an author sets the tone through words. The possible tones are as boundless as the number of possible emotions a human being can have. Has anyone ever said to you, "Don't use that tone of voice with me?" Your tone can change the meaning of what you say. Tone can turn a statement like, " You're a big help!" into a genuine compliment or a cruel sarcastic remark. It depends on the context of the story.
IDENTIFYING TONE & MOOD For each example identify the tone, what context clues are used to convey the tone, and the overall mood of the sentence. 1. Bouncing into the room, she lit up the vicinity with a joyous glow on her face as she told about her fiancé and their wedding plans. 2. She huddled in the corner, clutching her tattered blanket and shaking convulsively, as she feverishly searched the room for the unknown dangers that awaited her. 3. Bursting through the door, the flustered mother screamed uncontrollably at the innocent teacher who gave her child an F. 4. Drawing the attention of his classmates as well as his teacher, the student dared to experiment with his professor’s intelligence by interrogating him about the Bible. 5. He furtively glanced behind him, for hear of his imagined pursuers, then hurriedly walked on, jumping at the slightest sound even of a leaf crackling under his own foot. 6. Gently smiling, the mother tenderly tucked the covers up around the child’s neck, and carefully, quietly, left the room making sure to leave a comforting ray of light shining through the opened door should the child wake. 7. The laughing wind skipped through the village, teasing trees until they danced with anger and cajoling the grass into fighting itself, blade slapping blade, as the silly dog with golfball eyes and flopping, slobbery tongue bounded across the lawn. Determining Theme and Defining Symbols Activity
Use these steps to determine the theme for “The Most Dangerous Game” (this works for ANY work:
1. Summarize the plot by writing a one-sentence description for the exposition, the conflict, the rising action, the climax, the falling action, and the resolution.
2. Identify the subject of the work.
3. Identify the insight or truth that was learned about the subject. • How did the protagonist change? • What lesson did the protagonist learn from the resolution of the conflict?
4. State how the plot presents the primary insight or truth about the subject.
5. Write one or more generalized, declarative sentences that state what was learned and how it was learned.
Theme Litmus Test • Is the theme supported by evidence from the work itself? • Are all the author’s choices of plot, character, conflict, and tone controlled by this theme?
6. Select one object from “The Most Dangerous Game.” Write a paragraph about what that object might symbolize, or represent, in the story. Here are some ideas: The chateau General Zaroff’s cigarettes The hunting knife given to Rainsford General Zaroff’s bed The Burmese tiger pit Rainsford builds