A. Part I. Literary Terms & Definitions

Mrs. Tarkington English 10H – Midterm Review

A. Part I. Literary Terms & Definitions: Literary Term Definition Example Theme The subject of a talk, a piece of One theme in To Kill a writing, a person's thoughts, or Mockingbird is justice an exhibition; a topic Metaphor Comparing two like things The hallway is a jungle without using “Like” or “As” Simile Comparing two like things An elephant’s weight is like using “Like” or “As” the weight of a 4 buses Personification Giving a non living things The wind spoke to me. human characteristics Antagonist A person who actively opposes The antagonist in the story or is hostile to someone or promoted unruly behavior something; an adversary. toward the protagonist (not always a person / can be a force of nature) Conflict A serious disagreement or Man vs. Man in “The Most argument, typically a Dangerous Game” or good protracted one vs. evil Climax The most interesting, exiting The climax of The Fan Club part of a story. when Laura takes the card and claps Irony The expression of one's It is ironic that Laura makes meaning by using language that fun of Rachel after her normally signifies the opposite, discrimination speech. typically for humorous or emphatic effect Foreshadowing A warning or indication of a When Candy’s dog dies, this future event foreshadows Lennie’s death. Alliteration The occurrence of the same The girl snorted, slouched, letter or sound at the beginning and screamed when she of adjacent or closely connected talked. words. Juxtaposition To place two things side by side Juxtaposing the two essays to compare and contrast them. revealed the huge differences in the author's viewpoints. (Or Benvolio and Tybalt in Romeo and Juliet) Hyperbole Exaggerated statements or My foot was killing me. claims not meant to be taken literally. Tone A manner of expression in Their hostile stares as they writing. passed through the corridor Allusion An expression designed to call The speaker made an something to mind without allusion to the speech given mentioning it explicitly. by Martin Luther King, Jr.

Imagery Visually descriptive or The moon glimmered figurative language. brightly over the calm seas.

Setting The place or type of The setting of the novel surroundings where something Lord of the Flies is a tropical is positioned or where an event island during WWII takes place Symbol A thing that represents or The mockingbird is a stands for something else symbol of innocence. Motif To continuously reoccur The reoccurrence of the State Farm commercial is a motif. Allegory A story, poem, or picture that Pilgrim's Progress is an can be interpreted to reveal a allegory of the spiritual hidden meaning, typically a journey. moral or political one Dialogue Conversation between two or “We enjoyed the play more people as a feature of a because of the amazingly book, play, or movie creative sets and the witty dialogue”.

Characterization Describe the distinctive nature Ralph is a tall kid with blue or features of eyes and long brown hair. Onomatopoeia The formation of a word from a Boing, Bang, or Boom sound associated with what is named Protagonist The main character of a story The protagonist of TKAM is Scout.

B. Part II. Review of Literature

To Kill a Mockingbird by Harper Lee

Genre · Coming-of-age story; social drama; courtroom drama; Southern drama

Narrator · Scout narrates the story herself, looking back in retrospect an unspecified number of years after the events of the novel take place.

Point of view · Scout narrates in the first person, telling what she saw and heard at the time and augmenting this narration with thoughts and assessments of her experiences in retrospect. Although she is by no means an omniscient narrator, she has matured considerably over the intervening years and often implicitly and humorously comments on the naïveté she displayed in her thoughts and actions as a young girl. Scout mostly tells of her own thoughts but also devotes considerable time to recounting and analyzing Jem’s thoughts and actions.

Tone · Childlike, humorous, nostalgic, innocent; as the novel progresses, increasingly dark, foreboding, and critical of society

Setting (place /time) · The fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, 1930s

Protagonist · Scout Finch

Major conflict · The childhood innocence with which Scout and Jem begin the novel is threatened by numerous incidents that expose the evil side of human nature. As the novel progresses, Scout and Jem struggle to maintain faith in the human capacity for good in light of these recurring instances of human evil.

Themes · The coexistence of good and evil; the importance of moral education; social class and inequality

Motifs · Gothic details; light and dark, small-town life

Symbols · Mockingbirds; Boo Radley

Foreshadowing · The Gothic elements of the novel (the fire, the mad dog) build tension that subtly foreshadows Tom Robinson’s trial and his eventual death / fate

C. Vocabulary Condescend, evasion, cordiality, perpetual, subdue, formidable, tirade, futility, articulate, infuriate, succinct, undulate, temerity, volition, affirm, solicit, taciturn, unfathomable, innate, repertoire

D. Part III. Quotations – Line Identification You will need to identify the speaker of the quote and provide an analysis (i.e., what is the significance of the quotation? Why is it important to the text?)

Examples:

“You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view . . . until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

This important conversation from Chapter 3 finds Atticus giving Scout the crucial piece of moral advice that governs her development for the rest of the novel. The simple wisdom of Atticus’s words reflects the uncomplicated manner in which he guides himself by this sole principle. His ability to relate to his children is manifested in his restatement of this principle in terms that Scout can understand (“climb into his skin and walk around in it”). Scout struggles, with varying degrees of success, to put Atticus’s advice into practice and to live with sympathy and understanding toward others. At the end of the book, she succeeds in comprehending Boo Radley’s perspective, fulfilling Atticus’s advice in Chapter 3 and providing the novel with an optimistic ending despite the considerable darkness of the plot.

“ When a child asks you something, answer him for goodness’ sake. But don’t make a production of it. Children are children. But they can spot an evasion quicker than adults and evasion simply muddles’ em.”

While Atticus respects his children, he also recognizes that they’re different from adults. Still, for Atticus treating them as children doesn’t mean lying to them or avoiding hard truths.

“Shoot all the blue jays you want, if you can hit’em, but remember it’s a sin to kill a mockingbird.”

Atticus tells this to his children, and in addition to bearing the title of the novel, this passage demonstrates yet again how similar Atticus and Mrs. Maudie are. Both agree quite strongly that it is a sin to kill a mockingbird, an animal symbolic of Boo Radley and Tom Robinson, as neither has caused harm, and prove only to have pure hearts.

“… I couldn’t go to church and worship God if I didn’t try to help that man.” Atticus knows that in order to stay true to himself as a moral human being, he must do everything in his power to help a man in need, even if the odds are against him. Atticus is subconsciously aware that if he begins to walk down a path that veers away from adhering to moral goodness and advocating for the truth, his foundation will begin to deteriorate, and his own thoughts and beliefs could become tainted by the social norms.

“I wanted you to see what real courage is instead of getting the idea that courage is a man with a gun in his hand. It’s when you know you’re licked before you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what. You rarely win but sometimes you do.”

To Jem's disbelief Atticus goes on to say that she was a great lady. Atticus tells Jem how she was a courageous woman, he says, "She was. She had her own views about things, a lot different from mine, maybe ... son, I told you that if you hadn't lost your head I'd have made you go read to her. I wanted you to see something about her-I wanted you to see what real courage is, instead of a man with a gun is hand (a subtle reference to himself). It's when you know you're licked before you begin but you begin anyway and you see it through no matter what (another subtle reference to himself and a foreshadowing of the case his about to take on). You rarely win but sometimes you do. Mrs. Dubose won alright, all ninety-eight pounds of her. According to her views, she died beholden to nothing and nobody. She was the bravest person I ever knew."

"So many things had happened to us, Boo Radley was the least of our fears. Atticus said he didn't see how anything else could happen, that things had a way of settling down, and after enough time had passed people would forget that Tom Robinson's existence was ever brought to their attention." (Chapter 27)

This is Scout narrating, providing a flashback of an earlier event that she recalls involving Boo and the children’s changing fears as the climax of the novel progresses. When Scout tells us that "Boo Radley was the least of our fears", it ironically foreshadows his eventual reappearance.

Additional quotes below to re-familiarize your selves with…

"'It's not necessary to tell all you know. It's not ladylike -in the second place, folks don't like to have someone around knowin' more than they do. It aggravates 'em. You're not gonna change any of them by talkin' right, they've got to want to learn themselves, and when they don't want to learn there's nothing you can do but keep your mouth shut or talk their language.'" (Chapter 13)

"I never understood her preoccupation with heredity. Somewhere, I had received the impression that Fine Folks were people who did the best they could with the sense they had, but Aunt Alexandra was of the opinion, obliquely expressed, that the longer a family had been squatting on one patch of land the finer it was." (Chapter 14)

"'The state has not produced one iota of medical evidence that the crime Tom Robinson is charged with ever took place. It has relied instead upon the testimony of two witnesses whose evidence has not only been called into serious question on cross-examination, but has been flatly contradicted by the defendant. The defendant is not guilty, but somebody in this courtroom is.'" (Chapter 21)

"'Scout, I think I'm beginning to understand something. I think I'm beginning to understand why Boo Radley's stayed shut up in the house all this time. It's because he wants to stay inside.'" (Chapter 24)

"Atticus looked like he needed cheering up. I ran to him and hugged him and kissed him with all my might. 'Yes sir, I understand,' I reassured him. 'Mr. Tate was right.' Atticus disengaged himself and looked at me. 'What do you mean?' 'Well, it'd be sort of like shootin' a mockingbird, wouldn't it?'" (Chapter

"Atticus was right. One time he said you never really know a man until you stand in his shoes and walk around in them. Just standing on the Radley porch was enough. (Chapter 31)