Term
|
Definition
| written purely for entertainment--to help us pass the time agreeably |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| broaden and deepen and sharpen our awareness of life |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| written for wide, popular consumption |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| written with serious artistic intent |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the sequence of incidents or events of which a story is composed, presented in a significant order |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a clash of actions, ideas, desires, or wills |
|
|
Term
| Examples of conflicts (plot) |
|
Definition
Person against person
Person against environment
Conflict of person against himself or herself |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| central characters in a conflict, whether sympathetic or unsympathetic as persons |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The forces arrayed against protagonists, whether persons, things, conventions of society, or traits of their own characters |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the quality in a story that makes readers ask "What's going to happen next?" or "How will this turn out?" and impels them to read on to find the answers to these questions; a "cliffhanger" |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| an unusual set of circumstances for which the readers crave an explanation |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a position in which the protagonist must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Becomes pronounced when the story departs radically from our expectations; an unexpected twist |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| one that reveals a sudden new turn or twist |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the protagonist must solve his problems, defeat the villain, win the girl, and "live happily ever after" |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a miserable ending to a story |
|
|
Term
| Indeterminate ending (plot) |
|
Definition
| One in which no definitive conclusion is reached |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| there must be nothing in the story that is irrelevant, that does not contribute to the total meaning, nothing that is only there for its own sake or excitement |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| When an author gives a story a turn unjustified by the situation or the characters involved, or when a character makes unmotivated action (also overuse of chance and coincidence) |
|
|
Term
| Direct presentation (characterization) |
|
Definition
| The authors tells the reader straight out, by exposition or analysis, what the characters are like, or have someone else in the story tell us what they are like |
|
|
Term
| Indirect presentation (characterization) |
|
Definition
| The author shows us the characters in action; we infer what they are like from what they think or say or do |
|
|
Term
| Dramatized (characterization) |
|
Definition
| when characters are shown speaking and acting, as in a drama |
|
|
Term
| Flat characters (characterization) |
|
Definition
| characterized by one or two traits; can be summed up in a sentence |
|
|
Term
| Round characters (characterization) |
|
Definition
| complex and many sided; they might require an essay for full analysis |
|
|
Term
| Stock character (characterization) |
|
Definition
| special kind of flat character; stereotyped figures who have occurred so often in fiction that their nature is immediately known |
|
|
Term
| Static character (characterization) |
|
Definition
| the same sort of person at the end of the story as at the beginning |
|
|
Term
| Developing (or dynamic) character (characterization) |
|
Definition
| undergoes a permanent change in some aspect of character, personality, or outlook |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A piece of fiction's controlling idea or central insight |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| who tells the story, and, therefore, how it gets told |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the story is told in the third person by a narrator whose knowledge and prerogatives are unlimited |
|
|
Term
| Limited omniscient point of view |
|
Definition
| the story is told in the third person, but from the viewpoint of one character in the story |
|
|
Term
| First-person point of view |
|
Definition
| the author disappears into one of the characters, who tells the story in the first person |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the narrator disappears into a kind of roving sound camera that can only record what is seen and/or heard; it cannot comment, interpret, or enter a character's mind (also known as Dramatic POV) |
|
|
Term
| What often decides theme? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Everything the author does to make us understand the characters |
|
|
