| A | B |
|---|
| plot | sequence of events in a story; what happens to the characters |
| conflict | a struggle or obstacle the character must overcome. IF THERE IS NO CONFLICT, THERE IS NO STORY. |
| climax | the TURNING POINT in the story, where the character finally overcomes the comflict |
| resolution | the ending of the story, where all the loose ends are tied up |
| first-person point of view | narration where the main character tells the story, using first-person pronouns |
| third-person point of view | narration where the narrator is an UNKNOWN OBSERVER, using third-person pronouns |
| characterization | the way a writer brings a character to life, by describing how the character looks and acts, by what the character says, and by how other characters react to him/her. |
| theme | the UNDERLYING meaning of the story--the message below the surface that the writer wants you to understand. This message can be applied to anyone's life. |
| tone | the AUTHOR'S ATTITUDE toward what he's writing about or toward his audience. We know his tone by the WORDS he CHOOSES to USE. |
| mood | the way the READER feels when he reads a piece of literature. The mood is set by the SETTING and DETAILS of the CIRCUMSTANCES in the STORY. |
| irony | when the DIRECT OPPOSITE of what you expect to happen occurs in a story. (Example, an English test full of grammatical errors!) |
| symbolism | the use of any person or object to stand for something much larger than itself. |
| figurative language | words that have meaning beyond their usual, literal definitions. SIMILE, METAPHOR, and PERSONIFICATION are types of figurative language. |
| simile | comparing two unlike things with the use of "like" or "as." Example: He is as clumsy as a bull in a china store. |
| metaphor | comparing two unlike things by IMPLYING that one thing IS the other (NO "LIKE" or "AS"). Example: Her tears ARE diamonds [meaning they are precious] |
| personification | giving NONHUMAN things HUMAN characteristics. Example: The dawn stretched her fingers across the land. (Dawn=nonhuman, but has "fingers" of light) |
