English: Short Story Test
motifs
cinderella, fairy tale, revenge, childhood, duality, good and evil
social competition
jealousy and peer pressure drives the relationship between Marjorie and Bernice reflecting the issues of adolescent social competition for attention, boyfriends and popularity
guant
lean
themes
life is unpredictable in modern time people are often presented with false hopes and promises
diction
military diction creates verisimilitude
1st person point of view creates
narrow perception, suspense, immediacy
immobile
not moving, motionless
3rd person point of view
omniscient narrator- all knowing, creates dramatic irony limited narrator- describes things as they happen, creates more suspense
vigilance
the action or state of keeping careful watch for possible danger or difficulties
diction
the author uses linguistic devices often associated with children: simplicity of language, list making
diction x2
the author uses poetic language to bring the childhood experience to life
theme
"There's never two of anything" the author takes a nostalgic look back at the pleasures of a simple childhood experience connecting with an adult in preparation of the holidays
black room on the westernmost side- meaning
"red death" red-red window, death- black room
biblical allusion
"thief in the night"
Everyday Use
Alice Walker
A Horseman in the Sky
Ambrose Bierce
setting
America, the 1920s, the "Jazz Age" the "Roaring Twenties"
A Young Girl's Wish
Amy Tan
characters
Carter Druse, his father
setting
China, in the most "beautiful" city of Guilin
The Masque of the Red Death
Edgar Allen Poe
In Another Country
Ernest Hemingway
Bernice Bobs Her Hair
F. Scott Fitzgerald
Separating
John Updike
new image for women
Marjorie: popular, restless, seldom embarrassed, never frightened Bernice: loner, stodgy, easily embarrassed, sensible
plot
Miss Moore takes the kids up to the toy store and shows how money makes a difference
Young Goodman Brown
Nathaniel Hawthorne
setting
New York,
shroud
a cover
plot
Olivia was awakened by her half-sister Kwan on her first morning in China. She and her husband, Simon, were staying in Guilin and they planned to visit Kwan's hometown of Changmian. Guilin was supposed to be China's most beautiful city, but Changmian was rumored to be cursed. Kwan was born in China and lived there until Olivia's mother brought her to America to live with their family when Olivia was six. Her father had told her mother about Kwan on his death bed and had asked her to bring her to America. As they walked through the streets of Guilin, they spotted a vendor selling a cat-eagle. Kwan bought the owl and told Olivia that she would set it free on top of a mountain in Changmian called Young Girl's Wish. Girls in her village would go to the top of the mountain and make a wish. Her guardian in China, Big Ma, told her that such dreams were silly, but all of her wishes except one came true: she had her sister, Olivia; she had returned to China with her sister; and her last wish, for Big Ma to see this and say she was sorry for sending her away, never came true. Kwan was going back to Changmian now in part to confront Big Ma and make that third wish come true. They take a taxi to Changmian. The taxi driver's name is Rocky and his fast driving shocks Olivia and Simon. On the way there, they pass by an awful accident involving a bus. Kwan says she can see many "yin people" or ghosts. When they finally get to Changmian, the village seems familiar to Olivia from Kwan's many stories. There are a dozen villagers waiting to greet them. Kwan greets each one, than stops. She tells them that Big Ma has died, and she is overcome with grief. She seems to be talking to Big Ma's ghost and telling her that she knew. When they find out later that Big Ma died in the bus accident they saw, Olivia asks her what Big Ma's ghost said to her. Kwan says that she said she was wrong about Young Girl's Wish and was sorry that she sent her away.
The Lesson
Toni Cade Bambara
A Christmas Memory
Truman Capote
modernism
a literary movement in which writers tried to capture the essence of modern life in both the form and content of their work
life is unpredictable
War's impact on individuals leaves them rethinking their former goals in life. The major's marriage which had supported him is suddenly over when his wife dies after a short illness
point of view
a particular attitude or way of considering a matter
setting
a precipice in West Virginia, a border state in 1861 (Civil War); setting makes the plot possible
ambush
a surprise attack by people living in wait in a concealed position
impetuous
acting or done quickly and without thought or care
themes
anti-war, whenever you kill someone in war you are killing a member of your (human) family
main characters
buddy, his friend (old lady)
"In the fall the war was always there, but we did not go to it any more."
considered one the most memorable opening lines in all of American literature. Line is simple and direct yet evoke a sense of desolation and despair
freedom for young people
dancing: "jazz nourished generation", riding around in cars, language of adolescent slang
woods at "deep dusk"- meaning
darkness and doubt
plot
daughter of a family comes home to visit after remaking herself and giving herself a new name, wants to take the quilts and be hung up but the mom says no and gives them to the little sister
theme
death is inevitable, you can't escape/cheat death
theme
death reveals a beauty in life
grotesque
deformed
pestilence
epidemic
plot
events presented as if they were snapshots: Virginia setting, the conversation between Druse and father at home, the return to the regiment in the valley
young goodman brown-meaning
everyman
plot
exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, resolution
dauntless
fearless
tranquil
free from disturbance, calm
perilous
full of danger or risk
faith brown-meaning
goodman brown's faith in humanity and society
theme
harmony and conflicts within the African American culture
simile
he had come like a thief in the night
hale
healthy
Hemingway's "iceberg" theory
his syntax is sparse omitting explanations and interpretations
contagion
infection
pink ribbons- meaning
innocence/sexuality
formidable
inspiring fear or respect through being impressively large, powerful, intense, or capable
sagacious
intelligent, clever, wise
movement of the plot
is guided by the words of Druse's father presented in the flashback "...do what you conceive to be your duty."
bizare
outlandish, peculiar
journey- meaning
philosophical search
2nd person point of view used for
preaching and teaching (uses the word "one")
prince prospero-meaning
prosperous
commemorate
recall and show respect for (someone or something) in a ceremony
short stories were a vehicle for
reflecting or criticizing social values
diction
repeats the words "cold", "wind", and "death" uses "boys" to describe the soldiers emphasizing their youth
setting
rural Georgia in the early 1970s
setting
rural southern America during the Depression of the 1930s
orgin
short stories became popular because American's were a working culture and didn't have time to read books, short stories could be read in one sitting so they were perfect
short story definition
short, prose, fiction, narrative
themes
social competition, freedom for young people, new image for women
theme
struggle, confusion, conflict, acceptance and separation
diction x2
subtle diction in the description of setting emphasizes height
theme
that everyman has this fight with good and bad, original sin
theme
that there is a divide between cultures, based on money
the old man with the staff- meaning
the Devil (snake-like staff)
personification
the Red Death as a person
submission
the action or fact of accepting or yielding to a superior force or to the will of authority of another person
in modern time people are often presented with false hopes and promises
the broken lives of the young soldiers are obvious because of their injuries and inability to go back...to the war or a normal life. The "machines" become symbols of the false promises of the modern age
setting x2
the characters are part of the generation the Gertrude Stein characterized as "lost"
characterization
the concept of creating characters for a narrative. It is a literary element and may be employed in dramatic works of art or everyday conversation. Characters may be presented by means of description, through their actions, speech, thoughts and interactions with other characters.
silhouette
the dark shape and outline of someone or something visible against a lighter background, especially in dim light
setting
the environment in which a story or event takes place. Setting can include specific information about time and place (e.g. Boston, Massachusetts, in 1809) or can simply be descriptive (eg. a lonely farmhouse on a dark night).
tone
the general character or attitude of a place, piece of writing, situation, etc.
protagonist
the leading character or one of the major characters in a drama, movie, novel, or other fictional text
setting
the men are in a hospital in Italy during WW1, the details of setting reflect a somber and melancholy modd
plot
the parents of the Maples family figuring out when to tell their kids that they are getting a divorce
conflict
the red death and the people, man vs supernatural
masked figure- meaning
the red death, TB
seven rooms- meaning
the stages of life
structure
the story lacks an exposition or resolution; this reflects the perception that life is uncertain, unpredictable and confusing
theme
the subject of a talk, a piece of writing, a person's thoughts, or an exhibition; a topic.
structure x2
there are no direct statements, but only impressions so that the reader makes his own conclusions about war
ebony clock- meaning
time running out, ebony-black wood
short story Poe's definition
under 100 pages, can read in one sitting
short stories dealt with
universal experiences such as love, war, death, jealousy, revenge
setting
unknown plot of land
modernism example
use of direct statement and straightforward passages with little elaboration, using rhythmic and precise language creates and new and recognizable in prose writing
allegory
uses symbolic elements to represent various human characteristics and situations
casement
window