Literary Analysis Chapter 2

third person objective narrative

A narrative in which the narrator will act as an impartial observer, providing very little comment on the events of the story or behavior of the characters.

third person omniscient narrative

A narrative in which the writer uses an all seeing or all knowing narrator who is aware of all of the private thoughts, emotions, and behaviors of each character.

stream of consciousness

A narrative technique that attempts to simulate the complete flow of a character's thoughts. In this form of writing, ideas, thoughts, memories, dreams, sensory impressions, and conversations may combine or intermingle without clear transition or conventions.

archetype

A recurrent image that emerges from deep-seated associations that are anchored in universal patterns or structures of experience. Usually, a common, universal role assumed by a character (e.g., the prodigal son, damsel in distress, or knight-errant.)

flashback

A reversion back to events that have previously taken place. This allows the writer to interrupt normal chronological order in the narrative

dialogue

A verbal exchange between two or more people.

allegory

A work in which related symbols work together to produce a moral lesson or indication of progress. Usually, characters, events, and settings will represent certain moral qualities or will personify certain abstractions.

omniscient

All knowing or able to see everything at once. Usually used in reference to an omniscient narrative voice.

caricature

From the Italian meaning "exaggeration." Term used to describe characters who are comically distorted by the exaggeration of key traits that make them seem ridiculous or worthy of parody.

dialect

Regional variations in the speech of a common language. Writers will often employ vernacular writing to denote dialect (e.g., writing in a Southern dialect by depicting the Southern drawl). Dialect can help place characters by race, place of birth, gender, or background.

denotation

The literal definition of a word, devoid of contextual or emotional issues or connotations.

point of view

The perspective or vantage point by which the reader is able to see or experience certain events within a story or poem. There are several different kinds of point of view: first person, second person, third person limited, third person omniscient, and third person objective

List the questions related to character language, sentence structure, and discourse features that are used to analyze characters.

What kind of language is used? Consider the following: Is the language - abstract or concrete language? - language of emotions or of reason? - language of control or language of openness? What are the connotations of the language? How much language is connotative? What areas of experience, feeling, and meaning are evoked? Does the character intend to imply, to connote, certain qualities through his or her language use? How forceful is the language? What aspects of feeling are supported or created - by the sound of the language? - by the vowel and consonant sounds—long or short, soft or hard? - by how the words go together? Examine the way the author constructs the work. Meaning is created by the following: How the sentences sound. How the sentences are balanced. The force created by punctuation as well as by language. The stresses on words and the rhythm of the sentence. The length of the sentence. Whether the sentence has repetitions, parallels, balances, and so forth. The punctuation and how it makes the sentence sound and flow. What are the features that comprise the work? Consider the following: How long does the person speak? Are the sentences logically joined or disjointed, rationally ordered or disorderly? What tone or attitude does the speech seem to have? Does the speaker avoid saying things, deliberately or unconsciously withhold information, or communicate by indirection? To what extent does the speaker employ devices such as irony?

Explain the types of relationships that narrators may have to a story.

The author chooses the type that will best help him or her tell the story and present his or her chosen themes. Consider which point of view is being presented in the story. Who is telling the story? What is being told to you by the character and what is being left out? Consider whether or not you, as a reader, are privy to information that the characters are not (which is called dramatic irony). A narrator may be external, outside the story, and telling it with an ostensibly objective and perhaps omniscient voice, or a narrator may be a character (or characters) within the story. The type of narrator may be either a central character or a peripheral character—a bit player looking in on the scene.

characterization

The way in which an author represents or portrays a character for the reader. This can be revealed through the author's description of the character or through the character's speech, actions, and thoughts.

third person limited narrative

A narrative in which the narrator focuses on the actions and thoughts of one specific character. There will be no first person pronoun "I" to refer to the narrator. Instead, look for third person pronouns like "he" or "she" or proper names.

flat character

A character who is easily describable or represented with a one track personality or who is representative of a stereotype.

round character

A character who is more developed or complicated, exhibiting a range of responses, emotions, and loyalties.

Explain the concept of point of view.

A narration requires a narrator, someone who tells the story. This person will see things from a certain perspective, or point of view, in terms of his or her relation and attitude toward the events and characters.

first person narrative

A narrative in which one of the characters narrates the story knowing only information that he or she can observe based on his or her limited perspective.

connotation

Any association or attitude that is embedded in a word's meaning or is brought to mind by the mention of a word or phrase. For example, the word "odor" might mean the same thing as "scent," but "odor" would never be used to market cologne because of its negative connotation.

Identify and describe the types of characters used in fiction writing.

Be prepared to identify types of characters. In fables, myths, or allegories, and often in plays, characters might function as archetypes or stereotypes, whereby they either symbolize something abstract, or something larger than themselves, or they might function only as "types"—characters who serve a limited function and role without complication. Often, characters are divided into two categories: flat characters and round characters. Flat characters typically have a one-dimensional personality (e.g., the miser is always a scrooge, the whiner always finds fault, etc.). Round characters are considerably more developed, have a combination of traits, are often malleable, and react in interesting and complicated ways to the events around them. It will be important for you to identify the kind of story you are reading. Observe if the characters in the story might be representative of something larger than themselves. In a satire, characters might function as caricatures, or exaggerated types or stereotypes in which they simply stand for something ridiculous and cartoonish, something larger and abstract. Characters in a work of fiction are generally designed to open up or explore certain aspects of human experience. Characters often depict particular traits of human nature; they may represent only one or two traits—a greedy old man who has forgotten how to care about others, for instance—or they may represent very complex conflicts, values, and emotions. Usually, there will be contrasting or parallel characters, and usually there will be a significance to the selection of kinds of characters and to their relation to each other. The significance of a character can vary from the particular (the dramatization of a unique individual) to the most general and symbolic (for instance, the representation of a Christ figure).

second person narrative

Considerably more rare than first or third person. To identify this point of view, look for the subjective pronoun "you" as the subject or primary character of the piece.

Identify the three person divisions of narrative.

First there is the third person limited narrative, in which the writer focuses on the actions and thoughts of one particular character and can only evaluate the thoughts, actions, and motivations of that character. He or she can see everything this character is doing or thinking. William Faulkner's "Barn Burning" is a useful example of this. Second is the third person omniscient narrative, in which the writer uses an all-seeing or all-knowing narrator who is aware of the private thoughts and emotions of many characters, as in "A Very Old Man with Enormous Wings." This is easily identified if the story uses multiple characters and you know what each is thinking at particular times. If a narration by an omniscient, external narrator carries us into the thoughts of a character in the story, that character is known as a reflector character. Such a character does not know that he or she is a character and is unaware of the narration or the narrator. An omniscient, external narrator may achieve the narrative by telling or by showing and may keep the reader in a relation of suspense to the story (we know no more than the characters) or in a relation of irony when we know things of which the characters are unaware. Finally there is the third person objective narrative, in which the writer acts as an impartial observer, providing little comment on the story's developments or events. A third person objective narrator can't tell us anything that the characters are thinking; he or she can only report on their actions. Typically, what is revealed about characters in this kind of narration is disclosed through their dialogue. Ernest Hemingway's "Hills Like White Elephants" is a good example of this kind of narration.

Explain the types of voices that narration may take in a story.

In order to identify the point of view or "voice" of the piece, observe the use of pronouns and character names. When used in the narration, the pronouns "I," "our," "we," "my," and "mine" will indicate a first person point of view. In the first person narrative, the narrator is a participant in the story. He or she is telling the story, narrating certain events. In this case, the reader is dependent on the narrator's perception for all of the information he or she receives from reading the story. Typically in a first person narration, the narrator is only able to reveal information that he or she observes based on a rather limited perspective. If the narration follows the thoughts and actions of one of the characters, named or otherwise identified as "he" or "she," it is typically a third person narrative. The third person narrator is more an observer in the events of the story than a participant. He or she stands outside the events of the story and reports on the scenes and situations. Finally, the pronoun "you" will appear in the rarely used second person narrative.

Describe the concepts of characterization

It will be crucial for you to observe the way in which an author uses characterization, or the way he or she defines and presents a particular character. Consider the people in the story. What is the history of each character and his or her situation? What seems to motivate each character? Are there explanations for the way the characters act? How developed do the characters in the story seem? In other words, how well do you get to know each character? Consider that you might get acquainted with them through information the author gives you directly in the exposition, such as physical descriptions. You may also make judgments based on characters' actions or dialogue, for example, a character's dialect (the regional variations of language). Finally, you might learn about a person from his or her individual thoughts.

Explain how to interpret a story.

It will be important for you to identify the kind of story you are reading. Observe if the characters in the story might be representative of something larger than themselves. In a satire, characters might function as caricatures, or exaggerated types or stereotypes in which they simply stand for something ridiculous and cartoonish, something larger and abstract. As you observe each character (including the narrator) in the stories you read, try to answer the following: What ideas are expressed in the passage, and what do they tell you about the speaker? What feelings does the speaker express? What do those feelings tell you about him or her? Are the speaker's feelings consistent? Does the character belong to a particular character type or represent a certain idea, value, quality, or attitude? What is the social status of the character, and how can you tell from how he or she speaks and what he or she speaks about? What is the sensibility of the speaker? Is the person ironic, witty, alert to the good or attuned to evil in others, optimistic or pessimistic, romantic or not romantic, cynical, or realistic? What is the orientation of the person—how aware is the character of his or her own and others' needs and of his or her environment? How much control over and awareness of his or her emotions, thoughts, and language does the speaker have? How does the narrator develop the character through comment or description? Also consider the narrator as a character. Someone is always speaking in a story— whether or not the narrator is a character within the fiction.

satire

The use of humor, wit, and ridicule to criticize, attack, or hold up for scorn. Often, satires are meant to expose some folly in human behavior for the purpose of social change, reform, or awareness.