Handmaid's Key Definitions Flashcards
What is a utopia?
A place, state or condition that is ideally perfect in respects to politics, laws and customs.
What is a dystopia?
A future in which society has collapsed, where those in power create the illusion that their society is perfect. It is a non-existent society in a time and place the author intended the reader to think is worse than the current society.
What is a homodiegetic narrative?
A 1st-person narrative where the narrator is also a character.
What is an external heterodiegetic narrative?
A 3rd-person narrative where the narrator is outside of the events in the storyworld.
What is an internal heterodiegetic narrative?
A 3rd-person narrative where the narrator is omniscient and can see characters’ thoughts and feelings.
What is a character?
A participant in the storyworld
What is characterisation?
A range of strategies authors and readers use to build, maintain and develop characters.
What is depth?
Complexity associated with a round character.
What is a flat character?
A character that is simplistic and can be easily summarised.
What is a round character?
A more complex character, who is more difficult to summarise.
