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AP Literature > Mid-term > Flashcards

Mid-term Flashcards

1
Q

Allegory

A

a story where the characters carry a deep underlying meaning that goes beyond the literal meaning of the story itself

Used to give deeper meaning to a story and deepen overall message

Examples include: St. Lucy’s and The Lottery
Uses concrete images or characters to represent abstract ideas

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2
Q

Tenor

A

Used in an allegory- hidden concept or meaning; ulterior moral or political message

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3
Q

Vehicle

A

Used in an allegory- word, image, or idea that conveys meaning of tenor

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4
Q

Alliteration

A

Repetition of initial sounds in words and syllables.

Can intensify effects, add weight to an idea, make something more memorable

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5
Q

Allusion

A

A reference to a person, place, or event; Used to magnify tensions.

Ex: In Raisin George, calls Walter “Prometheus”.
Produce meaning and effect. It can magnify tension and deepen the emotional impact

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6
Q

Antagonist

A

A character or force in a work of literature that, by opposing the protagonist, produces tension or conflict

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7
Q

Archetype

A

The original pattern or model of which everything of the same type are representations or copies; a perfect example

Identifying archetypes and analyzing them can bring sophistication into your analysis.

Ex: characters, settings, plots/situations, conflicts, symbols

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8
Q

Assonance

A

The repetition of the vowel sounds

Create near/slant rhyme + subtle poetic effect

Used to emphasize/exaggerate certain words in a rhyme scheme which gives importance to certain ideas present in the story

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9
Q

Authoritarian Parenting Style

A

demands unquestioning obedience. They have no reason or context for why

No opportunity to be heard

Increase rates of anxiety and depression

Unfilled validation

Results will be achieved, but at the root is fear

Love and acceptance is linked to achievement

Tension of parent/ child dynamic

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10
Q

Authoritative Parenting Style

A

Balance between permissive and authoritarian parenting styles

Positive reinforcement through acknowledgement and verbalizing
feelings are welcomed, respected, and validated

Fosters self-awareness

Independent limits and boundaries are set and modeled self-regulation can occur

Child is allowed to experience the natural consequences of their choices

More mature

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11
Q

Characterization

A

Three aspects: physical, emotional, and psychological

do not ignore any of the three characterizations

Perspective and motives shape and create characterization

How the characters react to those life circumstances is connected to their perspective.

What a character does or does not do shows the reader to infer their motives

the experiences of characters shape their complexities: background, values, desires

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12
Q

Chekhov’s gun

A

Everything has a purpose

More nuanced than simple foreshadowing

Loaded in the early chapters/scenes, fired in the later chapters/scenes, but doesnt always have to go off

a narrative principle that states that every element in a story must be necessary, and irrelevant elements should be removed

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13
Q

Commentary

A

Discuss the significance of textual evidence

Explain how your analysis relates to the topic sentence and thesis

Elaborate on the complexities and nuances that emerge as new evidence and/or claims are incorporated

Expound on the commentary found in other paragraphs by providing new insights

Analyze how literary elements and techniques contribute to the development of meaning

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14
Q

Complexity

A

When there are many parts, and it is complicated, multifaceted, intricate

Complex literary arguments can be executed by exploring complexities/tensions, situating it within a broader context, alternative interpretations, and a consistently vivid and persuasive style

Complexity can be spotted in characters, archetypes, allusions, syntactic complexity, and major literary movements and periods

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15
Q

Conflict

A

Struggle between opposing forces/characters in a story

Tension between competing values either as internal/psychological conflict or external conflict

Conflicts are a road into character development and controlling ideas

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16
Q

Internal conflict

A

about identity, fear, change, overcoming past

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17
Q

External conflict

A

about other characters, society, nature, technology

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18
Q

Connotation

A

The suggested or implied meaning of a word or phrase

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19
Q

Consonnance

A

repetition of consonants appearing within a line or at end of words

Communicates rhythm, flow, and mood

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20
Q

Contrast

A

Differences between 2 subjects, places, persons, things, ideas

Contrasts between characters often serves to highlight certain aspects of a character’s personality or highlight a small part of a larger, key theme

Contrast can lead to mood and reactions in the reader

Can add complexity to text

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21
Q

Diction

A

Choice of words in speech and writing; Serves to create meaning, portray characters, convey tone, develop themes, etc.

Can help funnel up to a larger meaning

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22
Q

Displacement

A

incorrect/improper placement of feelings onto someone that was not the cause of the feelings

  1. Power differentials/ hierarchy. I can not Place my feelings they they belong
  2. Inability to fully reconcile those feelings, incomplete emotional awareness
  3. Avoid Vulnerability
  4. Cannot place feeling on “unreachable”
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23
Q

Dystopian literature

A

Information, independent thought, freedom restricted

Genre of fiction set in future or near-future where life and social structures are controlled/oppressed by those in power

Writing style that talks about a messed up society to illuminate problems we face in the real world.

Some characteristics include limit of free thought, constant monitoring of the public, fear of the outside world

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24
Q

Emotional characterization

A

Why characters feeling things and how they express it

Directly connected to perspective

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25
Q

Epigraph

A

A short quotation, phrase, saying, poem at the beginning of a book/ chapter
Intended to suggest a theme and/or genre through tone and diction that is groundwork for “larger meaning”

Develops structure in the story

Moves the plot forward

Foreshadows different shifts in story

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26
Q

Epiphany

A

A turning point in a character’s psyche

Great philosophical, spiritual, and personal insight growth

A life changing realization

Impacts plot and character dynamics

Movements of spiritual, philosophical, and personal “A-HA” moment
It can provide readers hope

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27
Q

Funnel Up

A

Leading up to the work as a whole

Collecting details to discover larger meanings (connect to real world)

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28
Q

First-person Narrative

A

A narrative told by a character involved in the story, using first-person pronouns such as I and we.

It may or may not represent the author’s views.

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29
Q

Foil character

A

A minor character whose personality contrasts with a main character Magnifies, illuminates, highlights the beliefs of round characters

30
Q

Four short fiction questions

A

1) What occurred right before the passage begins? (infer)
2) What is the setting? How’s it functioning in the passage?
3) Who are the characters and how are they related/connected?
4) What conflicts or tensions are present? Are they internal? External? Both?

31
Q

Framing Device

A

When a story takes place within another story; acts as a point of access for the story

Typically goes back in time from the story’s ‘present’

typically set the tone of a story and introduce key characters.

Framing devices should always return to the present

Not returning to the present often signals a key theme in the story, such as being stuck in the past

Allows for reader to infer possible bias of narrator

32
Q

Genre

A

A term describing literary forms (ex: play, novel, poem)

33
Q

Hyperbole

A

An overstatement or exaggeration serves to dramatize.

Serves to highlight key themes to the reader

34
Q

Irony

A

three types- dramatic, situational, and verbal

35
Q

Dramatic irony

A

Where the audience knows something that the characters don’t know.

Effective tool to sustain and excite the readers’ interest

Creates a contrast between the situation of characters and the episodes that unfold, generating curiosity and tension.

By allowing the audience to know important facts ahead of the leading characters, dramatic irony puts the audience and readers above the characters and encourage them to anticipate, hope, and fear the moment when a character would learn the truth behind events and situations of the story

It emphasizes the fatality of incomplete understanding on honest and innocent people, and it demonstrates the painful consequences of misunderstandings

Employment of dramatic irony can elicit horror in the reader as they feel the full weight of the tragedy that’s about to occur.

36
Q

Situational Irony

A

Where the expected outcome of a story is different than the actual outcome.

37
Q

Verbal irony

A

Where a narrator tells something different from what they actually mean.

38
Q

Juxtaposition

A

The placement of two or more things side by side, often in order to bring out their differences.

Example: “All is fair in love and war”

Similar to a contrast

39
Q

Larger Meaning

A

The “magic sentence”

What the work is saying about society as a whole

The entire essay should build up (funnel up) to the larger Meaning as a whole

40
Q

Literary Argument

A

An analysis focused on character, set of circumstances, setting, or specified feature

41
Q

Line of Reasoning

A

Thesis + topic sentences + commentary

Discuss the significance of textual evidence

Explain how your analysis relates to the topic sentences and thesis

Elaborate on the complexities and nuances that emerge as new evidence and/or claims that are incorporated

Expand on the commentary found in other paragraphs by providing new insights

Analyze how literary elements and techniques contribute to the development of meaning

Straight clear line from beginning to end

42
Q

Magical Realism

A

A type of realism that uses fantastical elements that are treated as they are common day elements

Often, these fantastical elements are used to hyperbolize parts of the real world and to make a political statement.

World is still grounded in the real world but fantastical elements are considered normal in this world.
Blurs the line between fantasy and reality

Characteristics: realistic setting, magical elements, limited information, critique, unique plot structure

43
Q

Metaphor

A

A direct comparison between two things that are unrelated and distinct

Discover the connections between two seemingly different things and emphasize their similarities for a desired effect

44
Q

Metonymy

A

Figure of speech that substitutes a word or phrase that relates to a thing for the thing itself

Uses name of name of one thing to represent something else that it is associated with; overarching term

Ex: the white house made tax cuts

45
Q

Minor Character

A

They serve to move plot forward

They highlight, magnify, illuminate, and/or contrast the values, motives, and perspectives of the Main Characters

They can be the embodiment of an intangible force

46
Q

Modernism

A

literary period that started in the Late 1800’s and was spurred by disillusionment after WWI

early Modernisms roots are in the late 1800’s in response to the failed expectations of the Industrial Revolution– it brought child labor, pollution, etc. and then this disillusionment became magnified to a deep extent by the horrors of WW1 (all of our technological advancements were used for destruction, the darkest impulses of humanity came to fruition in a bloody world war). There is no definitive end date to Modernism, other than seeing it move into Post-Modernism by the middle/ end of the 1940’s
rapid innovation and economic growth gave people hope in the future and increased faith in Western values. However, the carnage caused by WWI tore down all of this. Technology was used for slaughter instead of progress, and nationalism threw young individuals into the meat grinder of war.

This style rebels against clear cut storytelling. It criticizes institutions and society while denying the existence of an absolute truth, people should seek their own answers.

“Lottery” by Shirley Jackson

Fueled by industrialization, urbanization and search for authentic response to the changed world

“Stream of consciousness” structure, cynical work that reflected disillusionment and explores the dark side of human nature

47
Q

Motif

A

A phrase, idea, or event that is repeated throughout a story/narrative

48
Q

Motive

A

What a character does or does not do allows us to INFER their motives.

What they value plays a huge role

49
Q

Narrator

A

voice of the story that depicts the events to the reader

Used to influence the story and the reader’s understanding, depending of the point of view of the narrator the story can shift entirely

identify through language, imagery, characters, conflicts, themes, plots

Types: Different voices-multiple people that move forward or back in time, Omniscient- all knowing

Often reflect the beliefs of the author and carry a hidden meaning

50
Q

Naturalism

A

view of experience that is generally characterized as bleak and pessimistic

A subcategory of realism

Depicts struggle and survival - Darwinism: “Survival of the fittest”

External forces overpower the internal forces

There is a sense of futility, helplessness, powerlessness, and overriding pessimism

Key difference between realism: science and environmental factors influence the characters

Exposes the dark sides of society/life; futility, lack of hope, intentionally pessimistic.

Environment influences

51
Q

Onomatopoeia

A

Word(s) that describe the sound it makes/stimulates the auditory senses

Often helps establish the imagery of a story, create interest, become an interesting diction choice.

52
Q

Parenting techniques of different stories

A

Pride & Prejudice: contrast b/w authoritarian with Elizabeth & permissive with Lydia

A Raisin in the Sun: Authoritarian/authoritative

Apollo: Authoritarian

Two Kinds: Authoritarian

53
Q

Permissive Parenting Style

A

There is a lack of limits/boundaries/expectations

Most often they do not follow through on consequences

There is a lack of accountability

54
Q

Perspective

A

How characters and narrators understand their circumstances

Includes the background, personality traits, biases, and relationships of a character

A character’s perspective may change over the course of a novel/play

A perspective may SHIFT due to internal and external factors

55
Q

Plot

A

The interrelationship among the events in a story; the plot line is the pattern of events, including exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution

The story plus the complex interconnections between events

Doesn’t have to have stories told chronologically, but harmony must exist between the events

Sequence of events is important

56
Q

POV

A

What the character or narrator can see (the narrator or speaker’s perspective)

A story told from a 1st person point of view has an internal pov; an observer uses an external pov.

Stories told from a first person narrator may not represent the views of the author

3rd person limited or omniscient

57
Q

Protagonist

A

The main character in a work of literature

Makes decisions that drive the plot forward

58
Q

Realism

A

The depiction of people, things, and events as they really are without idealization or exaggeration for effect.

It is in contrast to how the Romantics addressed things through flowery, idealized, and romanticized lenses

Often talked about the lower/middle class

Uses vernacular, dialect, slang, and incorrect grammar/spelling

The plot is “ordinary.”

Character-driven

Truth-seeking (the good, bad, and ugly sides of life)

59
Q

Satire

A

Authors use it to critique people’s behavior or ideas as well as societal institutions or other creations.

Can be humor, wit, and exaggeration (can be seen in irony)

Satire is intentionally absurd since it serves to exaggerate the negative sides of certain topics

60
Q

Science Fiction

A

Form of fiction that deals principally with the impact of actual/imagined science upon society/individuals

Relies on a “suspension of disbelief” from readers and includes imaginary yet plausible situations

Explores consequences of scientific innovations

Qualities include: technological advancement, futuristic/ alt. Timeline

61
Q

Sequence of Events

A

The way in which a group of back-to-back events are ordered to communicate a deeper meaning or say something about a theme or character

62
Q

Setting

A

the total environment of a novel or play that includes time, place, historical period, and social/political circumstances

The Big Why: Why is something there?

Surroundings profoundly influence the thoughts, emotions, and actions of the characters.

Enriches the literary experience but also contributes to the point and purpose of the work as a whole

63
Q

Simile

A

Comparison using like or as

64
Q

Stream of Consciousness

A

Non-linear

Unusual syntax (bad grammar, fragments, dashes)

Repetition

Free association / associative thoughts

emotional/psychological

Sensory details (Imagery)

Capture’s characters’/narrator’s thought process

Deeply reflective of the moving inside one’s self

65
Q

Subtext

A

The deeper meaning beneath/below what is said/written

Helpful for drilling down to motive and unspoken needs and wants

The implied meaning that underlies the main meaning of a work of literature/words

Underlying message that’s not stated directly

66
Q

Symbolism

A

the use of one object to evoke ideas and associations not literally part of the original object

Shows human behavior through objects

Describes the nature of the human heart and mind

A figure of speech that communicates a second meaning along with its literal meaning.

Can be layered or simple

67
Q

Syntax

A

The arrangement of words in a given sentence

Can shift throughout a story to convey a feeling or meaning

68
Q

Theme

A

The main idea or meaning, often an abstract idea upon which a work of literature is built

Themes are developed by the behaviors of characters, the plot and subplots in the narrative, the setting and its influence on the characters, and even the authors writing technique and use of language

Themes relate to such matters as changes in a way of life, problems of good and evil, loss of innocence, and struggle for power

An idea the author wants to explore + communicate
* not to be confused with subject matter of a work

69
Q

Tone

A

The author’s attitude towards the subject

Characteristic emotion that persuades the part or whole work

Spirit of emotional essence

Derives from total of emotional/intellectual effects

IDENTIFIED: through figures of speech, rhymes, rhythms, structure, imagery.etc.

70
Q

Utopia

A

A picture-perfect society in which everyone is happy and everything is working smoothly

Very common in science fiction-authors are able to explore what a perfect society might look like and what the problems would be in such a society (moral, philosophical , political etc.)

Goes hand-in-hand with a dystopia as they are is often presented as a utopia at first and many characters believe it’s a utopia, but has dystopian elements once you dive further into the text.

71
Q

Universal Theme

A

The “larger meaning” of the work (what you are funneling up to) and a key part of a good thesis

Applicable across all time periods, races, genders, ages, etc.

Sums up a part of the human experience

Top of the “funnel”

AP Literature (2 decks)

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