Week 21 Flashcards
Introduction to modernism and Chapter One of The Great Gatsby
(adjective) Definition: unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound; Sentence from text: “His speaking voice, a ~~~ husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed.” –The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Additional example sentence: “The man didn’t appear to want to talk, and his ~~~ voice discouraged his questioner completely.”
gruff
(adjective) Definition: showing no interest or energy; listless; Sentence from text: “Her gray sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a ~~~, charming, discontented face.” –The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Additional example sentence: “She looked somewhat ill, her face ~~~, her legs a little unsteady.”
wan
(noun) Definition: the quality of being scornful or disdainful; Sentence from text: “Her eyes flashed around her in a defiant way, rather like Tom’s, and she laughed with thrilling ~~~~.” –The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Additional example sentence: “His reply was full of ~~~; she dismissed the idea completely.”
scorn
(noun) Definition: a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction; Sentence from text: “There was something pathetic in his concentration, as if his ~~~, more acute than of old, was not enough to him any more.” –The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Additional example sentence: “Their ~~~ about the problem was hard to understand since it affected them most.”
complacency
(noun) Definition: Having many complexly arranged elements; Sentence from text: “If personality is an unbroken series of successful gestures, then there was something gorgeous about him, some heightened sensitivity to the promises of life, as if he were related to one of those ~~~ machines that register earthquakes ten thousand miles away.” –The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Additional example sentence: “The engineer marveled at the ~~~ design of the new robotic arm.”
intricate
(adjective) Definition: impulsively or rashly energetic; wild; Sentence from text: “I wanted no more ~~~ excursions with privileged glimpses into the human heart.” –The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Additional example sentence: “They often held ~~~ parties that lasted all night long.”
riotous
(verb) Definition: to be characterized by being excessively detailed or intricate; Sentence from text: “Their house was even more ~~~ than I expected, a cheerful red-and-white Georgian Colonial mansion, overlooking the bay.” –The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Additional example sentence: “They made ~~~ excuses, which no one believed, to explain why their plan had failed.”
elaborate
The way a writer reveals a character’s personality, traits, and qualities in a story. There are two main types: direct ~~~ (where the writer directly describes the character) and indirect ~~~ (where the writer shows the character through actions, speech, thoughts, appearance, and interactions with others).
Direct ~~~ example: “John was a kind and generous man.” (The writer directly tells us about John’s traits.)
Indirect ~~~ example: “John always gave his lunch money to those who needed it more.” (The writer shows John’s kindness through his actions.) Characterization helps readers understand and connect with characters by revealing who they are and what motivates them.
characterization
The background plot information, which can be deliberately withheld and/or dumped early in the story.
Can occur through dialogue, narration, and/or interchapters.
Often tells us something about author’s project in a book and how we, as an audience, are invited into the world of the book.
exposition
A polite, mild phrases that substitutes an unpleasant way of saying something sad or uncomfortable; this type of expression is often used in everyday speech to soften difficult situations.
Nick Carraway, the narrator of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby, uses ~~~ throughout the book in order to soften phrases and expressions that might otherwise seem overly harsh, direct, and/or offensive. For example, in the novel’s first line, when Nick’s father advises him, saying, “Whenever you feel like criticizing anyone, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.” The term “advantages” is a ~~~ for the socioeconomic benefits and privileges that Nick has experienced, which is softer than directly mentioning wealth or class privilege. Additionally, Nick refers to the university he attended, Yale, as “New Haven”; the use of New Haven as a stand-in for Yale could be considered a ~~~, as it masks what could otherwise be considered a pretentious reference to the prestigious Ivy League school (although it could also be considered a metonym, a separate but related term).
Examples:
She’s feeling under the weather today.
We have to let you go, Tyler.
He kicked the bucket.
(Definition retrieved and lightly modified from literaryterms.net)
euphemism
A recurring element, such as a symbol, theme, or idea, that has symbolic significance in a literary work and helps to develop and reinforce the central themes.
Differs from theme in that theme represents the central message or underlying idea of a literary work, whereas this key term refers to a recurring element that reinforces and illustrates the theme.
Differs from symbol in that symbol represents a specific object, character, or event that stands for something beyond its literal meaning, while this term refers to a recurring element that supports and enhances the theme.
In The Great Gatsby, Daisy Buchanan’s voice is a ~~~ because it repeatedly highlights key themes such as wealth and desire. Each mention of her voice adds depth to the narrative, reinforcing the allure and emptiness of the American Dream.
Retrieved from grammarly.com: In Kurt Vonnegut’s novel Slaughterhouse Five, there is a phrase that marks every death in the book: “So it goes.” The phrase is unavoidable, much like death itself, and it draws the reader’s attention to the book’s larger theme of inevitability.
The phrase “so it goes” is an example of a ~~~: a recurring story element with symbolic significance. ~~~s direct readers’ attention to larger themes and engage them on an intuitive level. They are great tools for creating depth in your writing.
motif
gruff
(adjective) Definition: unpleasantly harsh or grating in sound; Sentence from text: “His speaking voice, a ~~~ husky tenor, added to the impression of fractiousness he conveyed.” –The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Additional example sentence: “The man didn’t appear to want to talk, and his ~~~ voice discouraged his questioner completely.”
wan
(adjective) Definition: showing no interest or energy; listless; Sentence from text: “Her gray sun-strained eyes looked back at me with polite reciprocal curiosity out of a ~~~, charming, discontented face.” –The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Additional example sentence: “She looked somewhat ill, her face ~~~, her legs a little unsteady.”
scorn
(noun) Definition: the quality of being scornful or disdainful; Sentence from text: “Her eyes flashed around her in a defiant way, rather like Tom’s, and she laughed with thrilling ~~~~.” –The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Additional example sentence: “His reply was full of ~~~; she dismissed the idea completely.”
complacency
(noun) Definition: a feeling of smug or uncritical satisfaction; Sentence from text: “There was something pathetic in his concentration, as if his ~~~, more acute than of old, was not enough to him any more.” –The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald; Additional example sentence: “Their ~~~ about the problem was hard to understand since it affected them most.”
