Literary Terms for Kid

The main events of a novel, a drama, a movie, or similar work, devised and presented by the writer as an interrelated sequence

Where and when the story takes place example: Mrs. Sen's, East coast beach / college town, 1970's or 80's

The main problem in the story example: in mrs sen's a conflict is the unhappiness in the marriage caused by Mr. Sen's inability to help Mrs. Sen in overcoming her feel ins of alienation

The main character example: Eliot and Mrs. Sen

The opposing force in the story, he/ she is often the conflict with the protagonist Example: In Mrs. Sen's it is Mr. Sen (see conflict)

Clues or hintes that the writer uses to suggest what is to come in the story example: in mrs sen's the mention of former babysitters and their problems foreshadows that Mrs. sen will not be Elliot's babysitter longterm

Writer goes back in time to provide us with information example: in Mrs. Sens the voices and songs on the cassette tap of Mrs. Sen's family saying farewell to her before she leave India

Point of highest tention in the story, major conflict usually resolved following climax: example in mrs. sen's it is the car accident

Person place thing or event that stand for itself and represents something beyond itself also example in mrs. sen's it is the blade for chopping, it represents her serverance or cutting off from india

An image that appears again and again in a story, author often intends for the reader to relate the image to something thematic

In mrs sen's it is mrs. sen chopping veregtables with her blade from india this relates to the theme of mrs. sen's sense of displacement in her new culture and her desire to remain close to the traditions of india

The lesson or moral of the story, in mrs. sen's a theme is the issue of identity, mrs. sen is culturally displaced in the U.S. and struggles to fit in by driving a car while retaining her indian traditions by cooking fish

How the writer reveals a person's character. characters may be classified as static or dynamic, or as flat or round

Static: one who does not change much during the story (Mrs. sen)
dynamic: on e who changes as a result of the story's events (Mrs. Sen)

Flat: has only one or two traits, a stereotype (a widely believed but overly simplified image of a type of person (Mr. sen, a workaholic)
round: like a real person, has different traits that can contradict one another, mrs. sen who displays warmth sensitivity sadness aniexty happiness etc