Perrines Literature Structure, Sound, Sense 11th Ed. (Short Stories) Essay Example

Perrines Literature Structure, Sound, Sense 11th Ed. (Short Stories) Paper Commercial Fiction Fiction intended solely to entertain. Literary Fiction Written with serious artistic intentions with hopes to broaden, deepen, and sharpen the readers awareness of life. Plot Sequence of incidents or events through which an author constructs a story. Conflict A clash of actions, ideas, desires, or wills. Protagonist The central character in a conflict. Antagonist Any force arranged against the protagonist. Suspense The quality in a story that makes readers ask Whats going to happen next? or How will this turn out? Mystery An unusual set of circumstances for which the reader craves an explanation. Dilema A position in which the protagonist must choose between two courses of action, both undesirable. Surprise Ending An ending that features a sudden, unexpected turn or twist. Happy Ending A happy ending. Unhappy Ending An unhappy Ending. Indeterminate Ending An ending in which no definitive conclusion is reached. Artistic Unity Everything is relevant and contributes to the meaning. Plot Manipulation A plot that is unjustified by the situation or characters. Relies too heavily on chance. Also known as Deux Ex Machina. Deux Ex Machina Latin for god from machine. See: Plot Manipulation. Chance The occurrence of an event that has no apparent cause in previous events or in predisposition of character. Coincidence Is the chance occurrence of two events that may have a peculiar correspondence. Characterization For literary fiction writers, the most important element of their art. Direct Presentation Characters are described straight out by exposition or analysis or by another character. Indirect Presentation The characters are described through their actions. Motivation Where characters words and actions spring from Flat Character Usually have one or two predominant traits; they can be summed up in a sentence or two. Round Character Complex and many sided; they have the three-dimensional quality of real people. Stock Character Stereotyped figures who have recurred so often in fiction that we recognize them at once. Static Character Remains essentially the same person from the beginning to the end of the story. Developing Character There is distinct change of character, personality, or outlook. Epiphany A moment of spiritual insight into life or into the characters own circumstances. Theme Is the controlling idea or its central insight. The unifying generalization about life stated or implied by the story. Point of View Who tells the story. Omniscient Point of View The story is told in the third person by a narrator whose knowledge and prerogatives are unlimited. Third Person Limited Point of View The story is told in the third person, but from the viewpoint of one character in the story. First Person Point of View The author disappears into one of the characters, who tells the story in the first person. Objective Point of View The narrator disappears into a kind of roving sound camera. Literary Symbol Something that means more than what it suggests on the surface. Allegory A story that has a second meaning beneath the surface, endowing a cluster of characters, objects, or events with added significance; often the pattern relates each literal item to a corresponding abstract idea or moral principle. Fantasy Transcends the bounds of known reality. Sarcasm Is simply language one person uses to belittle or ridicule another. Verbal Irony Is a figure of speech in which the speaker says the opposite of what he or she intends to say. Dramatic Irony The contrast between what a character says or thinks and what the reader knows to be true. Irony of Situation Usually the most important kind for the fiction writer, the discrepancy is between appearance and reality, or between expectation and fulfillment, or between what is and what would seem appropriate. Sentimentality Stories that try to elicit easy or unearned emotional responses. Editorialize Comment on the story and, in a manner, instruct us how to feel. Poeticize Use an immoderately heightened and distended language to accomplish their effects.