Literary Elements
Analyze the author’s use of literary elements:
Theme
Point of view
Characterization
Setting
Plot
Infer
characters
experiences
Theme
Big Picture
of Story
Pursuing Happiness Savor the
moment; take control of your time,
and more secrets of the happiest
people.
By: David G. Meyers
During its first century,
psychology focused far more on
negative emotions such as
depression, anger, and anxiety than
on positive emotions such as
happiness and satisfaction. Even
today, our texts say more about
suffering than about joy. That is now
changing.
Kite Runner
By: Khaled Hosseini
When we were children,
Hassan and I used to climb
the poplar trees in the
driveway of my father’s
house and annoy our
neighbors by reflecting
sunlight into their homes
with a shard of mirror.
Happiness Strategy
Happiness doesn’t
come from ‘making
it’
Savor the moment
Control your time
Act happy
Seek work that uses
your gifts and skills
Join the ‘movement’
movement
Get rest
Give priority to
close relationships
Take care of the soul
Amir
Hassan
You
Analyze the author’s use of figurative language:
Simile
Metaphor
Personification
Hyperbole
Symbolism
Allusion
Imagery
Compare and contrast the illustration of the same
theme in two different literary genres, using their
structural features as the basis for the comparison
(e.g., novel and play, poem, short story).
Poem Vs. Novel Excerpt
“HABITATION”
BY MARGARET ATWOOD
Marriage is not
a house or even a tent
it is before that, and colder:
The edge of the forest, the
edge
of the desert
the unpainted stairs
at the back where we squat
outside, eating popcorn
where painfully and with
wonder
at having survived even
this far
we are learning to make
fire
Focus Question

What are some of your ideas about what marriage will be like? What do
you think your expectations are based upon?
Background

Love and courtship have always been popular themes in literature.
Contemporary poet Margaret Atwood has written a stark, realistic poem
about marriage.
Responding to the Reading
1. In “Habitation,” Atwood writes, “Marriage is not / a house or even a tent
// it is before that, and colder: . . .” What do you think this means? What
is the tone depicted and how does it enhance the theme?
2. How does the poet use metaphor in lines 4–13 to express particular ideas
about marriage?
3. Making Connections In that ways does the courtship of Elizabeth and Darcy
in Pride and Prejudice seem to resemble the description of marriage in
“Habitation”?
Rewriting

Find a modern poem or love song you consider to be an unrealistic
representation of love. On a separate sheet of paper, rewrite the lyrics to
more accurately reflect “true love.”
Identify how an author's choice of words and imagery
sets the tone and advances the work's theme.
“OF MICE AND MEN”
BY: JOHN STEINBECK
 A home of their own.
 Having a profound sense of
loneliness and isolation.
 Desires the comfort of a
friend, but will settle for the
attentive ear.
 Loneliness and
Companionship




“HOUSE ON MANGO
STREET”
BY: SANDRA CISNEROS
A home of her own.
Having a profound sense of
loneliness and isolation.
Desires the comfort of a
friend, but will settle for
the attentive ear.
Loneliness and
Companionship