Introduction to Literature: Review
Speak, by Laurie Anderson
Melinda Sordino’s story of how she deals with a rape she cannot talk about when her
school starts. She comes to terms with her situation over the course of her freshman year,
mostly with the help of her art teacher.
Symbolism! The tree (finally, she can draw a tree like she can find her voice…); the title
(she learns how to use her voice, a commandment)
Funny moments – the names for her teachers and her crisp voice
Lord of the Flies, William Golding
Schoolboys on holiday after a plane crash survive without the influence of adults. They
make and don’t follow their own rules.
Symbolism: conch – symbol of power; glasses (Piggy)– symbol intelligence and
civilization; beast – symbol the physical form of fear, anarchy, and chaos. Where is the
beast? Within them… They imagine it is outside…
All literary terms are fair game for questions.
Probable terms = alliteration, allusion, characterization, antagonist,
characterization, personification, foreshadowing, simile, imagery, inference, irony
(dramatic, verbal, situational), mood/climate, plot, exposition, rising action,
conflict, climax, resolution, iambic pentameter, metaphor, meter, rhyme, rhythm,
point of view, protagonist, setting, symbolism, theme, tone
Inference = making a guess (logical assumption) that Tracy likes her job because she is
bubbly and joyful….
Climax is the point in the story where there is no going back.
Soliloquy == speaking to self as if no one is there (balcony scene)
Monologue – long solo speech, others might be on stage
Sonnet – 14 line poem, every other line rhymes, except last 2 lines both rhyme
Fragment of a sentence – cannot stand on its own like a sentence “School boys on
holiday….”
She had to go to the bathroom, she left class. = comma splice (two independent clauses
otherwise known as a sentence). Should use period, semi-colon, or comma w/ a
coordinating conjunction (and, but, or, nor, so….)
Who/whom ? – The secret to know is: If you can answer it (the made up question) with a
him/her, it is whom. If you can answer it w/he/she, it is who.
Examples:
Whom did you like most?
Who is coming?
Short stories:
“The Most Dangerous Game” – two meanings: 1. A game people play 2. prey
Rainsford, General Zaroff, Ivan (Whitney has the conversation with Rainsford about
whether animals can feel fear)
Symbols: dogs represent unfair advantage and cruelty; clothing represents the similarity
between the protagonist and the antagonist; game represents lack of civilization, Zaroff’s
racism (remember whom he hunts)
“The Scarlet Ibis” – about a young boy who is born with enormous challenges (walking,
speaking, etc.), not expected to live but does and is a beautiful, kind and thoughtful
brother, Doodle. Compared to tropical bird…scarlet ibis
Symbolism of the ibis – represents Doodle and Doodle’s long journey, struggle, beauty
and displacement.
Doodle had another name….William ? Armstrong
Figurative language – comparing two unlike things
Simile = like/as
Metaphor = one thing is another (Tracy is a butterfly; Ellen is a rock.)
Personification = The rug whispered about the past…
Think about climaxes and conflicts in all of the stories….. climax = would not be the
story without this event
“The Utterly Perfect Murder” about Doug who is having a midlife crisis and wants to
resolve a middle school hurt. He wants to “kill” his then adversary/friend Ralph
Underhill who never invited him out to play and took advantage of him regarding a toy
swap. Who is telling the story? Doug (main character) First person…I
Symbolism – the gun (is it in Doug’s head only?), the stones (a way of inviting himself
OUT of that memory). Do the stones give him closure?
“All Summer in a Day,” Margot’s story of a miserable life on Venus where it rains all the
time except for once in 7 years. She is hated for her opportunities and memory of earth.
It’s also about cruelty linked to jealousy. Story told by a narrator – third person.
Symbolism – the sun, the rain, the poems, etc.
“The Necklace,” M. Loisel’s story of greed, social climbing, unhappiness with present
life, etc. Irony in that she need not have done what she did to replace the fake necklace.
Husband – kind and accommodating.
Symbolism – the necklace represents the life she wants (irony that she NEVER has it).
For a moment, she is happy.
“Sabetour” – set after the Cultural Revolution – critical of both the unfairness of the
officers and the protagonist who is full of himself.
Mr. Chiu gets his revenge by infecting many in the community with hepatitis.
“When Mr. Pirzada Came to Dine” – is about cultural exchanges between a young girl
and a botany professor here on a fellowship. He learns about Halloween and American
children, and she learns about the fear of loss, another country (her parents’ country) and
grief.
Symbolism – the candy, the pumpkin, the glass of wine?
“Lamb to the Slaughter” – is about murder, revenge, impulsive behavior of a loving wife
who has been betrayed.
Symbolism – the leg of lamb, the drinks before “dinner”
Analytical Papers: LOOK at your old criteria sheets from the analytical papers!
Quotations (internal and dropped – how to use them and how to place them)
Tag analysis—follows a quotation and shows how the quote really deals with or proves
your thesis – so what?
Thesis statements – argumentative opinion about a theme in a text – proving something
Topic sentences—are connected to the thesis and introduce each proof, i.e. each
paragraph furthers the proof, each paragraph IS a proof
No-no’s = “thing,” “I,” “you,” contractions, and no locators, parentheses, etc.
Of Mice and Men, by John Steinbeck
Lennie, George, Slim, Curley, Curley’s wife, Candy (and his dog), Carlson, the boss, and
Crooks
Themes: loneliness, isolation, handicaps, friendship
Symbols: mice, dog, puppy, gun, little bit of land (their dream—the American Dream of
ownership of home and one’s time – to be independent), the bush (early scene – place of
hiding, proof of a caring caregiver)
Saw the movie
The Catcher in the Rye, by J.D. Salinger
Holden Caulfield, Stradlater, Ackley, Phoebe, Mr. Antolini, Mr. Spencer, Allie, Jane,
Maurice (pimp), Sally, Sunny (the prostitute), Ernie, and Luce.
Themes: loneliness, mental health, angst, friendship or lack thereof,
Symbols: the record, the hat, the ducks, alcohol, carrousel, young children, rain
Romeo and Juliet, by Shakespeare
Remember my power point – and the notes you took. (some cool facts and illustrations)
Main characters:
Montagues and friends (Romeo, Benvolio, Balthazar, Friar Lawrence, Mercutio and the
PRINCE)
Capulets and friends (Juliet, Dad and Mom, Nurse, Tybalt, Parris)
Symbols: stars, balcony, poison,
Dramatic irony, soliloquy
Famous speeches:
Queen Mab
Balcony
Banished
Juliet about to take her sleeping potion
Mercutio’s death speech
Nurse’s bawdy speech
Themes: love, impulsive behavior, death, family feuds
Movie – Leonardo Dicaprio
The House on Mango Street by Sandra Cisneros
Vignettes hers and yours
Outside Reading, To Kill a Mockingbird, by Harper Lee
Atticus, Jem, Scout, Dill, Calpurnia, Arthur (Boo) Radley
Themes: racism, friendship, coming of age, parenting, injustice, stereotyping
Mood = climate of story (the mood of Catcher can be sad)
Tone = attitude of author/characters toward subject (Holden’s tone is anti-establishment).