English 9 EOC Review
Owens & Ruppel-Lee
2013
“The Most Dangerous Game”
by Richard Connell
Main characters: Sanger Rainsford (famous hunter), General Zaroff (an
exceptionally good hunter as well, very weathy), Ivan (Zaroff’s mute
and physically intimidating servant)
Setting: “Ship Trap Island” in the Caribbean, 20th century
Conflict: Sanger falls off his boat while sailing past a tropical island and swims
ashore, not knowing his main conflict will be being hunted by the
island’s owner, General Zaroff
Rising action: Rainsford meets General Zaroff (who is bored with hunting wild
game and now hunts humans because they can reason), who invites
him to “hunt” with him. Rainsford, horrified, refuses, and becomes
the next prey for General Zaroff. He must survive for three days to be
able to leave the island.
Climax: Rainsford and Zaroff square off in Zaroff’s bedroom
Resolution: “The game” is played to the end and Rainsford kills Zaroff.
“The Most Dangerous Game”
Theme: survival (what does it take to be a survivor?)
Literary terms:
rising action—stage in a story when the conflict develops and events build to
the climax
conflict—struggle between opposing forces
How they apply: plot chart covers conflict and rising action
What details from the story help the reader visualize Rainsford’s confusion
and fear while being hunted?
“The Gift of the Magi”
by O. Henry
Main characters: Della (wife to Jim, who treasures her beautiful long hair), Jim
(husband to Della, his treasure is his gold watch—an heirloom from his
father and grandfather)
Setting: New York City, late 19th century, Christmas time
Conflict: Della and Jim want to give each other perfect Christmas gifts, but lack the
funds to purchase what they think would be the perfect gift for each other
Rising action: Della decides to sell her beloved hair in order to have money to shop for
Jim’s present—an expensive chain (fob) for his pocket watch—his most
beloved treasure (he uses a leather strap and is embarrassed by it)
Climax: Jim is shocked that Della cut her hair. He had sold his watch to have the
funds to get what she wanted most—beautiful combs for her hair
Resolution: They are like the magi (allusion), they have sacrificed their most treasured
possessions for the perfect gift out of love for each other
“The Gift of the Magi”
Theme: sacrifice (what are you willing to sacrifice for someone else?)
Literary terms:
irony—contrast between what is expected and what happens
situational irony—a character expects one thing to happen, but
something else happens instead
verbal irony—when what is said is the opposite of what is meant
dramatic irony—when what a character knows contrasts with what
the audience knows
surprising plot twist—unexpected events in a story due to situational
irony
How they apply:
irony—the gifts given to each other cannot be used because intended
purpose is no longer applicable
irony— “Mr. James Dillingham Young” sounds wealthier than he is
situational irony—Della sacrificed her hair to get a worthy chain to
Jim’s beloved watch, only to discover he had sold his watch
to purchase her hair combs.
from Four Good Legs Between Us
by Laura Hillenbrand
Main characters: Seabiscuit (race horse), Red Pollard (jockey), Charles Howard
(Seabiscuit’s owner and promoter), and Smith (secretive trainer)
Setting: Seabiscuit’s early career of racing under Charles Howard, mid to late
1930s
Conflict: how can Howard make Seabiscuit famous?
Rising action: Seabiscuit raced all over the country to maximize his exposure and
keep him in the news, American’s were impoverished during the Great
Depression of the late 1930s and loved rooting for an “underdog”
Climax:
Resolution: In one year, the entire country loved Seabiscuit and he was more
popular in the news than the current WWII events. Howard’s strategy
and Seabiscuit’s timing helped him to become enormously popular.
Theme: winning (what makes a winner?)
Seabiscuit Timeline
Main characters: Seabiscuit, Rosemont, War Admiral (all racehorses)
This timeline describes the most important dates in Seabiscuit’s career. It
begins with the Santa Anita Handicap (#1) in 1937 (which he lost by a nose to
Rosemont), covers a number of his races (including when he defeated his rival,
War Admiral, in 1938), his leg injury which resulted in not racing for the 1939
Santa Anita Handicap (#2), and concludes with his retirement, a month after
his last spectacular race at the 1940 Santa Anita Handicap (#3; clocked the
fastest mile and a quarter in the track’s history).
Theme: winning (what makes a winner?)
“Races on the Radio”
Radio Transcript
Main characters: Clem McCarthy and Buddy Twist (radio race announcers),
Seabiscuit (racehorse)
Setting: 1937 Santa Anita Handicap (first time Seabiscuit races in it)
Conflict: Who is going to win?
Rising action: In the beginning, “it’s anybody’s race to the end.” Then Seabiscuit
pulls from behind and is beating the race’s leader, Rosemont.
Climax: Rosemont pulls up to Seabiscuit and they race to the end, a photo
finish. Fans are thrilled, screaming “Seabiscuit!” or “Rosemont”
because they think their horse won, it was so close.
Resolution: Rosemont won by a nose.
Theme: winning (what makes a winner?)
“The Raven”
by Edgar Allan Poe
Main characters: the narrator (young man who is
mourning the loss of his beloved love),
Lenore (the dead love of the narrator), the
raven (mysterious bird who appears and
says “Nevermore” in answer to the narrator
Setting: in the winter at night
Conflict: the narrator cannot get over living without his deceased love
Rising action: a raven appears in the window and initially amuses the narrator
because it can speak—often saying “Nevermore”
Climax: the narrator imagines the bird is able to answer questions, such as “Will I be
reunited with Lenore in heaven?” The answers are always “Nevermore,”
which infuriates the narrator.
Resolution: the narrator realizes he will never be happy again because he’ll never get
over losing Lenore
“The Raven” continued
Theme: the unknown (why are we fascinated by death, spirits?)
death / loss of a loved one
Literary terms:
narrative poem—a poem that contains the elements of plot, conflict,
character, and setting to create a story
speaker—the voice of the poem
How they apply:
narrative poem— “The Raven” is the story of a young man who is
having a hard time getting over losing the love of his life,
who has died. This poem has a storyline, characters,
conflict, and a setting.
speaker—the narrator (young man)
“Incident in a Rose Garden”
by Donald Justice
Main characters: gardener (old man), Death, master (owner of garden and
employer of gardener)
Setting: in a rose garden
Conflict: Death has arrived in a rose garden and frightens an old gardener
Rising action: the gardener reports to his master about Death and quits his
job, the master confronts Death, saying “I welcome only friends
here”
Climax: Death smiles and says, “I knew your father…we were friends…[I
wanted your gardener] to show me to his master…”
Resolution: Death has come for the master, the reader assumes the master
dies
“Incident in a Rose Garden” continued
Theme: the unknown (why are we fascinated by death, spirits?)
death / loss of a loved one
Literary terms:
narrative poem—a poem that contains the elements of plot, conflict,
character, and setting to create a story
speaker—the voice of the poem
How they apply:
narrative poem— “Incident in a Rose Garden” is a narrative poem
because it tells the story of Death scaring an old man when
looking for the master (for whom he has come). It has
characters, a setting, plot, and conflict.
speaker—the master (owner) of the garden
“The Necklace”
by Guy de Maupassant
Main characters: Mathilde Loisel, (“She so much
longed to please, be envied, be fascinating
and sought after.”), Monsieur Loisel
(husband to Mathilde, minor clerk in the
Ministry of Education), Madame Forestier (old school friend of Mathilde who
loans her a necklace for the reception)
Setting: Paris, France in late 19th century
Conflict: The Loisels have been invited to a reception, but Mathilde (who
wishes she were in a higher class) feels she cannot go because she
cannot look nice enough with what she has.
Rising action: Mr. Loisel gives her 400 francs for a dress, then she borrows a
diamond necklace from her friend.
Climax: Mathilde has the time of her life at the ball (she is a success), but later
realizes she has lost the borrowed necklace. They secretly purchase a
replacement and work very hard for ten years to pay it off.
Resolution: Mathilde discovers the necklace was paste, a mistake. If only she
had been honest…
“The Necklace” continued
Theme: status (how important is status?)
Literary terms:
motivation—the reason behind a character’s behavior, what drives a
complex character to think and act in a certain way
How they apply: Mathilde wanted what she could not have—to be married
into a higher social class. She wanted luxury, to be admired, to be the
center of everyone’s attention (everyone in the higher socioeconomic classes). After the decision to secretly replace the necklace
and go into dangerous debt to save face, she undergoes an internal
transformation and is now motivated to help her husband repay the
debts.
from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
by Maya Angelou
Main characters: Marguerite Johnson (granddaughter to
Momma), Momma (grandmother to Marguerite,
owns a store, Mrs. Henderson), Mrs. Bertha
Flowers (much admired teacher in town)
Setting: Arkansas, 1930s
Conflict: Marguerite, though very bright and an avid reader, does not speak.
She is also often embarrassed by Momma’s poor grammar and
common greetings to Mrs. Flowers, a much-admired lady in the
black community.
Rising action: Mrs. Flowers takes an interest in Marguerite and invites her
to her home. She begins the first of many “life lessons” for
Marguerite—that there is potential in people that must be sought
after, and wisdom to be learned from country folk.
Climax: Mrs. Flowers challenges Marguerite to read aloud from borrowed
books, and to visit Mrs. Flowers each week and recite something to
her.
from I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings
continued
Resolution: Marguerite revels in being liked for who she is, not who she is
related to. She is especially happy to be liked by such a respected
and admired person.
Theme: teaching (What makes a good teacher/mentor?)
Literary terms:
autobiography—a writer’s account of his or her own life
characterization—the way a writer creates and develops a
character’s personality
How they apply: This is an autobiography about Maya Angelou’s life.
Maya reveals Mrs. Flower’s character through descriptions of her
physical appearance, her speech, revealing Marguerite’s thoughts
about her, and including her own comments, feelings, and ideas
about Mrs. Flowers.
“Caged Bird”
poem by Maya Angelou
Main characters: caged bird, free bird
Setting: free bird is in the sky outside, caged bird is trapped
Conflict: caged bird wants to be free like the free bird
Rising action: caged bird sings to be free
Climax: free bird enjoys freedom and caged bird is restricted in space and wings and
feet (movement)
Resolution: caged bird finds a form of freedom in singing, because its spirit cannot be
contained
Theme: freedom—how can one become free?
Literary terms: character traits—qualities of a character
How they apply: the free bird leaps, floats, dares to claim the sky, the caged bird can
“seldom see through bars of rage,” is “fearful” and longs for its tune to be
heard
from Rosa Parks
by Douglas Brinkley
Main characters: Rosa Parks (seamstress who was active with the NAACP), bus
driver (James F. Blake, bully white bus driver on segregated bus)
Setting: December 1, 1955; Montgomery, Alabama
Conflict: Rosa, who was sitting in the middle of a racially divided bus, was ordered
by the bus driver to give up her seat for a white man and move to the back
of the bus.
Rising action: Parks drew strength from her own family’s past, thinking of her
grandfather in Alabama’s racially divided South.
Climax: “Are you going to stand up?” demanded the bus driver. “No.” “Well, I’m
going to have you arrested.” “You may to that.”
Resolution: Rosa, strong-willed and quietly firm, had established herself as a
protestor, not a victim.
Theme: dignity (what is dignity?)
from Rosa Parks continued
Literary terms:
characterization—the way a writer creates an develops characters’
personalities (direct comments, physical appearance, own
thoughts or actions or speech, others’ thoughts or actions or
speech about that character
genres—a category in which a work of literature is classified (four main
genres in literature: fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and drama)
How they apply: Rosa is characterized as a strong-willed and quietly firm woman
when she refuses to give up her seat for a white man. She sticks to her
decision to not move, and she is dignified about it—she quietly replies,
“You may do that.”
“Rosa”
by Rita Dove
Main characters: Rosa Parks, police officers
Setting: “the time right inside a place / so wrong it was ready” (lines 2-3)
Theme: dignity (what is dignity?)
Literary terms:
paradox—figure of speech in which a seemingly contradictory statement
reveals some insight or truth.
characterization—see from Rosa Parks
How they apply:
“Doing nothing was the doing” is an example of paradox. How can doing
nothing be doing something?
Rosa is characterized as a sensible person (“Her sensible coat.”) who is also
strong and serious (“the clean flame of her gaze”, “How she stood up /
when they bent down.”
To Kill A Mockingbird
by Harper Lee
Main characters: Atticus Finch—widower with two young children, a compassionate lawyer
who defends a black man
Scout (Jean Louise)—Atticus’s unusually intelligent 6 year old daughter
Jem—Atticus’s son, 4 years older than Scout, takes serious the responsibility of protecting his
sister
Dill Harris—the Finch children’s playmate, who is 7; he spends summers in Maycomb
Boo Radley—the Finches’ mysterious, reclusive neighbor
Miss Maudie Atkinson—open-minded neighbor and good friend of Atticus, Scout, and Jem
Calpurnia (Cal)—the Finches’ black cook, maid, and caregiver
Tom Robinson—young black man accused of raping Mayella Ewell
Mayella Ewell—one of many children in the extremely poor Ewell family, alleges Tom raped and
beat her
Bob Ewell—Mayella’s father, wastes most welfare money on alcohol for himself, not his family
Heck Tate—the sheriff of Maycomb County
Aunt Alexandra—Atticus’s sister who often antagonizes Scout, comes to care for the children
during the trial
To Kill A Mockingbird continued
Setting: (story spans 3 years) fictional town of Maycomb, Alabama, 1930s Great Depression
Conflict: Atticus Finch agrees to defend a black man wrongfully accused of raping a white
woman. His children must watch their father battle the town’s racial prejudice with
dignity and intelligence. The children are also intrigued by their reclusive neighbor,
and plot to see/meet him.
Rising action: Though Atticus is able to proveTom’s innocence and the Ewell’s deceipt, Tom is
still declared guilty of rape and sent to jail/prison. Bob Ewell, embarrassed by Atticus,
swears revenge. Tom is later killed in an escape attempt.
Climax: Ewell , having menaced Helen Robinson and attempted to break into Judge Taylor’s
house, attempts to kill Jem and Scout one Halloween night after the trial.
Resolution: Boo Radley defends the children and kills Ewell. Heck Tate rules it an accidental
death (Ewell was drunk, stumbled, and fell on his knife). Jem’s arm is broken, but he’ll
live. Scout walks Boo home, never to see him again.
Theme: prejudice and injustice—how Maycomb townspeople are willing to support a
proven lie of a white woman over the honest testimony of a black man
courage—Atticus, Mrs. Dubose
education—Jem (learning not all adults are kind, understanding, and have good
morals)
Scout (school education; realizes Boo gave them so much and they didn’t
repay him
To Kill A Mockingbird continued
Literary terms:
protagonist—the main character
point of view—method of narration of a story
irony—
flashback—an account of an event that happened before the beginning of a story
symbol—a person, place, object, or activity that stands for something beyond itself
How they apply:
protagonist—Scout Finch
point of view—1st person
irony—
flashback—Scout recalls “what started it all” and retells the story at the beginning
symbol—mockingbird (Tom Robinson, Boo Radley); it is a sin to kill one because
mockingbirds harm no one and are purely song birds. The act of killing a
mockingbird becomes a symbol for any intentionally mean or evil act.
Gothic Literature:
murder
ghosts
imprisonment
architectural ruins
unnatural parents
interest in the past
dark secrets
insanity