STUDY GUIDE FOR THE LITERARY ELEMENTS TEST
Characterization
Define these literary elements:
1. Speech
2. Thoughts
3. Effect on others
4. Actions
5. Looks
Directions: In the book Hatchet, much of Brian's personality development can be explained by the S.T.E.A.L.
model of characterization. Label each explanation with the correct S.T.E.A.L. term.
6. __L____________ Brian's appearance changes. He becomes more gaunt; his face more taut, reflecting
exposure to the natural elements. Brian "lost more than 17 percent of his body weight" as a result of being in
the wild. The change in Brian's fundamental appearance mirrors his development as a character and his
acquisition of a grittier approach to the realities of the world.
7. __S___________ In the opening of chapter 3 Brian repeats that he is "gonna die." As the story progresses,
Brian's become more focused. He reminds himself of Perpich's words about taking "one thing at a time.”
8. __E __ At the start of the narrative, Brian is overcome, burdened by "the secret." He dreams about it and
the impact it has on him. Brian is angry over the divorce and about the man in the station wagon. His
character develops as he determines not to dwell on these "secrets." Even at the end of the novel, Brian
never tells his father about the secret.
9. _T___ Brian becomes more driven towards survival. He moves from beliefs that compel him to cry "in
frustration and agony" towards the attitude of a "tough hope" that he is not going to let the conditions of the
forest beat him. He becomes trained towards survival. As time passes, he move towards a stronger mental
attitude that drives him towards living. The novel's epilogue communicates this since Brian "had become
more thoughtful ...."
10. _A___ When Brian first lands the plane in the wild, what he does is more uncertain because of his
ignorance of his true situation. For example, he swats at the mosquitoes, thinking that this will help him. He
learns though that such action is wasteful. Over time, he become more resourceful and efficient. Building a
food shelf, creating fire, developing more intricate weapons, and learning to use the elements around him are
examples of ways that Brian takes as he develops and realizes the enormity of his true situation. Even when
Brian experiences set backs, such as with the moose attack and the shelter being destroyed, he is geared
towards rebuilding; and he shows he is developing resilience.
STUDY GUIDE FOR THE LITERARY ELEMENTS TEST
Conflict
Define these literary elements:
11. Character vs. Self character struggles with their own fears
12. Character vs. Character has a problem with another character
13. Character vs. Society struggles with rules or laws
14. Character vs. Fate The character has to deal with something like destiny– God, etc., something
out of his control
15. Character vs. Nature The character has to deal with something in nature – weather, animals,
etc.
16. Character vs. Technology The character has to deal with something like machines, technology,
etc.
Character vs. aliens – dealing with someone or something not on this
planet
Character vs. supernatural – dealing with someone or something not normal, not human, but
extraordinary as in vampires, ghosts, ogres
17. Character vs. Society Everything was going just fine for Mae until yesterday. That was when she found out
that her eyes were turning green. In Mae's world people discriminate against those with green eyes. Greeneyed people cannot vote or hold public office and they are often forced to work the worst jobs for the least
pay, if they can even find a job. Mae parents want her to have surgery to change her eye color, but her
grandma, who also has green eyes, encourages her to fight for her rights. With her grandma behind her, Mae
joins a resistance movement and becomes the poster child for green-eyed rights, but how will all of this
attention affect Mae's family, especially her parents who wanted her to hide who she was?
18. Character vs. character Ronny has won second place in the science fair for the last two years, and Newton
Robinson has taken first. Ronny hated how Newton gloated and held these victories high over Ronny's head.
This year, Ronny will stop at nothing to beat Newton. He has even enlisted the help of a Nobel Prize
nominated scientist who was banished from the scientific community for his rouge experiments. Can Ronny
and his mad scientist partner win against the undefeated Newton at this year's science fair?
19. Character vs. fate Even though he’d worked for Silverton Staple Company for 26 years, Norman got laid
off last week. The whole town was suffering financially, and Norman couldn’t find a job, no matter how he
tried. Eventually, he lost his home and he, his wife, and his hungry children lived in their car travelling to find
work. All of it is out of his control.
20. Character vs. self Mr. Hundle has a fear of heights but dreams of being a pilot. He’ll have to overcome
that fear to chase his dream.
21. Character vs. nature
Marcus get home safely?
Stranded in a scuba suit in the middle of the ocean, sharks circling in, how will
STUDY GUIDE FOR THE LITERARY ELEMENTS TEST
22. Character vs. technology
Kelly just wanted a cup of coffee, but the coffee machine in the office is on
the fritz. This inconvenient situation turns into an epic battle as Kelly won’t take “It’s broke” for an answer.
Join Kelly as she spends the better part of her workday fiddling with the coffee machine in a desperate
attempt to get caffeinated.
POV
2nd Person POV: instructions being told – you do this, you do that
3rd Person Objective: we do not know what anyone is thinking – only know actions and dialogue
23. 1st Person POV: the narrator is a part of the story and we know what
he / she is thinking, etc. I did this, I did that
24. 3rd Limited POV: We only know what the main character is thinking – He did this, he did that, he liked
cookies, he was famished
25. 3rd Omniscient POV We know what every character is thinking
26.
__3rd limited_______ Three shots like thunderclaps rang out from surround speakers in the basement
rec room. A white controller jumped in Reid Anderson’s hand each time he squeezed the trigger. Tactile
feedback. A speaker in the controller made snapping sounds like the action of a pistol. Reid felt this more
than he heard it. The shots made his ears ring. (Outside the Box by Dan Allosso)
27
___1st person_______ I witnessed the kidnapping of Betty Ann Mulvaney. Well, me and the twentythree other people in first period Latin class at Clayton High School (student population 1,200). Unlike
everybody else, however, I actually did something to try and stop it. Well, sort of. I went, “Kurt, what are you
doing?” Kurt just rolled his eyes. He was all, “Relax, Jen. It’s a joke, okay?” (Teen Idol by Meg Cabot)
28.
__3rd person omniscient___ Aunt Harriet never meant to say any of this when Elizabeth Ann could
hear, but the little girl’s ears were as sharp as little girls’ ears always are, and long before she was nine, she
knew all about the opinion Aunt Harriet had of the Putneys. She did not know, to be sure, what “chores”
were, but she took it confidently from Aunt Harriet’s voice that they were something very, very dreadful.
(Understood Betsy by Dorothy Canfield)
Flashback, Foreshadowing and Suspense
Define these literary elements.
29. Flashback : a character thinks back to an earlier part of the story – gives details
30. Foreshadowing : something happens that gives hints to the reader that something will happen or has
happened
31. Suspense : makes you tense with anticipation
32. Foreshadowing Once upon a time, there was a little girl who lived with her mother. Her mother asked
her to take her old and lonely grandmother some food one day. "Don't stop along the way. Go straight to your
STUDY GUIDE FOR THE LITERARY ELEMENTS TEST
Grandma's house and back. Don't talk to any strangers and watch out for the wolf in the woods! Now get
along!"
33. Flashback The wolf went up to Little Red Riding Hood and told her that he knew a shortcut. Little Red
Riding Hood thought back to what her mother told her. “Don’t talk to any strangers and watch out for the
wolf in the woods!” But it was too late, she had already listened to the wolf’s directions.
34. Suspense She ran across the room and through the door, shouting, "Help! Wolf!" as loudly as she could.
A woodsman who was chopping logs nearby heard her cry and ran towards the cottage as fast as he could.
Plot, Setting and Theme
35. Label this plot diagram.
38. Climax
37. Rising Action
39. Falling Action
36. Inciting Incident
40.
Resolution/
Denouement
35. Exposition
The three elements of SETTING are:
41. When / time
42. Where / place / location
43. Environment
44. SETTING is found in the Exposition (What part of the plot?)
45. THEME is found in the Resolution / Denouement (What part of the plot?)
From Little by Little by Jean Little
I looked up from my grade five reader and smiled. I liked Miss Marr a lot. And, even
though we had only met an hour ago, I thought she liked me, too.
She was young and pretty and she had a gentle voice. But that was not all. Like Mr.
Johnston, she had polio. As I listened to her passing out books behind me, I could hear her
STUDY GUIDE FOR THE LITERARY ELEMENTS TEST
limping, first a quick step, then a slow one. The sound made me feel a little less lonely. Me
teacher would understand how it felt to be the only cross-eyed girl in Victory School.
“This is your desk, Jean,” she had said.
It sat, all by itself, right us against the front blackboard. I was supposed to be able to see
better there. I had not yet managed to make anyone understand that if I wanted to read what
was written on the board, I would have to stand up so that my face was only inches away from
the writing. Then I would have to walk back and forth, following the words not only with my
eyes but with my entire body. If the writing were up at the top of the board, I would have to
stand on tiptoe or even climb on a chair to be able to decipher it. If it were near the bottom, I
would have to crouch down.
I remember Mrs. Bogart printing large, thick, yellow letters on a green chalkboard. That
had been so different. Those dusty grey boards looked almost the same color as the thin, white
scratches Miss Marr’s chalk made. Her small, neat words were composed of letters that flowed
into each other, too, which made reading them even harder.
I would not explain. How could I? She might make me climb and crouch to read the
words.
I stood out far too much as it was. All the desks except mine were nailed to the floor in
five straight rows. The seats flipped up when you slid out of them. They were attached to the
desk behind. On top was a trough for your pencil and, in the right-hand corner, an inkwell which
Miss Marr kept filled from a big ink bottle with a long spout. All the desk lids were a dark wine
color.
My desk was new and varnished a shiny golden brown. It has been provided for me
because, in theory, it could be moved to wherever I could see best. It was, however, far too
heavy and unwieldy for Miss Marr or me to shift. All that special desk did was single me out
even more.
I turned sideways in my new desk so that I could watch Miss Marr and caught sight of
Shirley Russell instead. If only she would notice me!
Shirley had about her the magic of a story. She and her brother Ian had come from
England to stay with their aunt and uncle and be safe from the bombing. She had joined our
class near the end of grade four. Shirley had a lovely voice, with an accent like the child movie
actress Margaret O’Brien’s. She also had golden ringlets, longer and fairer than Shirley
Temple’s. She was a War Guest. She was different, too, but everybody wanted to be her friend.
“Face the front, Jean,” Miss Marr said. “Here are your spelling words.”
She had typed them for me on a big print typewriter. I bent over them, drawing each
letter on the roof of my mouth with the tip of my tongue. I had discovered that this helped me
to remember them. It also helped fill in time.
When the bell ran for recess, Miss Marr astonished me by saying to Shirley Russell, “This
is Jean Little, Shirley. She can’t see well. Would you be her friend and help her get into the right
line when it’s time to come back inside?”
Shirley smiled sweetly and nodded her golden head. I could not believe this was really
happening. Shirley Russell was actually going to be my friend. At last I was going to have a girl
to do things with, and not just any girl. The War Guest herself!
We marched down the stairs and went out into the girls’ side of the playground. I turned
to Shirley, my smile shy, my heart singing.
STUDY GUIDE FOR THE LITERARY ELEMENTS TEST
Shirley scowled. Just under her breath, so that nobody but me could hear, she snarled,
“You keep away from me. Get lost!”
The she turned and ran.
“Be my partner, Shirley, and I’ll give you my Crackerjack prize,” I heard one girl call out.
There was a hubbub of offered bribed and vows of eternal friendship. Nobody looked in
my direction.
I stood where I was, stunned into immobility. I should have guessed, perhaps, that our
teacher had asked the impossible of the English girl. She was popular at the moment, but if she
had me trailing after her, her accent might suddenly cease to be interesting and just be weird.
She was a foreigner, after all, and she knew it.
Before any of them had time to notice me watching them, I walked away to the far side
of the playground. I leaned up against a tall tree and stared off into the distance, as though I
had my mind on things other than silly grade five girls. To keep myself from crying, I began
talking to the tree that was supporting me.
“Are you lonely, too, tree?” I murmured. “If you are, I’ll come every day and talk to you.
We could be friends.”
As I drew a shaking breath, much like a sob, I heard a gentle rustle above my head. I
glanced up. The leafy branches seemed to nod to me.
You can count on a tree, I told myself. A tree is better than a person.
But I knew it was not true.
46. Which best describe the setting?
a.
b.
c.
d.
A classroom and playground in Victory School
Jean’s home during the war
Miss Bogart’s classroom
England
47. The inciting incident is when
a. We learn Miss Marr has polio.
b. We learn Jean cannot see the blackboard unless she is only a few inches from it, and this makes her
embarrassed.
c. Jean’s desk is different from everyone else’s.
d. Shirley tells Jean to stay away from her.
48. What piece of information do you learn in the exposition?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Miss Bogart is a short, old woman who has nice handwriting.
Jean decides that she will talk to the tall tree every day.
Shirley receives many bribes from students who want to be her friend.
Miss Marr is a young, pretty, fifth-grade teacher.
STUDY GUIDE FOR THE LITERARY ELEMENTS TEST
49. Which event occurs in the rising action?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Shirley commands Jean to stay away from her.
Miss Marr gives Jean her list of spelling words.
Jean walks across the playground and talks to the tall tree.
Shirley runs away from jean to be with the other students.
50. Jean experiences a conflict when
a.
b.
c.
d.
The special desk is larger than the other students’ desks
The tall tree does not provide an answer to her question
Miss Marr gives her a large-print list of her spelling words
Shirley refuses to be her friend during recess
51. Which part of the story is when the climax occurs?
a.
b.
c.
d.
When Jean wants Shirley to notice her.
When Miss Marr tells Shirley to help Jean.
When Shirley tells Jean to keep away from her.
When Jean waits for the tree to answer her.
52. Which event happens in the falling action?
a.
b.
c.
d.
Shirley gives Jean a nasty look and tells Jean to go away.
Miss Marr shows Jean where Jean’s desk is located in the classroom.
Jean walks away before any of the other students notice her watching them.
Miss Marr asks Shirley to help Jean get in the right line after recess.
53. A possible theme in this selection would be
a.
b.
c.
d.
You can only count on yourself.
Fourth grade is a tough year.
Your teachers are your best friends.
You can count on a tree.