Vocabulary
Which evokes the immediate student response of: “What? We’re
seniors and it’s almost the end of the school year and we shouldn’t have to
do this are you kidding me? Do you seriously think I’m going to do this?
Can I just take a picture of it. Really? You’re kidding. Clearly Sullivan’s lost it.
Is this going to be on the web site? Did the other class have to do this?
There’s not going to be a test, so I’ll just act like I’m doing this, but really, I’m
tweeting about how much I hate my English class. How many days until
graduation? This is so pointless. The much more important issue is who all is
still in our group for prom. Grades lock in on Friday, so good luck getting
me to actually remember any of this for a quiz next week. Unless it’s a major
grade you can forget it. You’re so funny – you thought I’d listen to you talk
about vocabulary.”
TYPES OF CHARACTERS
Know these & which characters fit which descriptions.
• static character: simplified character who does not change or
alter his or her personality over the course of a narrative.
• flat character: a stock character with little to no character
development (usually a more minor character)
• dynamic character: a fully developed character that changes
over the course of the narrative (usually contrasts with the flat
character)
• round character: character developed enough to have “real”
characteristics and personality traits – usually
contrasts with the flat character(s), may also
be dynamic
• stock character: a character that appears
repeatedly in a particular literary genre OR
which has certain conventional attributes or
characteristics
• Archetypes occur in:
• Plots/situations – damsel in distress, the
dangerous quest, the orphan in peril, etc.
• Themes – Faustian bargain, forbidden love,
revenge, etc.
ARCHETYPE
The original model from which later
copies are made, especially a character,
action or situation that seems to
represent commonalities in life. Often
archetypes have a common meaning in
a particular culture.
• Colors – green for life, white for purity, black for
evil, etc.
• Characters – the madam in movies of the Old West,
the dumb blonde, the bully, etc.
ARCHETYPE
Northrop Frye defines an archetype as
“a symbol, usually an image, which
recurs often enough in literature to be
recognizable as an element of one’s
literary experience as a whole.”
• In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, we see
several stock characters that could be considered
archetypical (more narrowly defined than an
archetype):
• Mrs. Bennet – overbearing, embarrassing mother
• Jane – the pretty one
• Mary – the socially awkward nerd
• Kitty & Lydia – the annoyingly immature younger
sisters
• Charlotte Lucas – the sidekick, best friend, the one
you don’t expect big things from
• Wickham – the rake
• Lizzie doesn’t fit any of these.
LIZZIE DOESN’T
FIT THE
DESCRIPTION OF
ANY STOCK
CHARACTER
She’s pretty, but not as pretty as Jane.
She’s smart, but obviously makes
mistakes.
She’s intelligent, but not the most
studious.
She’s clever and witty without being a
bore.
She’s intended to be liked.
She’s a round, dynamic character.
• STATIC CHARACTERS: Charlotte, Jane,
Collins, Lydia and Kitty
CHARACTERS IN
P&P
• DYNAMIC CHARACTERS: Lizzie and Darcy
• ROUND CHARACTERS: Lizzie and Darcy
• FLAT CHARACTERS: Mary, Lady Catherine
• STOCK CHARACTERS: Mr. Bennet, Mrs.
Bennet, Mr. Collins
• STOCK, ROUND CHARACTER: Mr. Wickham
TYPES OF ACTION
• MOTIVATED ACTION– the actions of a character
that are driven by a particular motive. Mrs.
Bennet is motivated to marry off her daughters.
Wickham is motivated to not have to work for a
living. Darcy is motivated by a sense of
upholding the standards of society and tradition.
• PLAUSIBLE ACTION – action that is believable
and realistic.
TYPES OF DICTION
• formal diction – language appropriate for more formal occasions (when you meet the
queen, perhaps), often more figurative or abstract
• middle diction or standard diction– reflects the way most educated people speak
every day, appropriate for most college papers, mass publications, etc.
• informal diction or “low” language– slang, sometimes offensive if used in the wrong
situation, sometimes used to be “colorful” or to add humor
• colloquialisms and dialect are forms of informal diction specific to a particular area or
culture
• poetic diction - The vocabulary, phrasing, and grammatical usage deemed
appropriate for poetry as well as the deviations allowable for effect within it
TYPES OF
NARRATORS
• unreliable narrator – a narrator that, due to details revealed
about him/her, makes you call into question their perspective
(Nick in Gatsby – he only knows what Gatsby shares with him
or what the lying/cheating Jordan tells him)
• naïve narrator – a narration by an individual that is either
actually young or mentally naïve (Scout in TKAM or Holden in
TCITR)/immature
• omniscient narrator – all knowing – details and thoughts of
characters, not a character in plot, can move between time
and location apart from the plot
• neutral omniscience – leaves the characters actions, words,
thoughts to speak for themselves
• limited omniscience – knows most or some of what is occurring
in the narrative – limited in some way, usually to the thoughts of
one or more characters, but not all
• editorial omniscience – interrupts the narrative to evaluate the
characters for the reader (TSL)