ENGLISH REVIEWER- PERS QUARTER

Lesson 3 (Short Story, Orpheus, Let It Go, Explicit and Implicit, Life of Pi, Modals)

ELEMENTS OF A SHORT STORY

 Setting
-It describes where the story takes place
-It helps build background and create images in the mind.
-It helps set the tone or mood of the story.
-A good author includes descriptions of the setting using five senses.

 Characters
MAJOR CHARACTERS
o Protagonist
-Main character of a literary work
o Antagonist
-Opposition of Protagonist
-Character or force in conflict with the protagonist
o Foil
-Character who provides contrast to Protagonist

TYPES OF CHARACTERS

o Static
-No change throughout the story
o Dynamic
-Develops and grows over the course of the story
-Most of the times the MAIN CHARACTER.
o Round
-Many different personality traits (good and bad)
-Have many sides.
o Flat
-Shows only one personality trait
-Are one dimensional.

CHARACTERIZATION

-is the way in which an author shows the personality of a character.

-it is a technique writers use to make characters “come to life”

-CHARACTERS are people or animals in the story.

o Direct Characterization
-tells the reader the personality of the character.
-is obvious to the reader and “spells” it right out.
-the narrator’s direct comments about a character
 o Indirect Characterization
-shows things that reveal the personality of the character.
-physical appearance
-speech, thoughts, feelings, or action of the character

 Plot
o Exposition Statement
-The part of the plot that tells how the story begin.
-The start of the story before the action starts
-Beginning of the story
o Rising Action
-The action in the story leading up to the climax
-The series of events and conflicts in the story that lead to the climax.
-Sets up conflict
-Build tension
o Conflict
-The struggles or problems between the opposing force
-It is the battle between two forces
-It isn’t always bad…sometimes it helps create change.
-Without conflict there is not plot
o Climax
-The point of crisis in the plot. It may be the reader’s point of highest interest
-The turning point, the most intense moment—either mentally or in action
-It is the most exciting part
o Falling Action
-The action in the story after the climax is revealed
-all of the action which follows the climax.
-Wrapping up story
o Resolution
-The part of the plot that reveals the final outcome.
-the conclusion, the tying together of all the threads.
-Point of closure
-The end of the central conflict: it shows how the situation turns out and ties up loose ends
-A part of a story’s line in which the problem of the story is resolved and work out.
-Occurs after the falling action and typically where the story ends
-Any mystery or questions that arose during the story are answered in the resolution

SPECIAL TECHNIQUES OF THE PLOT

o Suspense
-excitement or tension
o Flashback
-interrupts the normal sequence of events to tell about something that happened in the
past
 -The present scene is interrupted to flash backward and tell what happened in an earlier
time
o Surprise Ending
-conclusion that readers does not expect

o Foreshadowing
-A hint about what will happen next.
-Clues what the writer puts in the story to give the reader a hint of what is to come.

 Conflict (Definition above)

TYPES OF CONFLICT

o Character vs Character
o Character vs Nature
o Character vs Society
o Character vs Self

 Point of View
-Vantage point from which the writer tells the story

TYPES
o First Person
-one of the characters is telling the story using the pronoun “I”
-he participates with it.
o Limited Third Person
-centers on one character’s thoughts and actions
-he cannot see into the minds of the characters
o Omniscient Third Person
-All knowing narrator. Can center on the thoughts of any actions of all characters.
-He can see what’s on the minds of the characters and can tell their thoughts.

 Theme
-The story’s main ideas. The “message” the writer intends to communicate by telling the story.
-is the general truth about life
-The central message or insight into life revealed through literary work.
-It is not a moral, lesson, or a rule for living

o Plot Twist
-Literary techniques introducing a radical change in the direction or expected outcome of
the plot in a work of fiction.
-Known as twist or surprise ending
o Moral
-the implied lesson of the story
-what we as readers learn as a result of reading the story
 -NOT as the same thing as the theme

 Resolution (Definition above)

o MacGuffin
-A term popularized by Alfred Hitchcook
-A plot device wherein a character pursues an object, through the object’ the actual nature
is not important toe the story
-Sometimes referred to as plot, as the protagonist only needs to “collect enough plot
coupon and trade them in for a denoument”
o Denoument
-Derived from the French word denoue, which means “to untie”
-It is a literary device that can be defined as the resolution of the issue of a complicated plot
in fiction
o Shoulder Angel
-A plot device used for either dramatic or humorous effect in animation and comics strips.
-It represents conscience and is often accompanied by a shoulder devil representing
temptation
o Red Herring
-The function of this is to diver the audiences away from something significant
-It is common in mystery, horror and crime stories
o Non-linear narrative
-works by revealing plot and character in non-chronological order.
-this technique requires the reader to attempt to piece together the timeline in order to
fully understand the story.
o Reverse chronology
-works by revealing the plot in reverse order, from final event to initial event.

LITERARY EXAMPLES OF AUTHOR’S TONES

o Serious/Solemn
-It inspires an atmosphere of tragedy
-This leads to a mood of sadness, sympathy and caring in the reader.
o Sarcastic
-It inspires a slightly humorous atmosphere in spite of tragedy.
-This puts the reader in cynical mood.
o Humorous
-It inspires a comic atmosphere
-This leads to a playful mood.
o Objective/ Impersonal
-It inspires a serious atmosphere
-The mood for this kind of piece might be studious or academic.
o Enthusiastic
-It inspires an active, lively atmosphere
-The mood is expected to be excited.
 o Hostile/Angry
-It inspires a violent atmosphere
-Mood: tensed and uneasy
o Disapproving
-It sets up a competitive atmosphere
-Mood: judgmental
o Personal
-It leads to an atmosphere of emotional expression and revelation.
-Mood: confidentiality and sharing; that helps readers to understand the characters.
o Grieving
-It creates an atmosphere of sadness and longing
-Mood: sympathy and caring
o Indifferent
-It creates an impersonal, possibly uncaring atmosphere.
-Mood: empty

OTHER EXAMPLES

o Cautious
o Affectionate
o Critical
o Objective
o Violent
o Desperate
o Pleading

 Literary Elements
-are the universal constituents of literature and thus can be found in any written or oral story.
 Literary Techniques
-are not universal or necessary in the sense that not all works contain instances of them
 Tone
-indicates the writer’s attitude.
-It is not an action, it is an attitude
-it is not explained or expressed directly
-is the author’s own attitude towards the subject.
-A reader must “read between the lines” to identify the tone
-An author’s tone influences the story’s mood.
 Mood
-is the emotion the author wanted the readers to feel while reading about the subject.
-is the overall atmosphere of a piece of literature.
-is created by the setting, the characters, and their actions
  Describing Mood
-adjectives describe the mood.
-You are not describing the way the person feels
-mood words can be either positive or negative
-Example are cheerful, relieved, gloomy, lazy, relaxed, hopeless, angry, satisfied.

MODALS

-A modal verb is a type of auxiliary verb that is used to indicate modality-that is likelihood, ability,
permission or possibility.

-It does not add s or es to the third person singular.

-They don’t need auxiliaries to form negative and question

-Helping verbs used together with base for of main verbs

-Express different types of meaning

-Can, Could, May, Might, Will, Would, Shall, Should, Ought to, Must are list of modal verbs.

-Use must if 100% sure of something possible. Use may (not) and might (not) if unsure about
something. Use can’t if sure that something is not possible.

 Can
-ability/possibility
-impossibility
-asking for permission
-request
 Could
-permission
-request
-possibility
-future
-ability
 May
-permission
-possibility
 Might
-Possibility
 Ought to
-saying what’s right or correct.
 Shall
-offer
-suggestion
-permission
  Should
-saying what’s right or correct
-possibility
 Will
-decisions
-offer
-promise

 Would
-permission
-request
-invitation

-Structure

Subject-Modal Verb-Main verb-Complement

-Tenses

Present tense: can, will, shall, may

Past tense: could, would, should, might

 Types of Modals
o Possibility
-How likely/predictions
-Indicate something is likely to happen
-Different degrees of likelihood
-Could, might, can, may, will, shall, must
o Obligation
-is supposed to
--used to indicate that an action is required because someone is responsible
-Must and should (if not used as past tense of shall)
o Necessity/Insistence
-To indicate something that is needed by someone or insisted by someone
-Need to/have to
-Need to and Must
o Ability
-is able to
-to indicate if something can or cannot be done
-Can, Cannot, Could (if past tense)
ORPHEUS

THEME

Finding Yourself and What Matters

Why do you think Orpheus turns to see Eurydice even though he might lose her?

He can’t wait to see her; his happiness in getting her back overcome his fear of losing her forever

What does this myth show about power of music as exemplified by Orpheus playing the lyre and
singing?

It shows that music can be a powerful force, moving even beast and the hardest of human hearts.

ALICE LOW

- Was born in New York City in 1926. She graduated from Smith College in 1947.

- Low published her first works for children while raising her own three kids, and went on to combine
writing with jobs producing educational filmstrips, teaching creative writing, and doing editing and
editorial consulting.

- She also volunteered at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

- Perhaps best-known for her amusing fiction for young children – including the popular The Witch
Who Was Afraid of Witches, which she has since turned into a musical

- Low has also written nonfiction, adapted myths and legends, and selected works for anthologies.

Lesson 4 (Arachne, Denotation and Connotation, Conjunction, Parenthetical Expression and

Conjunctive Adverb, Inference and Fact/Opinion)

DENOTATION AND CONNOTATION

-Good writers choose their words for the effects they have upon their readers. Word choice is also a clue
to the writer’s attitude toward his/her subject.

 Denotation
-It’s the actual definition of a word.
-It’s what you would read when you look the word up in the dictionary.
-General Denotation-used on words that have the same meaning/denotation
 Connotation
-It’s what we think about when we heard a word.
-It is what feelings we have when we heart it or read it
-Two types of connotation: Positive and Negative

EXAMPLES (D- Denotation, C- Connotation)

 Unusual- D: extraordinary; C-bizarre

 “She’s my baby”- D: infant; C- girl friend
  Player- D: one who plays the game; C: one who uses people

CONJUNCTION

 A word used to connect other words or group of words

 KINDS
o Coordinating conjunction
-But, or, yet, for, and, nor, so

o Correlative conjunction
-Both…and
-Either….or
-Neither….nor
-Not only…but also
-Whether….or

o Frequently used subordinating conjunctions

-After, Although, As, As if, As long as, As soon as, As though, Because, before, even though,
if, in order that, since, so that, than, though, till, unless, until, when, whenever, where,
wherever, while

COHESIVE DEVICES

 Show logical relationships

 Help you carry over a thought from one sentence to another
 It includes transitional words and expression and conjunctive adjectives
 Adding Similar Ideas-in addition, additionally, also, too, as well as, furthermore, moreover, not
only…but also
 Giving Examples-for example, for instance, such as, namely, to illustrate this, a good example of
this is…
 Comparing Similar Ideas- likewise, similarly, also, in the same way, equally
 Contrasting Ideas- but, however, in contrast, in comparison, on the other hand, on the contrary,
although, even though.
 Opposition and Limitation- Rather, Otherwise, Regardless, Instead, In spite of, In contrast, Above
all, or
 Giving an Opinion- in my opinion, in my view, I believe that, I think that, I feel that, I agree with, I
disagree with, it seems to me that, as far as I’m concerned, Some people say that, It is generally
accepted that.
 Explaining Causes- because of, owing to, due to, as a result of
 Describing Effects- therefore, thus, consequently, as a result
 Giving Reasons- because, so, the reason why, another reason is
 Sequencing- firstly, secondly, next, then, after that, to begin with, finally, lastly
 Emphasizing- particularly, in particular, especially, specifically, certainly, obviously, in fact,
clearly, in my opinion, in most cases, myself, as far as I’m concerned, I believe, I suppose,
speaking for
  Reformulation- in other words, that is to say, rather, in simple terms, put more simply
 Conceding Ideas- admittedly, on the other hand, another view is, I concede that, I admit that,
granted
 Concluding- in conclusion, to conclude, in summary, to sum up

PARENTHETICAL EXPRESSION

 a word or words added to a sentence without changing the meaning or grammar of the original
sentence.
 give extra information but are not essential.
 You can add and remove a parenthetical and the sentence works just the same.

CONJUNCTIVE ADVERBS

 Are commonly used in serious business, technical, and academic writing

 They are similar to conjunction but they typically join only sentence, have different
punctuation options and more academic, formal.
 Don’t confuse conjunctive adverbs with parenthetical expression. Conjunctive adverbs
forms or is in a compound sentence while Parenthetical Expression is in a simple sentence

INFERENCE AND FACTS/ OPINION

 Inference
- a conclusion that’s based on known facts of evidence
-using your observations to make a guess about an objective or an outcome
-THIS CAN BE A SCIENTIFIC OPINION
 Fact
-is something that is true or false
-it can be proven by the real information and evidence
-these are important to reliability of a source more the better
 Opinion
-are statements based on feelings, attitudes of beliefs
-it can be never be proven either true or false
-the more opinion, the less reliable the source might be