American Literature Finals Study Guide

Front 1

Allusion

Back 1

Indirect reference to a person, place, event, or literary work with which the author believes the reader will be familiar with

Front 2

Antagonist

Back 2

Usually the principal character in opposition to the protagonist, can also be a force of nature

Front 3

Characters

Back 3

The people and sometimes animals and creatures, who take part in the action of a story or novel

Front 4

Characterization

Back 4

Refers to the techniques a writer uses to develop characters

Front 5

External Conflict

Back 5

Pits a character against nature, society, or another character

Front 6

Internal Conflict

Back 6

Conflict between opposing forces within a character

Front 7

Dramatic Irony

Back 7

Occurs when a readers know more about a situation or a character in a story than the characters do

Front 8

Extended Metaphor

Back 8

Figures of speech that compares two things at some length and in several ways

Front 9

Harlem Renaissance

Back 9

A time when African Americans wrote about the hardship they were going through being discriminated against

Front 10

Hyperbole

Back 10

Figure of speech in which the truth is exaggerated for emphasis or for humorous effect

Front 11

Imagery

Back 11

Descriptive words and phrases that a writer uses to re-create sensory experiences

Front 12

Irony

Back 12

Contrast between appearance and actuality (Situational, Dramatic, Verbal)

Front 13

Metaphor

Back 13

Figure of speech that compares two things that have something in common

Front 14

Modernism

Back 14

Literary movement that is characterized by a high degree of experimentation and spare, elliptical prose

Front 15

Narrator

Back 15

Any type of writing that is primarily concerned with relation an even or a series of events

Front 16

Novel

Back 16

Extended work of fiction

Front 17

Personification

Back 17

Figure of speech in which an object, animal, or idea is given human characteristics

Front 18

Point- of- view (first, third, limited)

Back 18

Refers to the narrative perspective from which events in a story or novel are told

Front 19

Protagonist

Back 19

Main character or hero in a narrative or drama, usually the one with whom the audience identifies

Front 20

Setting

Back 20

Refers to the time and place in which the action occurs

Front 21

Situational Irony

Back 21

Contrast between what is expected to happen and what actually happens

Front 22

Simile

Back 22

Figure of speech that compares two things that have something in common

Front 23

Symbol

Back 23

Person, place, or object that has a concrete meaning in itself and also stands for something beyond itself, such as an idea or feeling

Front 24

Verbal Irony

Back 24

Occurs when someone states one thing and means another