● Notes on Quiz

http://dev.wwnorton.com/college/english/litweb11/quizengine/main.aspx?ch=genre_fiction&fd=fiction

1. How do symbols function within an allegory?

They set up a series of correspondences throughout the entire work, often for a specific moral or religious purpose.

* allegory: As a literary device, an allegory in its most general sense is an extended metaphor. Allegory has been used widely throughout the histories of all forms of art, largely because it readily illustrates complex ideas and concepts in ways that are comprehensible to its viewers, readers, or listeners. Allegories are typically used as literary devices or rhetorical devices that convey hidden meanings through symbolic figures, actions, imagery, and/or events, which together create the moral, spiritual, or political meaning the author wishes to convey.

2. What is historical fiction?

fiction that incorporates real people and events

3. Which of the following is the correct definition of a novella?

a work of fiction of about 17,000 to 40,000 words, which focuses on one character

* novella: A novella is a written, fictional, prose narrative normally longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. The English word "novella" derives from the Italian "novella", feminine of "novello", which means "new". The novella is a common literary genre in several European languages.

4. Why did the short story first become a popular genre during the nineteenth century?

The rise of periodicals like newspapers and magazines meant that more space was available for publication of short stories.

5. Which of the following describes a flat character?

a character who behaves and speaks in predictable, repetitive ways

* flat: commercially inactive; also :  characterized by no significant rise or decline from one period to another

6. How is the plot of a story different from its action?

The action is merely the events in a story, whereas the plot involves the way the author recounts the events to shape readers’ responses.

7. The voice that tells an audience a fictional story is referred to as

the narrator.

8. What is the rising action of a fictional plot?

a series of troubling events that leads to the plot’s major conflict

9. From what other genres did the novel originate?

prose romances and travel writing

10. How is an antihero distinguished from a conventional protagonist?

An antihero is a protagonist who does not act in typically heroic ways.

* antihero: An antihero or antiheroine is a main character in a story who lacks conventional heroic qualities such as idealism, courage, and morality.

* protagonist: The protagonist (from Ancient Greek πρωταγωνιστής (protagonistes), meaning "player of the first part, chief actor") or main character is a narrative's central or primary personal figure, who comes into conflict with an opposing major character or force (called the antagonist).

11. Which of the following most appropriately defines a story’s theme?

a story’s central idea or message

12. The setting of a story is

the time and place in which the story is set.

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● Vocabulary

1. didactic (adj.) /daɪˈdæktɪk/

intended to teach something, especially a moral lesson

e.g., The poet's works became increasingly didactic after his religious conversion.

2. de- : down, used with many verbs, nouns, and adjectives for giving a word the opposite meaning

e.g., decipher (to understand something mysterious or confusing)

e.g., destabilize (to cause problems for a country, government, or person in authority so that they become less effective)

3. protagonist (the main character in a play, film, book, or story)

3. antagonist (your opponent, for example in a competition or fight)

4. nov: new

e.g., novel (adj.) new and different from what has been known before 

e.g., innovative (adj.) introducing or using new ideas or methods

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● Glossary

flashback- Flashbacks are interruptions that writers do to insert past events in order to provide background or context to the current events of a narrative. By using flashbacks, writers allow their readers to gain insight into a character’s motivation and provide a background to a current conflict.

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in medias res- In medias res (Classical Latin: [ɪm mɛdiaːs reːs] "in the middle of things") is the literary and artistic narrative technique of relating a story from the midpoint, rather than the beginning. In an in medias res narrative, the story opens with dramatic action rather than exposition setting up the characters and situation. For example, in Homer's Odyssey, we first learn about Odysseus' journey when he is held captive on Calypso's island. We then find out, in Books IX through XII, that the greater part of Odysseus' journey precedes that moment in the narrative. On the other hand, Homer's Iliad has relatively few flashbacks, although it opens in the thick of the Trojan War.

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allegory- A symbolic narrative in which the surface details imply a secondary meaning. Allegory often takes the form of a story in which the characters represent moral qualities. The most famous example in English is John Bunyan's Pilgrim's Progress, in which the name of the central character, Pilgrim, epitomizes the book's allegorical nature. Kay Boyle's story "Astronomer's Wife" and Christina Rossetti's poem "Up-Hill" both contain allegorical elements.

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