Animal Farm Literary Terms

Fable Fictional story About animals Behaving Like humans, with a moral at the End!

Satire A piece of literature designed to ridicule a subject. While satire can be funny, its aim is NOT to amuse, but to arouse contempt.

Allegory A story in which an event or character can stand for itself and something else. An extended metaphor

Fairy Tale Elements Begins with Once upon a time… Happened long ago Include fantasy and make believe Have good vs. evil characters Royalty is usually present Happy endings

Irony Situational Irony – What is happening is the opposite of what is expected. Example: A championship swimmer drowns; a fire station burns down

Irony Verbal Irony – The contrast between what is said and what is actually meant. Little brother doesn’t want to turn off the video game so he’s scowling. You say, “Glad to see you’re so happy to turn off the game.”

Irony Dramatic Irony The audience or reader knows more than the character. Example: The audience knows Juliet drank a sleeping potion and is not dead; Romeo doesn’t know.

Euphemism Greek word meaning “use of good words” Definition: Usually a polite way to refer to something unpleasant. Can change over time (lame---crippled---handicapped— disabled)

Examples of Euphemisms –Unemployment – “between jobs” –Death – “passed away” –War Dept. – “Dept. of Defense” –MX Missle – “The Peacekeeper” -- old person – “senior citizen” --false teeth – “dentures”

Denotation and Connotation Denotation – dictionary meaning –Ex: Home: a place where one lives Connotation – the emotional implications attached to a word –Ex: Home: warmth, comfort

Utopia An ideal or perfect place Sugarcandy Mountain –Sunday = No work –Food = Unlimited w/ treats! –Moses = teller of tales –Get there if you work hard! –RR – used to make people not complain and do their work

Propaganda Definition: Information that is spread for the purpose of promoting a cause Bandwagon, Glittering Generalities, Testimonial, Fear, Name Calling, Logical Fallacies, Exaggeration, Card Stacking