STRUCTURAL DEVICES Analysis of Literature

Structural Devices Elements that help you understand a story, poem, or play. These devices are plot, character, setting, point of view, mood, and theme or interpretation.

Setting and Its Features Setting: includes the place and time in a story. The setting of Poe’s Cask of Amontillado is a murky wine cellar in the evening. Place: location where a story takes place. The Uncle Remus tales of Joel Chandler take place in rural Georgia. Time: when the story occurs. Crane’s Red Badge of Courage takes place during the Civil War.

Plot and Its Features Plot: pattern of events in a story leading to a conclusion. The plot of Moby-Dick centers around Captain Ahab’s pursuit of a great white whale. Climax: the turning point in a story. In Poe’s “Fall of the House of Usher,” the climax occurs when the reader discovers that Usher’s dead sister is alive. Conflict: the struggle between different forces in a story. These struggles can be with nature, with one’s self, with others, or with society. In Jack London’s Call of the Wild, the dog Buck struggles with nature and society until he joins a wolfpack.

Plot and Its Features Continued... Foreshadowing: clues or hints of events to come. In the Wizard of Oz, a harsh wind blows through the trees before the wicked witch appears. Suspense: anticipation about what will happen in a story. In “Little Red Riding Hood,” we worry about what the wolf will do to the little girl.

Character and Its Features Character: an imaginary person that appears in a literary work. Celie and Nettie are the main characters in Alice Walker’s The Color Purple. Antagonist: an opponent or rival of the hero. The antagonists in Hemingway’s Old Man and the Sea are the sharks. Dialogue: conversation between two people in a story. Huck and Jim engage in many dialogues as they travel along the Mississippi River in Mark Twain’s Huckleberry Finn.

Character and Its Features Continued... Narrator: the person telling the story. In Angelou’s I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings, the narrator is a young girl who is also the main character. Protagonist: the hero or main character. The protagonists are Romeo and Juliet in Shakespeare’s famous play of the same name.

Point of View and Its Features Point of View: the perspective from which a writer tells a story. Harper Lee writes To Kill a Mockingbird from the point of view of Scout, a young girl living in a small town in Alabama. First Person Point of View: narrator tells the story from the “I” point of view. In House on Mango Street, Esperanza tells her story as the main character. Third Person Point of View: writer tells story describing characters as ‘he,” “she,” or “they.” Irving’s Rip Van Winkle is an example of this point of view.

Mood and Tone Mood: the atmosphere of a literary work. The writer often creates a mood through details in the setting and plot. Time: a feeling or attitude conveyed to the reader in a work of literature. In “The Cask of Amontillado,” Poe creates a mood of doom and gloom. A tone of humor and mischief pervades Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain.

Theme or Interpretation Theme or Interpretation: the message or meaning in a story, poem, or play. The reader is then able to gain insight into literature and life. The theme of Paul Laurence Dunbar’s “We Wear the Mask” is that we all must wear masks that hide our true selves. One interpretation of Kate Chopin’s “Story of an Hour” is that life is full of surprises that can kill you.

Tips for Understanding Structural Devices Study the definitions and examples of plot, character, setting, point of view, mood, and theme from this section.

References Chapter 7, Passing the New Alabama Graduation Examination in Reading, American Book Company