1. SOL Literary Terms
Review 1

2. archetype
Definition: basic storytelling pattern; a perfect example of a group or type
Example: In Native American literature, Coyote is an archetype of the trickster.

3. Archetype of Character
Archetypical characters:
--hero/heroine—Batman; Jesus; Huck Finn
− rugged individualist—Daniel Boone; Indiana Jones
− trickster—Coyote from Native American literature
− innocent--Cinderella
− faithful companion—Robin; Lassie; Tonto
− outsider/outcast—Hester Prynne from Scarlet Letter ; Shrek
− villain—Satan; The Joker; Abigail in The Crucible
− caretaker/mentor—Fairy Godmother; Obi Wan Kenobi; Jim from Huckleberry Finn; Calpurnia from To Kill a Mockingbird
− Earth mother—Aataensic from “The Sky Tree”
− misfit—Rudolph the Rednosed Reindeer; Scout Finch
− rebel—Katniss in Hunger Games
− lonely orphan looking for a home—Annie; Huck Finn

4. Archetype by Theme --the American Dream: Ben Franklin; Abraham Lincoln
--loss of innocence: Mary from “Lamb to the Slaughter”
− coming of age: Jerry in “Through the Tunnel,” Sleeping Beauty
− relationship with nature—Emerson, Thoreau
− relationship with society
− relationship with science
− alienation and isolation—Wall-E
− survival of the fittest—”The Most Dangerous Game,” The Hunger Games
− disillusionment—The Great Gatsby
− rebellion and protest—Julius Caesar; Hunger Games

5. protagonist Main character May be either a hero or an “anti-hero”
Hero: John Proctor
Anti-hero: Tom Walker

6. Antagonist The main character in conflict with the protagonist
Examples: “Old Scratch” to Tom Walker; The Penguin to Batman;
REMEMBER: Antagonists are often villains, but they don’t have to be….

7. Narrator
The one telling the story

8. Point of View The vantage point from which the story is told
Main types: first person; third person limited; third person omniscient

9. First Person The narrator is “I”
Everything the reader knows is limited to this one character’s point of view
Examples: Huckleberry Finn; “By the Waters of Babylon”

10. Third Person Omniscient
The narrator knows multiple characters’ thoughts and feelings
This point of view gives the reader the widest vantage point
Example: “The Storyteller”

11. Third Person Limited The narrator is “he” or “she”
Again, the reader is limited to this one character’s point of view
Examples: “Contents of the Dead Man’s Pockets,” “The Pedestrian”

12. Setting
Time and Place
Often, the time of a story is as or more important than the place
Example: In “The Pedestrian,” it’s important that the action takes place in the future

13. Plot Series of events making up a storyline climax falling action
rising action
falling action
exposition
resolution
initiating event

14. exposition The “backstory”
In Cinderella, the main character’s mean stepmother and stepsisters mistreat her, turning her into a servant

15. Initiating event The event in the narrative that “hooks” the reader
In Cinderella, an invitation to the ball comes, but Cindy is told that she can’t go….

16. Rising Action The events leading up to the climax In Cinderella:
The Fairy Godmother comes to give Cindy a makeover
Cindy goes to the ball
The prince falls for her
Cindy must rush out at midnight
She leaves the glass slipper behind

17. Climax
The point of highest interest
The shoe fits!!!! Yay!!!!

18. Falling action/Resolution
How the story ends….

19. theme The main idea, lesson, moral, or basic human truth….
Example: In “The Bass, the River, and Sheila Mant,” one theme is that we shouldn’t change or hide who we really are just so others will like us

20. motif
In literature, a motif is a theme, idea, or image that recurs within a text or across multiple texts.
Example: In Macbeth, the motif of blood as a sign of guilt appears throughout….