compiled amlit study guide

7/29/2019 Compiled AmLit Study Guide

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AUTHORS:

MarkTwain- The Notorious Jumping Frog of Calaveras County

The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

BretHarte- The Outcasts of Poker Flat

AmbroseBierce- An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge

KateChopin- The Story of an Hour

WillaCather- A Wagner Matinee

JackLondon- To Build a Fire

StephenCrane- The Open Boat

SherwoodAnderson- Sophistication

ErnestHemingway- In Another Country

KatherineAnnePorter- The Jilting of Granny WeatherallThomasWolfe- The Far and the Near

EudoraWelty- A Worn Path

JohnSteinbeck- Flight

F. Scott Fitzgerald- The Great Gatsby

Toni Morrison- The Bluest Eye

Ezra Pound- In a Station of the Metro

The River-Merchants Wife: A Letter

Amy Lowell- Patterns

William Carlos Williams- The Locust Tree in Flower

The Red Wheelbarrow

This is Just to Say

T.S. Eliot- The Love Song of Alfred Prufrock

Carl Sandburg- Grass

The People, Yes

Chicago

Robert Frost- Birches

Mending Wall

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening


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Realism:

-Sought to portray ordinary life as real people

-characters more important than action/plot-reality in detail

-live it, show characters and events in an objective almost factual way

-plausible events, novels avoid dramatic effect-diction: natural vernacular

-tone: comic, satiric, matter of fact

-Regionalism:-local color, specific geographical areas, dialect, descriptions of customs, manners, attitudes,

scenery

-Naturalism:

-accurate depiction of reality, vernacular, plot based-not interested in individuality like Realism

-central belief individual beings are at mercy of uncontrollable larger forces originating

inside/outside of them

-writers more likely to be political-expose cruelty of larger forces(finance, environment, economy)

-relatable stories to middle class

Notorious Jumping Frog Mark Twain

Plot/Characters: the narrator asks Simon Wheeler if he knows a Leonidas W. Smiley. Wheelertells story of Jim Smiley the lucky gambler with legless dog Andrew Jackson, and Frog Danl

Webster which he finally loses a bet with because the guy loads its stomach with BBs

Literary Term: Humor- Twain used exaggerationStyle: very Colloquial, comical, informal

Realism/Regionalism: local color, story as a whole was realistic, the interaction between

characters was plausible

Themes: non found, only comic relief (in the words of Ms. Bentley, the theme is what you wantit to be)

The Outcasts at Poker Flat- Bret Harte

Plot/Characters: gambler John Oakhurst, the Duchess, Mother Shipton, Uncle Billy get kickedout of town, meet up with Tom Simpson and Piney Woods who effect the characters for the

better; Uncle Billy runs away with the donkey, storm comes Shipton sacrifices her food for

Piney, Oakhurst and Simpson leave for help, Oakhurst(suicide, I think) Piney and Duchess dieStyle: informal, simple/sympathetic to characters

Regionalism: description of town, weather storm,

Themes: hard times bring out the best in you

An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge Ambrose Bierce

Plot/Characters: Man(Peyton Farquhar) is set to be hung off the bridge, As he falls he imaginesan elaborate, but very unrealistic Journey of his escape, flashback to how a northern soldier

tricked him into attempting to burn down the bridge, in the end reader is told that the hanging

was actually successful

Literary Terms: Point of View (1st, 3rd limited and omniscient)Style: objective narration of realistic events


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Realism/Naturalism: realistic depiction of war and death, no happy ending, details make journey

believable, accurate portrayal of soldier

Themes: inevitable is inevitable, you cant escape it, mocks transcendentalist view of war, war isharsh but fair

The Story of an Hour- Kate ChopinPlot/Characters: Mrs. Mallard was afflicted with heart trouble, her sister Josephine tells her that

her husband had died in railroad accident, Mrs. Mallard spends her time thinking and realizes

that now she is not burdened by being a subordinate women, she was free from her husband, inthe end Mr. Brently Mallard shows up being not dead but Mrs. Mallard dies from what doctor

says heart disease

Literary Terms: Irony(Dramatic-reader knows)(Situational-unexpected happens, what takes place

in story of an hour)(Verbal-Saracasm), symbolism(closed door but open window representingfreedom)

Style: informal, omniscient narrator, simple and direct

Realism: realistic ending, individuality, detail, objective narration

Themes: limitations/oppresiveness of marriage, dont compromise yourself for someone else

A Wagner Matinee Willa CatherPlot/Characters: narrator Clark, receives a letter from Uncle Howard informing him that his wife

Aunt Georgiana is coming to Boston to stay with him, she brings back memories from his

childhood, they go to the concert and at the end she doesnt want to leave because she is alive inthe concert hall but back as a farmer when she leaves

Literary Terms: characterization

Style: sympathetic to characters, descriptive/detailed, informal, objective

Realism: Very descriptive about musicNaturalism: power of Nature to affect body, wrinkled body from working land, harsh toll of life

Themes: endurance of human spirit, body fades but passion stays, music evokes memories

To Build a Fire-Jack London

Plot/Characters: Against warning, a man hikes out in bitter cold weather alone in the Yukon with

his dog, thin ice breaks and he tries to start a fire to dry himself off, he cant start the fire andeventually tries to run, but keeps falling until he gives up fighting nature tells his dog to leave

and save itself then dies

Literary Terms: Conflict(external/internal)

Style: informal, objective narrationRealism: very realistic,

Naturalism: man is powerless against nature, he dies of harsh cold,

Themes: man is subject to immense power of nature,

The Open Boat - Stephen Crane

Plot- Four sailors are stranded in the Atlantic. For most of their ordeal, they believe that they areabout to be rescued but are continually disappointed. Finally, they are rescued and all survive but

the oiler, who's death seems meaningless.

Literary Terms- Allusion, irony, dramatic ironyStyle- Eloquent w/ somewhat formal diction, short sentences bookend paragraphs

Realism- Accurate depiction of sailing and being stranded, accuracy in depiction of the sea


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Naturalism- nature's indifference to man, respect towards nature's power

Characters- Oiler, cook, correspondent, captain

Themes: Nature's indifference to man, strength of perseverance

Modernism (Summaries are very general)

Sophisticationby Sherwood Anderson Summary: George thinks his lonely life is meaningless. Helen is at home and

remembers George. They find each other and have a silent night in the park. Theybecome youthful.

Also, Helen had run from her home, mother and college instructor to be with

George.

Themes

Meaninglessness of life

Love is the only answer to the limitations of life

Characteristics of Modernism: Omniscient narrator, fragmented story (w/o resolution,

clear beginning), characters are confused, disillusioned, life's meaninglessness

Style Colloquial

Lacks transition

In Another Countryby Ernest Hemingway

Summary: A man wounded during WWI is sent to a hospital in Milan, Italy. He is

alienated by others except for a disgruntled major. A doctor constantly reassurespatients that machines will fix their wounds. Major resists treatment but breaks down

due to the death of his wife.

Themes

Alienation and Disillusionment

Characteristics of Modernism: fractured storytelling, inclusion of the Grotesque Style

The Iceberg Theory/ Theory of Omission: include no superfluous details andwrite only the surface of the story

Simple, direct prose and objective description

The Jilting of Granny Weatherallby Katherine Anne Porter

Summary: Follows Granny Weatherall's last day. At first, she rejects a Young Doctordue to his age and is cared for by Cornelia. She has various flashbacks about her life,

her children, her husband, and her jilting. She becomes more delirious and a priest

comes to secure her soul. Granny asks God to give her a sign, but there is no

response and she dies.

Themes The negative treatment of the elderly by youth

Enduring heart of the elderly

Confusion and uncertainty in death

Characteristics of Modernism: Stream of consciousness and flashbacks, feelings of

uncertainty, fragmented storytelling w/ implied themes

Style

Informal third person


5/10

Very simple diction

The Far and the Nearby Thomas Wolfe

Summary: An engineer on a train passes by a town for his entire career. Every time

he passes, he blows the whistle and a young mother and daughter would wave at him.He retires, visits the town but is shocked that the women are rude, hostile and ugly.

Themes Expectations v. reality

Characteristics of Modernism: fragmented storytelling, limited point of view

Style

Third person limited point of view

Shifting point of view (Narrator objective while on train, subjective in town)

Vivid imagery, lyrical language

Long sentences

The Worn Path by Eudora Welty

Summary: An old woman makes an arduous journey into town to get medicine for her

son, who may or may not be alive. She is very old, and shows signs of dementia,making her son's state uncertain.

Themes

Love for another can give the strength to overcome obstacles

Perseverance = success

Sometimes one must simply have faith

Characteristics of Modernism: third person limited, uncertainty and ambiguity,fragmented storytelling, themes not stated

Style

Short but poetic and detailed sentences

Creates tone of resolve

Long descriptions Flightby John Steinbeck

Summary: Follows a young Pepe who, after a journey into town (Monterey County)

where he kills a man who insults him, must flee into the wilderness. Pepe bravesthrough various obstacles, both natural and human, but is finally wounded.

Succumbing to his wounds, he stands up and is shot, dying like a man.

Themes

Perseverance to survive

Running from one's problems can lead to disaster

Adulthood and the loss of innocence

Characteristics of Modernism: humans are controlled by random forces (nature)beyond their comprehension

Style

Descriptive language

Views characters as products of their setting

Imagism-Poetry of the Modern Age:


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Reacted against earlier ideas of filling poetry full of abstract ideas like freedom, truth,

and beauty

Images are important for their own sake

Stand alone as work of art, evoke emotion

Direct, straightforward, simple presentation of subject

Words only necessary for that direct presentation Rhythms of actual speech: no rhyme/meter

Ezra Pound:

In a Station of the Metro

Metaphor: petals on wet black bough represent peoples faces in the metro

Pessimism: meaningless life

Variation of haiku

Theme:

Human contact in the city is as vulnerable and fleeting as a petal in a rainstorm

The River-Merchants Wife: A Letter

Imagery: butterflies

Theme:

Learning to love is a process that takes time and sometimes requires separationfrom the loved one

Symbols:

Childs bangs-innocence

Moss-despair/time

Letter-undying love

Summary

The woman and her husband when they were young played together innocently

Woman married him at 14, was very shy about her love

At 15 her true love for him comes out, she wants to be with him forever

At 16 the husband leaves and goes to Ku-to-yen

He was very sad to go, and she is too while he is gone

Amy Lowell:

Patterns

Connection to imagism

Emphasizes a set of images that reflect the speakers emotions

Leader of imagist movement

Style: simple, free verse, descriptive

Consonance, onomatopoeia

Alliteration, rhyme, repetition

Theme:

Freedom

resisting conformity

what are patterns for?

The patterns of society can be destructive to the individual

Direct presentation of poems subject, language


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Summary

Starts with a woman walking in a patterned garden path

She is wearing a dress and high heeled ribbon shoes

She then imagines herself playing and laughing with her lover

She then receives a letter that he died in battle

She says when they were to be married in a month they would have broken thepattern together

She denounces patterns in the end of the poem

Characters

Woman

Lover/fianc

Messenger

William Carlos Williams:

The Locust Tree in Flower

No simile/personification

Simple

Imagery

Style: Extremely simple, one word lines, ragged broken rhythm calls attention to the

words defining each image

Themes:

Aging is inevitable

Regeneration of life

The persistence of the seasons is reflected in the way blossoms appear even on an

old stiff tree

The Red Wheel Barrow


Simple images and language

Literary elements

Assonance

Imagery

Symbols

Red: blood/humans

White :purity

Blue: water/life

Word wheel barrow is separated for emphasis

Themes

Mans relationship w/ nature

The duties in life

How seemingly ordinary objects can be significant

This is Just to Say


Image of plums used to duplicate the impact of an everyday sensation on thespeaker


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Style:

Short lines each stressing one word

Imagery

Themes: Choices in life, guilt

T. S. Eliot

The Love Song of Alfred Prufrock:Summary:

-Prufrock describes a city and how he is in love with a woman but is afraid to talk to her

-Scared of faults others will find in him (ie. signs of aging)

-Drops idea of relationship and lives miserable life

Literary devices:Stream of consciousness, repetition/parallelism, allusion, imagery

Imagism:Free verse, Only uses words that are necessaryStyle: Literary allusions, Stream of consciousnessuncertainty of modernism

Themes:

-If you dont take risks you wont achieve anything

-Awareness of mortality

-Humans can be harsh towards one another

Robert Frost

Birches

Summary:

-Birches bent by weight of ice

-Imagines birches bent from boy swinging on branches (what he did as a child)

Literary devices:Symbols (boy=youth), similes, metaphors, personification, imagery, alliterationand assonance, onomatopoeia

Themes:

-In isolation and solitude, one learns to respect nature

-Longing for youth (man longs for the carefree and nave attitude he has as a child, wantsan escape from the irrational world where he is forced to accept the Truth, but does not

want to relive his life)

-Misses his youth but his standards are different now and he wont abandon hisresponsiblities

Style:Blank verse, iambic pentameter, 1st person, informal ,Simple w/ long descriptive language

and hidden meaningMood: nostalgic, lonely

Modernism/Imagism: Lack of exposition, no transitions, Stream of consciousness

Mending Wall:

Summary-Man and neighbor survey wall separating properties; man does not see purpose in wall

and proposes not fixing it (apple v. pine trees); neighbor refuses to stray from traditionLiterary devices:Alliteration, metaphors, anastrophe (prominent line), personification

Themes:

-Isolation v. community

-Curiosity and challenge of traditional beliefs

Style: Iambic pentameter, blank verse, 1st person


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Informal, figurative language,

Tone=comical and adamant

Modernism/Imagism:Uncertainty, lack of transitions, expositions, and resolution

Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening

Summary:-Man in woods but cannot rest because must continue with journey

Literary devices:Repetition, personification,symbols (woods=unknown), imagery

Themes:

-Value of persistence

-Isolation in nature

-One cannot rest when their responsibilities are not complete, and one cannot die when

they have not fulfilled their destinyStyle:Figurative language, informal, dark tone, rhyme scheme (AABA)

Modernism: no exposition, stream of consciousness, limited POV

Carl Sandburg:Grass:

Summary:-grass asks to be able to do its work and cover bodies and destruction of war to the point

where ruin is unrecognizable

Literary devices:Personification, metaphorStyle:Repetition (frustrated tone), free verse

Themes:

-After humans kill one another in recurring wars, they let nature cover up their dirty work

-People forget the lessons of history. Consequently, they repeat the mistakes that causedthe wars of the past

-People forget the fallen heroes of war after several years pass

Imagism: uses as few words as necessary, no transitions or clear exposition/resolution, simpleand direct

The People, YesSummary:

-People endure and survive outstanding hardships; ability which is uniquely human;

relates hardships and force behind humanity to nature and the universe

-People march without knowing future or destinationLiterary devices:

-Parallelism, assonance, alliteration

-Symbolism

-Sea, salt, and the winds=hardship

-Earth=life, hope, and home

-Darkness=confusion and despair-Constellations and stars=unknown force behind humanity; map

Style: 3rd person, free verse (natural, informal, matches people in poem)

Themes:

-Even when lost, a person can survive as long as they have hope and a will to live.


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-Perseverance is the driving force behind a persons life and prosperity.

-Imagism: inspires emotional response, straightforward, no strict rhythm

Chicago:

Summary:

-Describes Chicago and all of its industries and characteristics-Contrasts the gossip of Chicagos crimes and cruelty to its tough, hardworking, and

perseverant population

-The city and people are deeply connected; Chicago is young and nave but has potentialfor a bright future

Style:Free verse, 1st person

Tone: Arrogant, proud, nave

Literary Devices:Personification, parallelism, simileThemes:

-Crime and hardship is inevitable in areas of rapid development.

-The path to prosperity requires a beginning and improvement.

Imagism:Emotional response, natural/unstructured rhythm, use of images, simple and directlanguage

Literary Terms

Round characters: Fully developed, complex

Flat characters: one-dimensional

Grotesque: one who lives for one truth/value

The Iceberg Theory: (inIn Another Country notes)

Stream of Consciousness: writing that attempts to mirror the natural flow of human

thought

Flashback: recollection of earlier events described by a narrator

Ambiguity: uncertainty of intention or meaning

Enjambment: split up idea between sentences

Point of View (1st, 3rd limited and omniscient)

Parallelism: use of similar verbal structure

Anastrophe: inversion of normal syntactic order of words (ex. Matter too soft a lasting

mark to bear)

Parable: a story used to illustrate a moral lesson

Aphorism: a concise statement containing a general truth

Paradox: a true, seemingly self-contradictory statement

NOTE: Know all of the general literary terms that we learned last trimester.

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