LITERATURE WORKSHEET

● Dear Students, These are the basic literary analysis terms.

● Some other elements will be added as we advance during the course.

ACTIVITY 1

● Fiction is prose writing that tells a story about imaginary events. Fiction has
these elements:
● Characters, plot, conflict, setting.

TYPES OF FICTION

❖ Novel​ is a long work usually presented in chapters. It has many characters,

settings, and conflicts. It also may contain subplots, which are separate but
related stories.
❖ Novella​ is shorter than novel but longer than a short story. It may have several
characters and settings. It usually has one conflict but does not have subplots.
❖ Short story​ is brief enough to be read in “one sitting”. It may have several
characters. It usually has one setting and one main plot driven by a single
conflict.

SOME ELEMENTS TO BE ANALYZED

❖ Characters​ are the individuals who take part in the story.

❖ Dialogue​ is what is being said between and among the
characters. Sometimes the characters speak in a dialect or uses
idioms. This is a way of speaking that is particular to a group or
region. Idiomatic expressions are phrases that mean something
different from the combined meaning of individual words. For
example, “raining cats and dogs” is an idiomatic expression that
means “It is raining very hard.”
❖ Point of view​ is the viewpoint of the character who tells the story. A story told by
a character involved in the action is in first-person point of view. A story told by
someone outside the story is in third-person point of view.
❖ Theme​ is the message the writer wants to tell you about life or human nature. A
universal theme applies to people everywhere. A theme of a literary work is the
central message it communicates. For example, a simple story might show that
“honesty is the best policy.” A more complex work might show that “Human
Suffering cannot be justified or explained.” To express them, a writer make to take
one of these approaches:
❖ Directly state​ the theme of the work, or have a character directly state it.
❖ Create patterns​ of story elements to suggest a larger meaning – for instance, by
contrasting a generous man and his selfish brother to say something about
generosity. In many cases, a theme reflects a philosophical assumption - the
writer’s basic beliefs about life. For instance, a writer may make the assumption
that being generous leads to happiness. The writer of literary work may reflect
this belief.
 ❖ A ​plot​ is the sequence of related events in a story. A typical plot concerns a
conflict – a struggle between opposing forces – and follows a pattern like the
one shown. The events could be grouped in 5 different stages.
1. Exposition: ​the writer gives background on the characters
and the situation.
2. Rising action: ​Events intensify the conflict.
3. Climax:​ The tension reaches its highest point because the
outcome of the conflict is about to be revealed.
4. Falling action:​ The tension lessens because the outcome is
clear.
5. Resolution: ​The resolution or final outcome, often involves
a change or an insight. Writers use various techniques to add
tension to a story. One technique is foreshadowing -giving details that hint at
upcoming events.

CONFLICT

❖ In an External Conflict a character struggles against an

outside force, such as an element of nature or another
character.
❖ In an Internal Conflict a character struggles with his or
her own opposing desires, beliefs or needs.
❖ In many stories, the conflict intensifies until one force
wins and a resolution of the conflict occurs.
❖ To build interest in a conflict, writers may hint at events
to come or “stretch out” episodes that lead up to a crucial
moment. In these ways, they create suspense.
CHARACTERIZATION

❖ Characterization is the writer’s way of revealing a character’s personality to the

reader. The process of showing different sides of a character's personality or
showing how a character changes is called character development. Writers use
these two methods of characterization:
1. Direct Characterization: Writers make direct statements about a character’s
personality, appearance, habits, goals, values, or beliefs.
2. Indirect Characterization: Writers report a character’s words, thoughts, actions, and
interactions with other characters. Readers then use clues from the story to draw
conclusions about the characters.
❖ All stories have a SETTING – the time and place of the story’s events. Writers use
description, or word-pictures appealing to the senses, to establish a setting.
❖ Settings shape the stories in different ways:
1. Settings may determine the plot. In a story in the Arctic wilderness, characters will
face challenges not found in a Caribbean resort hotel.
2. Setting may shape a character’s concerns and values. A character from the days of
the Knights may be concerned with honor. A character from the Stone Age may be
concerned only with survival.
NOW, IT IS TIME TO STEP INTO ACTION…

❖ You are to use all the different strategies you have been taught throughout your
studies of literary texts either in Spanish or English classes.

SUMMARY

❖ Every chapter must have a summary that includes: ​Characters, setting, conflict,
important vocabulary. It can be done in the notebook or in the computer.
❖ Identify the MAIN EVENT which is formed by some actions before and some after it.
Sometimes, ​causes and consequences​.
Example:

PROLOGUE
LITERARY EVIDENCE
ELEMENTS

CHARACTERS Captain Ezra Bellevue, Diary writer, dying.

Luet Graves, Second in Command. George Tuller,

cartographer. Timothy / Josiah Delderfield, resident

cooks and hunters. Maybe 13 year-old men. Beast

 SETTING April 1795

Mountain: Aharihon, Mount Darius, Crowfoot River.

Lake: “I felt a ghastly premonition of something dark and

evil. I sensed a lurking presence that watched our
approach with dark eyes”. (p.3)

Night

CONFLLICT/ 5 MEN against nature (surviving).

CLIMAX Then, the 5 men against the creature.

NEW Account, dismissed, wounds, gangrene, reeling back at the

VOCABULARY horror of the sight, sending George Tuller flailing into the maw
of that black water…, he was ensnared in the mouth of a
creature so hideous, serpentine, I had sustained a fearsome
number of wounds, over the jagged rocks, my chances of
survival were meager, I pen these words, I know with startling
clarity

MAIN EVENT Journey for seven months.

(IDEAS TO
SUMMARIZE) Encounter with the creature.

❖ Now, you are to summarize one of the chapters according to your teacher’s
instruction.
❖ In pairs or maximum groups of 3, copy the chart below, create a Google
document/drive so that you can work collaboratively to fill the chart in
CHAPTER # 2

Students’ names: ​Laura Sofía Castaño and María Sofía Sánchez Escobar

Literary EVIDENCE
elements

CHARACTERS Josh Brookfield, student at the Dalton high school.

(adventurer of the hiking club meeting), both are still in awe
of the eruption of Mount Darius. In addition to this, a giant
eel is found in the lake.
Character Background: No information about this character
is evidenced before his present development in the story.
Character Traits: Josh was a boy of large physical build,
because of this he was nicknamed Bear at school, on the
other hand he was a bit clumsy and hated the idea of going
camping or being related to nature.
Character Motivation: his motivation is survival
Charter evolution: Josh was initially indifferent to trips and
excursions, and he had joined the hiking club for other
reasons. However, the environment (the Mount Darius
eruption that destroyed the Bellevue forest) caused him to
change to a survival attitude.

Greer Macon, student at Dalton high school.(adventuress of

the hiking club meeting.) both are still in awe of the
eruption of Mount Darius. In addition to this, a giant eel is
found in the lake.
Character Background: No information about this character
is evidenced before his present development in the story.
Character Traits: Greer was a girl with green eyes, popular in
school, confident and very intelligent.

The creature: (giant eel)

SETTING ➔ Autumn of an unknown year.
➔ Forest: Bellevue (On fire, destroyed by the eruption,
full of mud and debris).
➔ Mount Darius.
➔ The story takes place both in the morning and in the
evening.

CONFLICT/ Josh and Greer, they fight to survive.

The creature (the sinister eel) is found in the black river.
CLIMAX

VOCAB A heap
Aftermath
Amazement
Amid
Assembled
Bark
Beneath
Blackened
Blade
Bloat
Bobbing
Bordering
Boulders
Bound Away
Bravado
Bumping
Buried
Butcher it
Caked
Carcass
Cargo
Carved from granite
Choking
Chopper
Churning
Clamber
Clawed
Clinging
Clutching
Cowered
Cracked
Crumple
Cue
Cupped
Dangling
Dappled
Debris
Delight
Doe
Dove
Drained
Draped
Drenching
Drifting
Drowned
Edible
Embers
Embrace
Exertion
Eyeballed
Fiery
Fizzle
Flattened
Flickering
Floundering
Flushing red
Foliage
Froze
Gaping slash
Gasped
Giggling
Glistening
Gnawed
Grappled
Graveyard
Grease
Grime
Grimy
Grip
Gripped
Gulped
Gut-wrenching
Hack away
Half-submerged
Haystack
Hindquarters
Hoarse
Hugging
Hunched
Hung
Hunks
Jagged
Jetty
Klutz
Knee-peed
Knotting
Lay
Logs
Lumps
Lurked
Mist
Motionless
Mouthfuls
Mumble
Ominously
Outstretched
Peered
Pierced
Piled
Pitch
Plunged
Pounded
Pried
Propelled
Puddles
Puff
Ravenously
Ridge
Rooftops
Rubble
Scanned
Scorched firewood
Scrambled
Sharpened
Sheer hunger
Shelter
Shipwrecked
Shivered
Shore
Shoreline
Shouted
Sickening
Sinister
 Sizeable chunk
Slid
Slimy
Slumped
Slumped
Smoldering
Sobbing
Sparrows
Spectral
Speeded
Spilled
Spit
Squinted
Stench
Stepped
Struck
Stumbled
Stump
Stunned
Summed up
Surging
Swiftly
Swirled
Swirling
Tendrils
The red dull
Thirst
Thrashed
Trailed
Tread
Trembled
Unclasped
Uneven
Westerly
Whimper
Whirled

MAIN EVENT Greer said it was very dangerous to stay in that place, Mount
(IDEAS TO Darius could erupt at any moment, besides that they had no
SUMMARIZE) supplies. For this reason, she suggested going west towards
Wicker Dam, Josh said that it was not necessary to leave as the
authorities would come to Bellevue. But, Greer made him
reflect since the eruption had destroyed everything and that it
was impossible to find them or recognize anything.
“Josh and Greer found a deer carcass, they cooked it and ate it,
(they hadn't eaten for 2 days)
“they made fire with pieces of wood and embers”
“Greer had found a lake”
“Its waters were deep and dark, the surface was covered with
floating debris. Likewise, Josh thought that something in the
lake looked sinister and ancient.”
“Greer wanted to show him the island where there may be
buildings. Then Greer began to swim towards the island, Josh
began to paddle towards her. ”
Suddenly, Greer screamed at Josh, to get out of the water since
she felt that there was something in the black water from the
lake. Miraculously they had come to the surface
“The creature was black, and was moving at a cynical speed
like a giant eel. The creature came out of the surface and had a
row of sharp teeth, Greer was screaming and then suddenly
the creature slipped under the dark waters.”