Name___________________________

Grade:
Teacher: Mrs. Jean D. Maravillas

Creative Nonfiction
Quarter 1
Module 1

Most Essential Learning Competency

 Analyze the theme and techniques used in a particular text

Analyzing Theme and Literary Techniques

What I Need to Know

In this module, you will hopefully understand the different literary conventions that govern
the different genres of creative nonfiction through a text. This module will lead you to clearly and
coherently use in a written output the literary elements appropriate to the conventions of an
identified genre. Specifically, you are expected to:
 identify the literary techniques present in a text; and
 analyze the theme and literary techniques used in a particular text.

The words “creative” and “nonfiction” describe the form. The word “creative” refers to the
use of literary craft, the techniques fiction writers, playwrights, and poets employ to present
nonfiction—factually accurate prose about real people and events—in a compelling, vivid, dramatic
manner. The goal is to make nonfiction stories read like fiction so that your readers are as enthralled
by fact as they are by fantasy.

The word “creative” has been criticized in this context because some people have
maintained that being creative means that you pretend or exaggerate or make up facts and
embellish details. This is completely incorrect. It is possible to be honest and straightforward and
brilliant and creative at the same time.

“Creative” doesn’t mean inventing what didn’t happen, reporting and describing what
wasn’t there. It doesn’t mean that the writer has a license to lie. The cardinal rule is clear and cannot
be violated. This is the pledge the writer makes to the reader the maxim we live by, the anchor of
creative nonfiction: “You can’t make this stuff up!”

Creative nonfiction writing can embody both personal and public history. It is a form that
utilizes memory, experience, observation, opinion, and all kinds of research. Sometimes the form
can do all of the above at the same time. Other times it is more selective.

What links all these forms is that the “I,” the literary version of the author, is either explicitly
or implicitly present—the author is in the work. This is work that includes the particular sensibility of
the author while it is also some sort of report from the world. Be it a public or a personal world. Be
the style straightforward like a newspaper feature, narrative like a novel, or metaphorical like a
poem.
 Under the umbrella called Creative Nonfiction we might find a long list of subgenres such as:
biography/autobiography, literary journalism, personal narratives, travelogue, reflection essay, true
narratives, blogs, and testimonio. We will be discussing on these genres on the succeeding lessons.

Now that we know what creative nonfiction is, let us look into the different literary
techniques used by this genre from its fiction counterpart. Some of these most commonly used
literary techniques are grouped as figures of speech. Below are a few of these.

Simile
A simile is a figure of speech that directly compares two things using connective words such
as like, than, as, or a verb such as “resembles.” These things may seem unrelated but they share a
similar characteristic or quality.
 Example:
The home quarantine made him feel like a caged bird.
This statement compares the feeling of being at home quarantine to that of a caged bird
using the comparison word “like.” The characteristics that these two things share is the
feeling of confinement.

Metaphor
A metaphor also compares two seemingly unrelated things but the comparison is implicit,
implied or hidden as it does not use comparison words such as those used in simile.
 Example:
The new strain of corona virus is a thief in the night.
The statement implicitly compares the corona virus to a thief since they are both sneaky and
we do not know when we are going to be infected/attacked.

Hyperbole
Hyperbole, derived from a Greek word meaning “over-casting,” is a figure of speech that
involves an exaggeration of ideas for the sake of emphasis.
 Example:
He cried a bucketful of tears when he lost his friend from the virus.
There is a clear exaggeration here as it is not possible to cry a bucketful of tears. However,
this exaggeration has the effect of emphasizing how the person felt.

Personification
Personification is a figure of speech in which a thing – an idea or an animal is given human
attributes.
 Example:
The virus gave a sinister smile as it entered its next victim’s lungs.
In this statement, the virus was given a human attribute of smiling.

Onomatopoeia
Onomatopoeia is defined as a word which imitates the natural sounds of a thing. It creates a
sound effect that mimics the thing described, making the description more expressive and
interesting.
 Example:
My phone beeped to notify me of an incoming advisory from the Department of
Health.
The word “beeped” here use onomatopoeia as the word mimics the sound of the phone.
 Aside from figures of speech, other literary elements are:
Imagery
Imagery means to use figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a
way that it appeals to our physical senses (smells, touch, feel, hear, taste).
 Example:
The picketing jeepney drivers were screaming and shouting at the middle of the
road. “Screaming” and “shouting” appeal to our sense of hearing, or auditory sense.

Characterization
Characterization is the process by which the writer reveals the personality of a character.
Characterization is revealed through direct and indirect means.
 Direct characterization tells the audience what the personality of the character is.
 Indirect characterization shows things that reveal the personality of a character such us
their speech, thoughts, effect on others toward the character, actions, and looks.
 Example:
Ryan is a well-mannered boy and did not disobey his mother when he was told to stay.

Conflict
Conflict is a literary element that involves a struggle between two opposing forces. The
conflict may be internal or external.
An internal or psychological conflict arises as soon as a character experiences two opposite
emotions or desires – usually virtue and vice, or good and evil – inside him. This disagreement causes
the character to suffer mental agony, and it develops a unique tension in a storyline, marked by a
lack of action.
External conflict, on the other hand, is marked by a characteristic involvement of an action
wherein a character finds him in struggle with those outside forces that hamper his progress. The
most common type of external conflict is where a protagonist fights back against the antagonist’s
tactics that impede his or her advancement.

Setting
Setting is the time and place in which the story occurs.

Point of View
Point of view refers to who is telling the story. It can either be on the first or third person.

In first person point of view, one of the characters is narrating the story. This is generally
revealed by the “I” sentence construction and relies on first person pronouns. Most creative
nonfiction employs this point of view as they are usually personal accounts. The author is narrating a
story about the characters and refers to them with the third person pronouns “he/she.”

Foreshadowing
Foreshadowing is a literary device in which a writer gives an advance hint of what is to come
later in the story. A writer may use character dialogues to hint at what may occur in the future. In
addition, any event or action in the story may throw a hint to the readers about future events or
actions. Even a title of a work can act as a clue that suggests what is going to happen. Foreshadowing
in fiction creates an atmosphere of suspense in a story, so that the readers are interested to know
more.

Flashback
It is a scene appearing in the narrative that occurs earlier than the main narrative.
Symbolism
Symbolism occurs when objects are assigned with a certain meaning or symbol that is
different from their original meaning or function.
 Example:
The protesters raised their fist.
The raising of fist represents unity or solidarity, generally with oppressed people.

Diction
The selective choice of words and style of expression by an author. Diction refers to the
construction of expressions which allows a text to fulfil its purpose. It can impact the tone and
representation of characters and setting.

Tone
Tone, in written composition, is an attitude of a writer toward a subject or an audience.
Tone is generally conveyed through the choice of words, or the viewpoint of a writer on a
particular subject. The tone can be formal, informal, serious, comic, sarcastic, sad, or cheerful, or it
may be any other existing attitude.

Mood
In literature, mood is a literary element that evokes certain feelings or vibes in readers
through words and descriptions. Usually, mood is referred to as the atmosphere of a literary piece,
as it creates an emotional setting that surrounds the readers.

The author uses these techniques to achieve a purpose and to elevate his/her writing, and it
is up to you as the reader to analyze why and how these techniques are used in a particular work of
creative nonfiction.

All these literary techniques help us to analyze the theme of a literary text. Theme is defined
as a main idea or an underlying meaning of a literary work, which may be stated directly or
indirectly.

Literary works are used to entertain, to teach a moral lesson, to convey meaning, or more
importantly, to make the reader aware of some aspect of the human condition. Through their work,
writers creatively share their ideas and express themes that are timeless and universal. Furthermore,
certain themes can be understood by people regardless of age, gender, geography, or culture. This
commonality makes them universal. Universal themes developed in a story, poem, or play ultimately
expand the reader’s knowledge of being human by the expression of experiences through different
perspectives.

Activity 1
Direction: For items 1-5, choose from the box the literary technique defined or described in each
item. Write only the letter of your answer.

A. Simile D. Foreshadowing G. Diction

B. Metaphor E. Flashback
C. Dialogue F. Characterization

__________1. It is an allusion to something that will happen in the narrative.

__________2. The statement, “She smells of a morning when papayas are in bloom.”
__________3. It is the selective choice of words and style of expression by an author.
__________4. It is when two or more characters engage in conversation with one another.
__________5. It is a scene appearing in the narrative that occurs earlier than the main narrative.
__________6. Which among the following DOES NOT describe the theme of a literary text?
A. It always teaches a moral lesson that may or may not be followed.
B. It is the underlying meaning of the literary text.
C. It makes the reader aware of some aspect of the human condition.
D. It expands the reader’s knowledge of being human through its universality.

For items 8-11, read the following literary excerpt and answer the questions that follow.

That summer, I’d started my job at the community pool with great focus. A week or so in, I made
rescue history: two saves in one dive. Two friends had been play-fighting in the deep end. Play
turned to panic. Panic in water can cause flailing arms to drag down any person within reach, even
the rescuer. It’s survival instinct. I blasted my whistle and dove in. My lock around each boy’s
neckthe way I wedged my upturned body between them and cradled a head in each armpit as I
flutter-kicked to the wall—wasn’t textbook. But it was enough. Their mouths fish-puckered just
above the surface. Our tandem breath sucked in air, hope.
On a Whistle and a Prayer
by Holly Morse-Ellington

_________8. What could be the job of the narrator?

A. swimming coach B. pool owner
C. lifeguard D. professional swimmer
_________9. What does the phrase “wasn’t textbook” mean?
A. It is not part of the standard procedure.
B. It is not properly executed.
C. It is not written on the textbook.
D. It is against official protocol.
_________10. What literary technique is used in the 10th sentence?
A. simile B. metaphor
C. characterization D. symbolism
_________11. What could be a possible theme of this text?
A. bravery B. love
C. loyalty to service D. good versus evil

For items 12-15, read the following excerpt and answer the questions that follow.

“Bomba… bomba! Halin dira. Bomba! Ahhhhh… Ahhhhh… bomba!” He would mumble words, words
that were hard to understand, plain nonsense for those who pass by the store near his isolated
room. People in our neighbourhood were used to hearing him shout. Sometimes it was very loud
that even the ones living in the next block could hear. Whenever he tried to break
free, we could hear the sound of clanking steel.
The Prisoner
by Diana Katrina May Agcambot

_________12. What could be symbolized by the isolated room and the shackles?
A. freedom B. slavery
C. imprisonment D. dependence
_________13. What is the most dominant literary technique in the phrases “mumble words” and
“the sound of clanking steel?”
A. hyperbole B. personification
C. assonance D. onomatopoeia
_________14. What feeling is evoked while reading the excerpt?
A. fear B. pity
C. embarrassment D. annoyance
_________15. Why do you think that the character in the excerpt is constrained and isolated?
A. He is aggressive because of a mental problem.
B. He committed a crime.
C. He is punished by his parents because of a bad deed.
D. He has a communicable disease.

Activity 2
Direction: Match the definition on column A to the literary technique it defines on column B. Write
the letter of your answer on the space provided.

Column A Column B
_____1. This occurs when similar vowel sounds A. Onomatopoeia
appear closely together.
_____2. It involves the exaggeration of ideas for B. Point of View
emphasis.
_____3. It is the struggle between two opposing C. Theme
forces.
_____4. It refers to who is telling the story. D. Mood
_____5. It is when we assign objects with a certain E. Simile
meaning that is different from their original
meaning or function.
_____6. This refers to the place and time the events F. Setting
in the story happened.
_____7. It is a word that phonetically mimics or G. Assonance
resembles the sound of the thing it describes.
_____8. It is defined as a main idea or an underlying H. Genre
meaning of a literary work, which may be
stated directly or indirectly.
_____9. It is an element in literature that evokes I. Hyperbole
certain feelings or vibes in readers through
words and descriptions.
_____10. It means a type of literature characterized J. Conflict
by a distinct form, content, and style. K. Symbolism

Analyze the theme of the text below and write down your objective and subjective
observations that helped you arrive at your answer.

White Lies
by Erin Murphy

Arpi, a Lebanese girl who pronounced ask as ax no matter how many times the teacher
corrected her, must have been delighted by the arrival of Connie, the new girl in our fifth grade class.
Connie was albino, exceptionally white even by the ultra-Caucasian standards of our southern
suburb. Only her eyelids had color: mouse-nose pink, framed by moth-white lashes and brows.
 We had been taught that there was no comparative or superlative for different. Things were
either different or the same, the teacher said. Likewise for perfect something was either perfect or
not. But surely Arpi thought of Connie as more different than herself. Arpi may have had a name that
sounded all too close to Alpo, a brand of dog food, but at least she had a family whose skin and hair
and eyes looked like hers. Connie, by comparison, was alone in her difference. She was, perhaps,
most different. Differentest.
This was confirmed by the ridicule, which was immediate and unrelenting: Casper, Chalk
Face, Q-tip. Connie, whose shoulders hunched in a permanent parenthesis, pretended not to hear
the names or the taunting questions: What’d you do, take a bath in bleach? Who’s your boyfriend—
Frosty the Snowman? She sat in the front of the classroom, and if she felt the boys plucking white
hairs from her scalp, she didn’t react. The teacher, who was serving the last nine months of a thirty-
year sentence in the public school system, spent the bulk of each day perusing magazines and L.L.
Bean catalogues in the back of the room. As far as I know, she never intervened. All of this changed
in mid-October when Connie’s father got a job at a candy factory, news Connie announced
tentatively one rainy day during indoor recess.
Can he get us candy?
Yes.
Any kind? As much as we want? For free?
Yes, yes, yes.
And so the daily ritual began. Kids placed orders for Reese’s Cups, Baby Ruth bars, Hubba
Bubba bubble gum. Connie kept a log of the requests in a pocket-size notebook. The next day, she
would tote a box full of candy into the classroom and distribute the promised sweets to eager hands.
Overnight, Connie became the center of attention. Girlseven Marcia Miller, the first in our class to
wear mascara would beg to sit by Connie at lunch so they could update their orders.
And what about me? What was my role? Did I request my favourites 3 Musketeers and
coconut-centered Mounds bars? Or did I, as I have told myself and others in the years since, refuse
to contribute to such cruelty? Or, in a more likely scenario, did I dump out my loot triumphantly at
home one afternoon, only to be scolded by my mother? I don’t remember, my memory obscured,
I’m sure, by the wishful image of myself as a precocious champion of social justice. And I don’t
remember if I actually witnessed or just imagined Connie and her mother at the 7-Eleven one day
after school. They were in the candy aisle. Her mother was filling a cardboard box. And Connie,
bathed in unflinching fluorescence, was curved over her notebook making small, careful check
marks.

Assessment
Direction: Answer the following questions based on the previous text read. For items 1-5, write
down sentences from the text that uses sensory imagery on column 1 and the most dominant sense
on column 2 (sight, touch, taste, hearing, smell).

Excerpt from the Text Most Dominant Sensory Image

1.

2.

3.
4.

5.

______________6. What figure of speech is used when the narrator said that “Connie’s shoulders
hunched in a permanent parenthesis”?
______________7. What could be symbolized by the candies Connie gave her classmates for free?
______________8. What is the overall mood of the story?
9-10. What could be the conflict of the story? Justify.
ANSWER KEY:
ACTIVITY 1:
1. D
2. B
3. G
4. C
5. E
6. A
7. A
8. C
9. A
10. B
11. C
12. C
13. D
14. B
15. A
ACTIVITY 2
1. G.
2. I
3. J
4. B
5. K
6. F
7. A
8. C
9. D
10. H
ASSESSMENT
Excerpt from the Text Most Dominant Sensory Image
1. Arpi, a Lebanese girl who pronounced ask as Hearing
ax no matter how many times the teacher
corrected her, must have been delighted by the
arrival of Connie, the new girl in our fifth grade
class.
2. Connie was albino, exceptionally white even Sight
by the ultra-Caucasian standards of our southern
suburb.
3. Only her eyelids had color: mouse-nose pink, Sight
framed by moth-white lashes and brows.
4. Connie, whose shoulders hunched in a Sight
permanent parenthesis
5. The next day, she would tote a box full of Taste/Sight
candy into the classroom and distribute the
promised sweets to eager hands.
6. metaphor
7. social acceptance (Other answers may be given.)
8. indifferent (Other answers may be given.)
9-10. A discriminated child seeks for acceptance. (Answers and justifications may vary.)