THE BLUE HELMET English 1201 Novel Study Literary

THE BLUE HELMET English 1201 – Novel Study

Literary Terms Review � Point of View – the perspective from which the events are seen, a story is told or an argument is made. � 1 st person: story teller is a character in the novel, uses I, me, mine, etc. – Lee Mercer in The Blue Helmet � 2 nd person: the reader is a character in the story – the author uses you, your, etc. � 3 rd person: story teller is not a character; uses “He, ” ”She, ” “They” �Limited: thoughts and feelings of one or a few characters is defined � 3 rd person limited (omniscience): though the storyteller is not a character in the story, the readers are told the thoughts and feelings of one character only

� Setting - time, place, and circumstances in which the story or events take place. (Ontario, Reena’s café, Cutter’s house, etc. ) � Atmosphere - the feeling created by the setting as evoked by the diction (“Outside the rain brimmed the curb gutters, pushing dirt and soggy food wrappers toward plugged sewer grates” p. 2)

� Plot - the plan, skeleton, framework, sequence of events or storyline. The components are: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution/denouement. � Exposition - the introduction to characters, setting, atmosphere and background information � Generating circumstance/cause - the one event that causes the rising action or conflict � Foreshadowing: hints or clues which imply the ending or outcome of the story

� Conflict: the struggle of opposing forces either within an individual (internal) or outside of that individual (external) � Symbolism: when an object is meant to be representative of something or an idea greater than the object itself � Rising action is defined as the series of events that lead to the crisis or climax of a story. This means that the protagonist experiences the conflict in many events and each event is considered to be a sequence in the action (events) that build to the turning point (where a change is witnessed in the protagonist).

Ending of the Plot � Climax: the turning point of the action or the crisis which creates a change in the character; the point after which the conflict is resolved for the protagonist. � Resolution/Denouement: the result of the conflict being over; tying up the loose plot details. Some stories, which have no resolution but end at the climax are considered to have a surprise ending/ironic twist.

Character(ization) � Protagonist: the character who experiences the conflict (Lee) � Antagonist: the force that creates conflict for the protagonist which could be another character � Functions of Minor Characters: (Doug Mercer, Carpino, Reena, Cutter, Abe, etc. ) �To �To �To develop the major character/protagonist create conflict provide contrast advance the plot show irony or humor