GHSGT Review Packet

American Literature: Time Periods and Themes Early American Fiction (1492 -1789): Native American Lit: oral tradition, creation myths, reverence for nature. Explorers: journal entries, nonfiction, an accounting to the king/patron financing the expedition. Christopher Columbus, Captain John Smith Early Colonial Period: Puritan Lit (1600s): New England, religious in nature, emphasis on work ethic, sermons, ask God to solve your problems, life is a test between good and evil. Anne Bradstreet, Jonathan Edwards Slave Lit (1700s): narratives describing slave experiences. Olaudah Equiano, Phyllis Wheatley Revolutionary Period (1776- 1820): political writing on justice and freedom, almanacs, satire, mock epics. Themes related to: Age of Reason/Enlightenment, common sense, scientific investigation rather than religious doctrine, democracy instead of monarchy. Benjamin Franklin, Thomas Paine, Patrick Henry Romanticism (1820- 1860): reaction to the Age of Reason, novels, poems, short stories, heroic characters. Themes related to: intuition ruled over fact, imagination dominated, emphasis on individualism and the common man, nature or the natural world. Nathaniel Hawthorn, Edgar Allen Poe, Herman Melville, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Emily Dickinson, Walt Whitman, James Fennimore Cooper Transcendentalism (1840 -1855): stressed individualism, and mature and selfreliance. Themes: God is in nature, Nature and man are basically good, death is just a part of life, go to nature to heal and become rejuvenated. Ralph Waldo Emerson, Henry David Thoreau Anti-Transcendentalism (1840-1855): (Dark Romantics): Man is basically evil (Original Sin), Nature (woods) are full of sin/Satan; intense guilt; insanity and hallucinations. Washington Irving, Edgar Allen Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne Realism & Naturalism (1860-1914): began with the Civil War (1861 -1865) and ended with the beginning of WWI (1914 -1918); reaction to Romanticism. Realism: realistic writings, humor, social problems, a look at America as it really is -dirt and all. Mark Twain, Henry James Naturalism: an extreme of Realism, Nature is beautiful but savage, characters lives are shaped by forces they cannot control. Stephen Crane, Jack London Modernism & Experimentation (1914 - 1945): highly experimental, rejecting the traditional, authors seek a unique style of writing, loss of the American Dream. F. Scott Fitzgerald, Ernest Hemingway, Robert Frost, John Steinbeck Harlem Renaissance (1920s): celebration of arts in the Harlem community, blues/jazz infusion. Langston Hughes, Zora Neal Hurston, Richard Wright

Realism & Innovation (1945-present): Contemporary period, Themes related to changes of the era: technology, anti-war protests, affluence, and changing values. Different types of writing: sci-fi, fantasy, etc.. Stephen King, Toni Morrison, J.D. Salinger TEST-TAKING STRATEGIES FOR READING PASSAGES

1. Always read the questions first. This will help you to focus your
attention and direct you to the parts of the reading passage that are most important for you to understand.

2. Make sure you understand exactly what each question is asking.

STOP and take a moment to think about what you will need to look for in the reading passage. Sometimes it helps to put the question in your own words or circle key words in the passage, such as not, least, cause, effect, first, last, etc.

3. If you dont know the correct answer, use the process of elimination to narrow choices.

4.

Never choose an answer that is not supported by something in the selection or your own background knowledge. sense of the topics and important ideas. It should never be used a substitute for careful reading of the passage. However, it can be an important strategy, which you can use throughout the test. Heres an example: A test question asks about the setting of a story. Once you have read the passage all the way through, go back and skip through the paragraphs that discuss other ideas or events. Skim the paragraphs until you find the ones that discuss the time and the place, which together would make up the setting. Now, read this part of the passage carefully.

5. Skimming means to glance quickly at a reading passage to get a

6. Dont expect to always know the answers to most questions after

only one reading. Good test takers learn how to go back into the passage again and again to find specific information. This is one of the most important strategies for a reading test -knowing what information you need and rereading until you find it. (Use your skimming skills here)

7. If the question says According to the passage or Presented in the

passage, make sure that the answer you choose is based on information you read in the passage. This can also be a trick for students who think they can get by without doing the necessary reading.

8. Never choose an answer that contains any wrong information. If any

part of an answer choice is wrong, do not choose this answer. 9. Understand that part of an incorrect answer is often correct, but may not be complete enough to be the best answer.

10. Be aware that the answer to a question is often stated in words that
are a little bit different from the exact words used in the reading passage. (This is to test your comprehension, not just word recognition skills. Heres an example: A passage about the Civil War discusses the casualties of war, but the answer choice uses the word fatalities. By choosing the answer choice that contains the word fatalities, a good test taker is also demonstrating understanding or reading comprehension.

11. For main idea questions, always reread the first and last sentences.
Also, skim through the reading passage to see how many times each of the answer choices is discussed. Heres an example: You are trying to decide whether the main idea is about soccer or football, so you skim through the passage and learn that soccer is mentioned four times. (Be sure to include the pronouns in your count.) However, the writer only mentions football two times. You can be pretty confident that the main idea is about soccer. (Underline the words football and soccer in your test booklet as you skim. This way, you know you have made the correct choice.)

12. Dont confuse a supporting detail with the main idea. Remember
that a supporting detail just explains or gives more information about the topic.

Think about the paragraphs you have written in class when your teachers have told you to be sure to write about 8 or 10 sentences that explain about your topic sentence or main idea. 13. When you finish a reading passage, try to sum up everything in one sentence. This should be very close to the main idea.

14. For time and sequence questions, dont always expect to find all of
the events given to you in correct order in the passage. These directions are not in order: Pass up your homework after you sit down. The correct order is -first, sit down, and second, pass up your homework. Something like this can fool you on a test. Remember to use your clue words for time and sequence: first, then, before, finally, last, etc.

15. For vocabulary questions, when you have to choose the correct
meaning of a word, it is helpful to read the following: sentence that the word is in The

- The sentence right before - The sentence right after This area of the passage surrounding the word is called the context. Context clues are the words, phrases, and sentences that surround the word you do not know.

GHSGT TermsA to Z (okay, okay A-W)

Term Aesthetic Definition The beauty of something rather than its usefulness. Word parts that when added to words change their meaning or part of speech This is a story with two or more levels of meaninga literal level and a symbolic levelin which events, setting, and characters are symbols for ideas or qualities. The repetition of initial consoant sounds at the beginning of words. This is the reference to a person, place, or event from history, literature, or religion with which a reader is likely to be familiar A reference text that has collections of facts from year to year A common theme in American Literature; the chance for the good life that motivates the hard work, perseverance, and determination of each generation A common theme in American literature; many man and women who came to America were seeking a new life. Individual achievement and ambition helped them survive. This is a comparison based on a similarity between things that are otherwise dissimilar. The character or force that opposes the protagonist In Action Gosh, he looks great in a football uniform. Yeah, but I understand he cant throw the ball more than 10 feet. Un+believe+able=unbelievable The Ministers Black Veil by Nathaniel Hawthorne

Affixes Allegory

Alliteration Allusion

The soft rain soothed my soul.

Almanac American Dream

Poor Richards Almanack by Ben Franklin

American Individualism

Analogy

Left: right::up: down

Antagonist

Luke Skywalker vs. Darth Vader

Archetypal Character Archetype

Argument

This is a character in a work that is very typical of a certain type of person. This is the original model for a person, place, thing, or idea appearing later in history, folklore, literature, or myth. It is a symbol, setting, character, or theme that has universal meaning. This involves one or more reasons presented by a speaker or writer to lead the audience or reader to a logical conclusion.

The bad guy is in the black cowboy hat. Beauty, truth, goodness, and sin are all examples of this literary term.

By authorityusing authority figures, experts, or famous people who recommend something By emotionusing appeals made to feelings or reactions to love, hate, happiness, etc. By logicusing reasoning and evidence to persuade the reading that a certain opinion or position makes sense week-seed Autobiography of Ben Franklin

Assonance Autobiography Ballad Bias

Bandwagon Bibliography

Biography Blank verse

Not really a full rhyme, but similar vowel sounds Story of a persons life told by that person A narrative poem, often of folk origin, intended to be sung This is a prejudice that is leaning toward a positive or negative judgment on something; an opinion A persuasive technique that tries to make the consumer want to be part of a group A list of resources used by the author found at the end of a report that cites or gives credit to any book you consulted. Story of a persons life told by another person. Unrhymed iambic pentameter

For example, a student might have a bias (because he wishes to attend that college) toward the best college football team. Everyone is using ProActiv! A works cited page at the end of a research paper.

Birches by Robert Frost

WHEN I see birches bend to left and right Across the line of straighter darker trees

Card stacking

A persuasive technique where only good information

It really, really works to clean teeth whiter (we forgot to tell you,

Characters Characterizatio n

is presented. The people or individuals involved in the story or drama The ways that an author shows readers what a character in a literary selection is like. The high point of the conflict when the most action or excitement takes place Words of different languages that share the same root word An American literary period (1620-1750) when the focus was on historical events, daily life, moral attitudes (Puritanism), and political unrest. Lighthearted play intended to amuse the audience A struggle that is part of the plot and can trigger action in the plot. Common literary conflicts occur with nature, self, society, or machine. A type of slant rhyme, words have the same consonant sounds at the beginning or end but vowel sounds are different Words or phrases that help readers to define unknown words, usually found before or after the unknown word. A common literary theme in American literature involving many different cultures coming to American and mixing with both successes and failures. This blending of various people has allowed a diversity of ideas and practices, enabling other

it causes cavities, toooops!) Abigail, Rev. Hale, Tituba, and John Proctor from The Crucible Revealed by: the characters own words, what others say or think about the character, what the character does, or through direct description

Climax

Cognate Colonial Period:

Night, nuit, nacht, nicht, nott, noche, notte, and nox Authors: William BradfordOf Plymouth Plantation Jonathan EdwardsSinners in the Hands of an Angry God Anne BradstreetTo My Dear and Loving Husband Ben FranklinAutobiography, Poor Richards Almanac Much Ado About Nothing Man vs. Food tv show

Comedy Conflict

Consonance

Zealots by the Fugees: "Rap rejects my tape deck, ejects projectile/Whether Jew or gentile I rank top percentile."

Context clues

Cultural Diversity

Denouement Diary

Drama

Dramatic conventions Dynamic character Editorial Effectiveness

Electronic media End rhyme Evidence Exposition

Expository text

Falling action Figurative language First person

groups to succeed. The action that follows the climax as the plot winds down. Autobiographical record. It can offer opinions, and thoughts of people from another time. A type of literature that exists both as a written text and as a staged event with actors interpreting the words. Generally agreed upon terms used by playwrights, actors, and directors. A type of character who changes Statements of fact or opinion found in a newspaper or magazine. A judgment made by a reader about evidence that a film, advertisement, or web page made the point it was trying to establish. The Internet, databases, DVDs, or CDs which provide research information electronically Most common form of rhyming where words at the ends of lines rhyme Facts that support main and subordinate ideas. Information imparted by characters that helps to explain the situation at the beginning of a play or story. A mode of writing whose purpose is to convey information or to explain and establish the validity of an idea in a logical, clear, and concrete manner. Part of the story between its climax and resolution Colorful language that adds meaning. The narrator relates events

Diary of Anne Frank

Romeo and Juliet The Crucible Exit: stage left

Galileo or SIRS Researcher in our media center The cat sat/on the mat Anecdotes, facts, or statistics.

textbooks, encyclopedias, scientific books/journals, atlases, directions, guides, biographies, newspapers

Metaphor, simile, personification, and hyperbole are examples. I, me and we are common

point of view Fixed form Flashback structure Formal language

Frame narrative

Free form Genre Harlem Renaissance

from a personal perspective using his or her own words. Traditional verse with a rhyme scheme. A structure where an author interrupts a scene to go back and tell about events that occurred earlier. Used by writers of scholarly books. It usually has longer sentences and a greater variety of words than everyday speech. A structure where a story is told within a story. There are actually two ongoing stories: one about the narrator and another told by the narrator. A type of poetry that has no specific rules of rhyme, meter, or length The category or type of literature. An American literary period that occurred within the Modern period and featured many African-American writers. The setting and circumstances in which a literary work is written or an event occurs. An extreme exaggeration used in a literary work. A phrase in common use that can not be understood by literal or ordinary meanings. The use of language that appeals to the five sense touch, taste, smell, hearing, and sight. Everyday speech. It usually consists of fairly short sentences and simple vocabulary. Rhyming words are found

clues to this POV. Sonnets William Faulkners The Sound and the Fury mixes scenes from seven major time periods. Teachers want you to use formal language when writing essays.

Walt Whitman wrote in free verse. Poetry, fiction, nonfiction, drama, horror, mystery/suspense, romance, science fiction W.E.B. DuBois, Langston Hughes, Countee Cullen, Zora Neale Hurston, and Richard Wright The Crucibleabout the Salem Witch Trials, BUT a historical match for McCarthy Era (another witch hunt) The rain seemed to last for one hundred years. It is raining cats and dogs outside. Meaning: it is raining hard NOT that youre going to go outside and step in a poodle ;) The ooze of the sand between my toes, the smell of the salt air, and the cool breeze from the ocean made my walk on the beach a great escape from the chaos at home. Every single text youve sent since youve been in the study session! :D Once upon a midnight dreary,

Historical context Hyperbole Idiom

Imagery

Informal language Internal rhyme

within a line of poetry.

Irony

A situation or a statement that is opposite of what is expected, such as saying one thing and doing another.

while I pondered, weak and weary, Over many a quaint and curious volume of forgotten lore, While I nodded, nearly napping, suddenly there came a tapping, As of some one gently rapping, rapping at my chamber door. "'Tis some visitor," I muttered, "tapping at my chamber door Edgar Allan Poe Kudzu - a vine imported to the United States in the 1930s and planted all over the South at the direction of the US Government in order to prevent soil erosion. Instead of preventing erosion, it climbs and chokes native trees and plants, thus causing even more erosion.

Literal language Literary periods

Lyric poetry

Metaphor

Modern drama

Language that states the meaning of a word as it is commonly defined Time frame or collection of authors grouped by style or theme, defined by shared characteristics. This includes: style of writing, the genre chosen, and subject matter. Romantic or descriptive poems that contain an expression of the poets feelings and thoughts. A comparison of two things directly without using the words like or as. The writer states that one thing is another even if they are different. A style of writing that explores many of the same subjects and themes that modern literature has treated. Since 1900 or so, slice-of-life dramas allow the audience to view contemporary existence through themes of alienation and a sense of being

Romanticism and Realism are literary periods.

Elegies, odes, and sonnets are often lyric poems. His words are a warm blanket over my heart.

Arthur Miller, Tennessee Williams

Modern period

Mood Narrative poem Narrator Native American Period

Naturalism

Paradox

Parallel structure Personification

Plot

disconnected. An American literary period (1900-1950) featuring World Wars, a Great Depression, and increased commercialism which caused writers to explore themes of alienation and change. Fears and disillusionment were also part of this period. The affect that the story has upon the reader A poetic structure that tells a story and describes the purpose behind the writing. A speaker, author, or actor who is telling a story about other people An American literary period (pre-1620-1840). The earliest literature of the aboriginal population was an oral tradition. Much of that tradition was lost with the coming of the Europeans. The focus was on the natural and sacred worlds, as well as the importance of land and place. An American literary period (1880-1940) which was an extension of Realism. Writers sought to explore how human nature controlled other peoples lives. Nature was often cruel as humans thought to survive. A statement that at first seems self-contradictory but which upon reflection makes sense. In a sentence or paragraph, items in a series in a similar form: I came, I saw, I conquered. A form of figurative language that gives human characteristics to something that is not human. The sequence of events in fiction.

Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and T.S. Eliot are authors.

Earth on Turtles Back and When Grizzlies Walked Upright are examples from the Native American period

Jack Londons Call of the Wild and White Fang are examples of Naturalism.

less is more

Skating, running, and skiing are sports she enjoys. (all gerunds) The wind whispered through the trees.

Point of view (POV) Political drama

Postmodern Period/ Contemporary Period Primary source

Protagonist Pun

The perspective of a piece of writing; how the author presents the world A play with a political aspect to it. The playwright uses drama to advocate a certain political point of view. Usually these are about current topics or political events. An American literary period (1950-present) featuring irony, absurdity, and cynical attitudes. A record of events by someone who participated in or witnessed the events directly. These sources are called primary because they would be the first recorded, and the most related to a topic or incident in time. The main character of a story A term for a play on words that have a similar meaning.

First person; second person; third person limited; third person omniscient The Crucible

Kurt Vonneguts Fahrenheit 451

Memoirs, journals, diaries, public records and documents, newspaper stories, personal interviews

Abigail Williams in The Crucible; Tom Walker in The Devil and Tom Walker Seafood diet: I see food and I eat it. An Asian restaurant named Wok and Roll Mark Twains Huck Finn

Realism

Refrain

Resolution Revolutionary Period and Nationalism

An American literary period (1850-1900) when rural life gave way to industrialization and larger cites. Authors focused on the often cruel realities of this new world. Local color was apart as the writing portrayed different regions (South and West) accurately. A word, phrase, or series of lines that is repeated, adding rhythm and emphasis to a song or poem. A refrain tends to make a poem easier to memorize, recite, and recall. The completion of the plot. An American literary period (1750-1815) when political writing dominated during and after the American

Thomas Jefferson, Ben Franklin, and Thomas Paine are all writers from this time period.

Rhetorical questions

Revolution. Nationalism and patriotism were explored, as well as what it means to be American. Questions with obvious answers, used as a persuasive technique.

Your mother says, do you think Im just talking to hear myself talk?. Obviously you think she is...youve been ignoring her all day. Of course, it is best that you dont confirm her suspicions.

Rising action

Romanticism and Transcendenta lism

Secondary source

Second person point of view Setting Simile

Slant rhyme

Sonnet

Part of a literary work that introduces characters and the first events in the plot that lead into the major conflicts. An American literary period (1800-1855) when philosophical attitudes of writers of this period were formed in reaction to the earlier periods in which reason and rational thought dominated. A record of events by someone w ho did not participate directly in the subject matter. These sources are usually collected after an event has occurred. Many books or magazine articles appear to be taken from eyewitnesses, but often they rely on secondary sources, particularly if an event occurred long ago. A viewpoint where the author or the narrator addresses the reader directly. Where and when the actions in a story or drama take place. A direct comparison between two things. The writers uses the words like or as to make a connection between the meanings. The final words of lines in a poem have sounds that are similar but the vowel sounds are different. A lyric poem with 14 rhymed

Individualism, nature, imagination, creativity, and emotions are features of this period. Herman Melvilles Moby Dick Edgar Allan Poeeverything Textbooks, encyclopedias, and other nonfiction books are often secondary sources.

you or your is a clue to this POV The CrucibleSalem, MA in 1692 The balloon rose like a moon.

Againgrain or stain

Shakespeares 154 sonnets

Stereotyping Stream of consciousness Style

Suffix

Symbolism

Theme

Thesis

Third person limited POV

Third person omniscient POV

Tolerance

lines. A persuasive technique that simplifies a complex group. A style of writing introduced in the Modern period, that features unconnected thoughts of a character. The characteristics of a given writers body of work. Over time and various works, authors develop a signature way of looking at the world. An affix added to the end of a word that may change a word from a verb to a noun, a noun to an adjective or an adjective to an adverb A style of writing that uses a person, place, or object in a way that adds significance beyond its surface meaning. A thing stands for something else. Universal truths about life an author brings out in his or her work. It usually expresses a universal view on life and society. A controlling idea for a paragraph or set of paragraphs or a whole work that is supported by providing evidence from a variety of sources. A style of writing in which the narrator tells the story from the perspective of one character, knowing only that characters thoughts and feelings. The narrator is outside the action and refers to characters as he, she, or them. The narrator is godlike and knows all the characters thoughts and feelings as well as information about all events. A common literary theme in American Literature. Unlike

All tall people are good basketball players.

Slow +ly = slowly

The importance of forgiveness

they ; him; her

To Kill a Mockingbird is a novel that explores this theme.

Tone

Tragedy Understateme nt Universal life experiences

older European and Asian societies where class rules and religion did not allow any differences, American society embraced them. Freedom of religion and the rights of each human are cornerstones of the American outlook on the world. The emotions or mood conveyed by the language an author uses. The readers emotion is controlled by the authors use of language. A serious play that ends in disaster and sorrow. A rhetorical technique that minimizes or lessens the importance of what was meant for effect. The common trials and joys that most humans share, which make up the plot of fictional stories.

Critical, angry, condescending, cynical, cheerful, joyful, malicious, playful, pathetic, reverent, serious Romeo and Juliet In the middle of the dessert heat, a character says, My, its warm today. This is the opposite of hyperbole. Death. Weddings. Birth. Love.