PLOT - First input

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You can watch the same presentation below, without voice, but in a much more comfortable format. Just press the symbol with four arrows in the bottom right hand corner of the presentation slide in order to enlarge it.

ETHAN FROME QUIZ

When you have finished reading the book, you can do this ETHAN FROME QUIZ (please press link) to see how much you can remember. All the questions for the quiz are taken from Prestwick House, Activity Pack, ETHAN FROME, 2004.              
Good luck!


The quizmaker was made with testmoz.com.

TALKING ABOUT NARRATOR - Quiz

If you think you know all the important words to do with narrator, then you can try out these flashcards to see how much you really know. Have fun playing!

More flashcards and educational activitites at StudyStack.com

THEMES

The theme is the major idea or the central point of a work. What wisdom does this story offer? There may be more than one theme and they may often be subtle and ambiguous. Just like you and your friend may have different interpretations about a film you have seen, you may also have different opinions about what the theme of a story is.

The themes will be consistent with all the other facts and details of your story. The theme is the overall purpose that controls the story. When you think you know what a theme is, look for specific examples in the story to prove your thesis.

SETTING

The setting refers to the time and place of the story, but it can also include social and historical facts. A story may have multiple settings. You should find out in what way the setting fits the themes of the story.

NARRATOR

The third person narrator is one that relates the story by using he/she etc... They are usually outside the story.  They can be omniscient (seeing and knowing everything) with an unlimited point of view. It is also possible that a third person narrator has a limited point of view, so that they cannot see into the minds of some of the characters, for example.

The first person narrator will tell the story using the pronoun I. This narrator can only have a limited point of view. The I-person can be an observer to the story or someone who plays a minor role in the story. However, it can also be the protagonist.

An obtrusive narrator gives commentary and evaluates.

An unobtrusive narrator would describe the events or the characters without much commentary.

Is the narrator in your short story or novel reliable or unreliable? What makes you say so?

SYMBOLS AND IMAGERY

Metaphors: A metaphor is a comparison between two things which are basically quite unlike one another without using the words as or like. Ex. There are daggers in men’s smiles (from Shakespeare’s Macbeth)

Similes: Like a metaphor, a simile is a type of comparison. But while a metaphor says that something is something else, a simile says something is like something else and uses the words as or like. Ex. The storm had blown itself out like a candle.

Symbolism: Something which has two or more meanings. For example a sword may be just a sword, or it may also symbolise justice.

-       universal symbols = symbols anybody can understand, ex. a skull symbolises death; light symbolises wisdom and knowledge

-       constructive symbols are given symbolic meaning by the way an author uses them in a text.

Ex. A red rose is a symbol of love.

Personification is the technique of representing animals or objects as if they were human beings or possessed human qualities. Ex. There was a nasty jolt as the wheels touched the ground, then a sort of shudder seemed to run through the body of the plane.

Recognising symbols in literary works requires careful reading. Symbols will often only become important to you when you fully understand the story on a literary level.

CHARACTERS

The protagonist is the main character around whom the story evolves. The antagonist, if there is one, is his/her adversary, or his/her enemy.

We talk about main characters or minor characters.

The characters can be complex, round characters that develop throughout the story or they can be presented through only one or two characteristic features. They would then be described as flat characters.

Characterization is the manner in which the author creates an impression and gives background information so that we get to know the characters in a story. Sometimes the author will have the characters say or do unpleasant things so that we will dislike this character. It is however possible, that even unpleasant protagonists can win the sympathy of the reader.

It is important to understand that the authors try to manipulate us as readers to think and feel certain ways about the characters. Paying attention to how the writer is manipulating our thoughts/feelings (in other words how they are using characterisation) is a sophisticated analytical skill.

If the author presents the characters by telling the reader about them or by letting other characters tell us something about them, we speak of ‘telling’ or explicit (= direct) characterisation. If the author lets us learn about the characters by showing us what they say and by showing us their actions, we talk about ‘showing’ or implicit (= indirect) characterisation.

PLOT

A plot is more than ‘just’ a summary of the story. You must relate the plot to other elements in the story.

A plot line

- Exposition (the setting and characters are introduced)

- Rising action (where the conflict is introduced – developed and ultimately brought to a climax) 

- Climax (the point when the conflict is brought to a crisis stage)

- Denouement or resolution: the conflict is resolved in some manner.

Source : http://www.scribendi.com/images/cms/2009-07/Plot_Skeleton_photo_FINALIZED.jpg

This resolution often involves a reversion of intention whereby the protagonist’s intended outcome is reversed for better or worse; and this reversal often depends on recognition or a discovery which radically changes the protagonist’s understanding of his or her circumstances.

The story may develop from start to finish in a chronological order. Or there may be flashbacks, where the readers are given details about something that happened earlier in the story. There may also be foreshadowing in the story, meaning that the readers are given hints about what might happen later in the story.

NARRATOR - first input

If the presentation is a bit fast, feel free to stop, start and go back as you see fit.
Here are some words that might help you with the understanding:
limited - begrenzt
omniscient - allwissend
reliable - verlässlich, zuverlässig
judgement - Beurteilung
obtrusive - aufdringlich, penetrant

You can watch the same presentation below, without voice, but in a much more comfortable format. Just press the symbol with four arrows in the bottom right hand corner of the presentation slide in order to enlarge it.

VOCABULARY ON QUIZLET

QUIZLET is a nice page where you can make your own vocabulary cards - or print and practise on cards which someone else has already made. You can even set yourself a vocabulary test from each chapter and have it corrected immediately. 
Some vocabulary for ETHAN FROME exist already, but feel free to add you own words, too. Have a look here if you are interested
Frame 1
http://quizlet.com/7998522/ethan-frome-prologue-flash-cards/
Chapter 1
http://quizlet.com/2007287/ethan-frome-chapter-1-vocabulary-flash-cards/
Chapter 2
http://quizlet.com/2007413/ethan-frome-chapter-2-flash-cards/
Chapter 3
http://quizlet.com/3090438/ethan-frome-vocab-ch-3-flash-cards/
Chapter 4
http://quizlet.com/3090450/ethan-frome-vocab-ch-4-flash-cards/
Chapter 5
http://quizlet.com/2810906/ethan-frome-vocab-ch-5-flash-cards/
Chapter 6
http://quizlet.com/2811040/ethan-frome-vocab-ch-6-flash-cards/
Chapter 7
http://quizlet.com/2811144/ethan-frome-vocab-ch-7-flash-cards/
Chapter 8
http://quizlet.com/2811219/ethan-frome-vocab-ch-8-flash-cards/
Chapter 9 - Frame 2
http://quizlet.com/2821928/ethan-frome-vocab-ch-9-flash-cards/
and
http://quizlet.com/8431925/ethan-frome-chapter-9-epilogue-flash-cards/

LEARNING VOCABULARY

This is good news for all of you who are  smartphone addicted. Use your iPhone to collect and practise new vocabulary. It's easy to use, always to hand :-) and the cards do not get full of fluff and filth from your pockets. The app costs Sfr. 1.-- which we think is well invested money :-)

Look for KARTEIKARTEN in your app store.