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Function
by Ashley O’Neill
What is function?
● Function focuses on two things- why an author included certain lines of text in their writing and why they included literary devices in their writing ● Literary devices: there are many, but just focus on the AP skills- diction, tone, vocabulary, inference, syntax, point of view, main idea and purpose, figures of speech, and grammar
Figuring Out Function
● Ask yourself, “
Why did the author include this? Why is it important? What is it adding to the text?
” ● Another great way to figure out why something was written is to focus on the emotions of the reader. How do you feel when you read it? Why would the author want you to feel this way? How does it build to their main idea and/or purpose?
The Catcher in the Rye
This is from
The Catcher in the Rye
by JD Salinger. Holden, the main character is describing his little brother’s baseball glove. “He had poems written all over the fingers and pocket and everywhere. In green ink. He wrote them on it so he’d have something to read when he was in the field and no one was up at bat. He’s dead now.”
The entire passage there was in past tense, just like the whole novel. Why is the last line in present tense?
A. To inform the readers that his brother is dead B. To bring variety to the story C. To remind the readers that the dead stay dead forever D.
To play on the readers’ emotions Hint: There are two correct answers here!!
Answers: C and D
Romeo and Juliet
This is from
Romeo and Juliet
by William Shakespeare.
You all know about iambic pentameter. Most of Romeo and Juliet is in iambic pentameter. However, the famous line “O Romeo, Romeo, wherefore art thou Romeo?” is not. The thing that keeps throwing it off? Romeo’s name.
Why, after writing 154 sonnets in iambic pentameter, would Shakespeare write this line without it?
A. To create more interesting dialogue B.
To express how Romeo’s name is such a problem in their C.
D.
relationship To demonstrate Juliet’s sorrow and desperation To allude to Romeo’s foolishness getting them both killed Answer: B
Looking For Alaska
This is a passage from
Looking for Alaska
by John Green. Pudge, the main character, is talking about Alaska, the girl he likes.
“Just like that. From a hundred miles an hour to asleep in a nanosecond. I wanted so badly to lie down next to her on the couch, to wrap my arms around her and sleep. But I lacked the courage and she had a boyfriend and I was gawky and she was gorgeous and I was hopelessly boring and she was endlessly fascinating. So I walked back to my room and collapsed on the bottom bunk, thinking that if people were rain, I was drizzle and she was a hurricane.”
How is syntax used in this passage?
Why is the line, “I was drizzle and she was a hurricane” included?
A.
To draw attention to Alaska’s craziness B. To show how deep Pudge is C.
D.
To emphasize Alaska and Pudge’s contrasting characters To express Pudge’s love for Alaska Answer: C