Transcript Slide 1

AMERICAN LITERATURE END OF COURSE TEST
Time Periods and Literary Terms
How to Succeed on the EOCT
 Read everything carefully (ALL PASSAGES!!!).
 There are no trick questions.
 Consider every choice.
 Guess intelligently.
 Spend time wisely (Do not get stuck on a hard
question—move on). You have approximately 90
seconds per question.
 Check your answers (Make sure you are marking the
correct question, etc.)
During the test . . .
this works!
this doesn’t work!
Read all passages
 Passages may be fiction, nonfiction, or poetry.
 Some students like to read the questions first to know what
they are looking for. This is a good technique. However, I
would recommend that you read the questions and NOT
the answer choices.
 If questions refer to specific paragraphs or lines, then mark
the paragraphs or lines in your test book with the question
number.
 Read the passage and attack the questions one by one as
you get to them. You will need to read the entire passage.
Refer back to the passage as needed.
 DO NOT ATTEMPT TO ANSWER THE QUESTIONS
WITHOUT READING THE PASSAGE!
Reading Comprehension
 You can write on your test booklet so as you read, circle
vocabulary words and mark figurative language.
 The theme (main idea) of a non-fiction passage is
usually found in the last two sentences of the first
paragraph.
 BY THE WAY . . . Have I mentioned you need to READ
ALL PASSAGES!
Time periods
 Early American (Colonial and Native American)
 Revolutionary
 Romanticism
 Realism and Naturalism
 Modernism
 Postmodernism
 Contemporary/Innovation and Experimentation
Early American (Colonial & Native
American)
 1492-1789
 Genres: Sermons, diaries, personal narratives, histories,
legends, myths, slave narratives
 Themes: Instructive, reinforcing authority of the Bible and
church, work hard to gain heaven, Native American
reverence for nature
 People were settling the country so they were more
concerned about survival than about creating stories for
entertainment.
 Examples: Bradford’s Of Plymouth Plantation, Edwards’
“Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,” Equiano’s
Narrative
Revolutionary
 1776-1820
 What happened in 1776?? The American Revolution
 Genres: Political pamphlets, travel writing, very ornate,
persuasive writing (persuading Americans to fight for
freedom), beginning of novels of adventure
 Themes: Patriotism, freedom, satire, reason, common
sense, the American character
 Examples: writings of Thomas Jefferson, Thomas Paine,
and Patrick Henry (“give me liberty, or give me death”),
Irving’s “Rip Van Winkle,” Cooper’s tales of Natty Bumppo
 THINK: REASON, INTELLECT, INDEPENDENCE
Romanticism & Transcendentalism
 1820-1860: Industrial Revolution was going on
 Finally, America is done with original settling issues and has
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achieved independence . . . Now it is time for some
CREATIVITY!
Genres: Slave narratives, essays, novels (word meant “new”,
short stories, abolitionist writing (remember we are right before
the Civil War), poetry
Themes: Value feeling and intuition over reason, individualism,
nature and freedom of the imagination, idea that self reliance
brings happiness
Edgar Allan Poe, Emerson’s “Self-Reliance,” Thoreau’s Walden
THINK: EMOTIONS, BEAUTY AND POWER OF NATURE,
GOING BEYOND THE LOGICAL
Realism and Naturalism
 1860-1914
 What happened here? Civil War, Reconstruction, beginning of
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World War I
Attempt to present life as it really is (without the sugar coating)
Genres: Novels, short stories, poetry, real life portrayal of
characters and setting, dialect, local color
Themes: limited freedom of people, good and evil in real
people, success leads to greed, illusion versus reality, racism vs.
social progress
Naturalism took realism a step further and showed individuals at
mercy of an uncaring and sometimes cruel universe
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Jack London, Mark Twain,
Ambrose Bierce
Modernism
 1900-1945
 What happened here? World War I, Roaring 20s, Great
Depression, World War II
 Genres: Novels, short stories, experimental styles such as
stream of consciousness, poetry; influence of psychology
 Themes: Pursuit of American Dream, disillusionment,
fragmentation, loss of identity, overcoming obstacles,
racial inequality, social criticism.
 The Great Gatsby, A Raisin in the Sun, Of Mice and Men,
short stories of Steinbeck, Hemingway, and Faulkner
Postmodernism/Contemporary
 1945-present
 What has happened? World War II, Cold War,
terrorism, growth of technology (fax machines,
computers, internet, cell phones)
 Genres: Fantasy mixed with nonfiction, blurs lines of
reality, social issues (feminist, ethnic groups), science
fiction, demonstrates influence of technology
 Themes: brutality of war, struggle for equality, search
for happiness, anxiety in modern life, love vs.
loneliness
Match the time period to theme:
Colonial/Early American
Disillusionment; loss of identity
Revolutionary
Emotion; individualism; nature
Romanticism
Bible; work ethic; instructive
Realism & Naturalism
Freedom; reason; patriotism
Modernism
Real life; criticism; man’s limits
Must-know literary terms
 Alliteration
 Assonance
 Allusion
 Flashback
 Foreshadowing
 Irony (verbal,
situational, dramatic)
 Metaphor
 Onomatopoeia
 Personification
 Point of view
 Rhyme (end rhyme,
internal rhyme, slant
rhyme)
 Simile
 Symbol
 Theme
Devices of Sound
 Alliteration: repetition of consonant sounds at the
beginning of words (Peter Piper picked a peck of pickled
peppers—don’t you notice that “p” sound?)
 Assonance: repetition of vowel sounds followed by
different end sounds (I like to drive my car at night—do
you hear the long “i” sound?)
 Onomatopoeia: use of words whose sound suggests
meaning (Boom boom pow)
 Rhyme: using words with the same end sound (can be at
the end of the lines, within the lines of poetry; can also be
close but not exact—approximate or slant rhyme)
Figurative Language
 Allusion: Reference in literature to an earlier person,
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piece of literature, historical event, etc.
Metaphor: Comparison between two unlike things;
often it is when you speak of one thing as another
(Katy Perry says, “’Cause baby you’re a firework . . .”)
Personification: Giving human characteristics to
something that is not human (
Simile: Comparison between two things using like or
as (also may use than or resembles)
Symbol: Something concrete that represents
something abstract
Other Literary Techniques
 Flashback: Technique where the narrator goes back in
time to talk about an earlier event
 Foreshadowing: Hints or clues an author gives to
suggest what is going to happen later
 Irony: Contrast between expectation and reality
 Verbal: Contrast between what is said and meant
 Situational: When you are led to expect one outcome
and the opposite happens
 Dramatic: When the readers know what the characters
do not
Other Literary Techniques
 Point of view: perspective from which a story is told
 1st person: Narrator is a character in the story; uses the
pronoun “I” frequently
 3rd person limited: Narrator is an outside observer but
gives the thoughts and feelings of one character; uses
he/she/they
 3rd person omniscient: Narrator is an outside observer,
but is able to present thoughts and feelings of several
different characters; uses he/she/they
 Theme: central unifying concept of a literary work