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allegory
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when a character, object, or incident indicates a single fixed meaning
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first person narrator
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a narrator within the story who tells the story from the "I" perspective
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plot
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author's arrangement of incident in a story.
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flat character
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a very 2-D character that is easy to read and understand
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In medias res
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beginning in the middle of the action (in the middle of things)
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climax
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the moment of greatest emotional tension
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unreliable narrator
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narrator with different views from the author. can't be trusted
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foil
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helps to reveal character types by contrasting the distinctive qualities of other characters
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exposition
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the background information necessary to understand a situation in the work
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denouement
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untying of the knot
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resolution
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the discovering and fixing of the plot
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static character
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a character that does not change from the beginning of the story to the end
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antagonist
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the character who works against the protagonist in the story
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Objective point of view
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a narrator who doesn't see into the minds of the characters
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diction
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writer's choice of words
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setting
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the context in which the action of the story occurs
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rising action
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a complication that intensifies the situation
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theme
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the central idea or meaning of a story
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situational irony
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exists when there is an incongruity between what is expected to happen and what actually happens
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Protagonist
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the principal character in a work of fiction
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foreshadowing
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a suggestion of the future
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point of view
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refers to who tells us the story and how it is told
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conventional symbols
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symbols that are widley recognized by a society or culture
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dramatic irony
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creates a discrepancy between what a character believes or says and what the reader understands to be true
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dynamic character
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A character who grows, learns, or changes as a result of the story's action
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limited omniscient narrator
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more limited view. Reader sees only one view point or perspective
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verbal irony
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a person says one thing but means another
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conflict
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main struggle in the work
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tone
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The attitude of the author toward the audience, events, and characters
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style
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the distinctive manner in which a writer arranges words to achieve a particular effect
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Stream of consciousness
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takes the reader on a very deep train of thought through the main character
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naive narrator
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a youthful innocent narrator with little worldly experience
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flashback
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a scene or event from the past that appears in a narrative out of chronological order, to fill in information or explain something in the present
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characterization
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the methods by which the writer creates characters in his story so that it seems they real
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Symbol
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a person, object, or event that suggests more than its literal meaning
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irony
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a device that reveals a reality different from what appears to be true
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stock character
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the stereotyped character in which he is immediately known from typical characters in history
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suspense
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the actions that keep the reader interested
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round character
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a complex character that requires more attention to detail
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omniscient narrator
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a narrator who is able to know, see, and tell all, including the inner thoughts and feelings of the characters
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sarcasm
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verbal irony that is calculated to hurt ones feelings
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literary symbol
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can include traditional, conventional, or public meanings, but it may also be established internally by the total context of the work in which it appears
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