Literary Devices

time and place the story takes place
Ex. Salinas River, 1930s; "A few miles south of Soledad."

• setting
• plot
• imagery
• exposition

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.W.9-10.3D

comparing two things using like or as
Ex. "You're like a kid Lennie."

• hyperbole
• irony
• metaphor
• simile

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

language or way of speech of a particular region of the country
Ex. "It wasn't no good to pet."

• dialogue
• characterization
• communication
• dialect

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

the author directly tells the reader what the character is like
Ex. "He stepped short, quick steps, of a fat legged man."

• indirect characterization
• pointed characterization
• direct characterization
• straight characterization

the author gives clues about a character by describing what a character looks like, does, and says, as well as how other characters react to them
Ex. "Crooks scowled, but Lennie's disarming smile defeated him. Come on in and set a while."

• direct characterization
• indirect characterization
• forward characterization
• round characterization

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.3

the author directly tells the reader what the character is like
Ex. "He stepped short, quick steps, of a fat legged man."

• indirect characterization
• pointed characterization
• forward characterization
• direct characterization

the outcome of a situation is the opposite of what is expected
Ex. Crooks lets Lennie in his room.

• irony
• situational irony
• verbal irony
• foreshadowing

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

a person says one thing and means another (sarcasm)
Ex. "Sure, said Crooks. And a manure pile under the window. Sure, it's swell."

• situational irony
• dialogue
• verbal irony
• dramatic irony

Tags

CCSS.L.9-10.5

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.SL.9-10.3

the audience knows something that the characters do not know
Ex. When Lennie walks in Crooks's room. (Lennie does not know that he is unwanted in there.)

• situational irony
• dramatic irony
• drama
• verbal irony

descriptive words that appeal to the five senses
Ex. "A few miles south of Soledad, the Salinas river drops in close to the hillside bank and runs deep and green."

• adjectives
• sensory words
• imagery
• verbs

Tags

CCSS.RL.9-10.4

CCSS.W.9-10.3D