Motifs

What is a Motif in Literature?

• repeated pattern or image

• repeated sound

• repeated word

• ALL of the above

Motifs are meant to

• draw the reader's attention away from something specific in a text.

• draw the reader's attention to something specific in a text.

• catch the reader's attention to keep them engaged in reading the text

• to make a text more realistic in nature.

Motifs can highlight something specific about a character to ...

• to establish the mood of the text

• to help the reader better understand a specific character

• to help the reader better understand a character and/or establish the mood of the text.

• to help the reader identify the minor vs major characters in a story

Motif is not the same thing as ...

Which statement is FALSE:

• Motifs are only found in books

• Motifs are usually pretty obvious

• A repeated image in a story (such as the stars) can be a motif

Motifs...

• Always change throughout the course of a text.

• Never changes throughout the course of a text.

• Sometimes changes throughout the course of a text.

Loneliness and isolation

• Theme

• Motif

Which is a characteristic of motif?

• They are always funny

• They only happen at the end of the story

• They always mention death

• They happen throughout the plot

Knowing what a motif is in fiction, what must a "leitmotif" be in music?

• A long pause

• A quiet interlude

• A repeated tune

• A song's ending

Which of these quotes represents the motif of Loss of Faith?

• "The three 'veteran' prisoners, needles in hand, tattooed numbers on our left arms. I became A-7713. From then on, I had no other name" (42).

• "And from within me, I heard a voice answer: 'Where he is? This is where--hanging here from this gallows...' That night, the soup tasted of corpses" (65).

• "My father's presence was the only thing that stopped me. He was running next to me, out of breath, out of strength, desperate. I had no right to let myself die. What would he do without me? I was his sole support" (86).

• "All of a sudden, this pleasant and intelligent young man had changed. His eyes were shining with greed. I told him that I needed to get my father's advice" (55).