Lit Analysis #1

Catch 22

Plot Summary:
Set toward the end of World War II in 1944, on an island off the coast of Italy, Joseph Heller's Catch 22 is a satirical antiwar novel. It features a not-so-heroic protagonist who struggles to deal with the insanity of war and concludes that the only sane response to it is not to participate in it. American army pilot John Yossarian is a protagonist lacking some traditionally heroic qualities. He is obsessed with being rotated out of active flight duty His commander, Colonel Cathcart, keeps raising the number of missions the men in the squadron must fly before they can be rotated out. Yossarian is desperate to find another way out of his dilemma. He asks the squadron's doctor, Doc Daneeka, to declare him unfit for duty by reason of insanity. Daneeks refuses, citing the mysterious Catch-22. If Yossarian asks to be let out of his duties, he must be sane. Only a crazy man would want to continue to fly missions, but the only way Daneeka can ground him, according to Catch-22, is if he asks to be grounded-which would indicate his sanity.

Theme:
Idealism vs. Opportunism:
Nately is the most foolish of idealists. He believes in things like love and nationalism. His idealistic love for his prostitute costs him quite a bit of money. Similarly, the old man who runs the brothel treats him like a fool. Nately passionately exclaims that America is indestructible. The old man points out that "The frog is almost five hundred million years old. Could you really say that America, with all its strength and prosperity . . . will last as long as . . . the frog?" (253). Put this way, Nately's idealism seems foolish. Yet, the old man's opportunism does not save him. When the brothel is cleared out, he cannot take it and dies.

Tone:
Gloomy:
The mood is pretty gloomy, just like war. However, the author twists the mood, and drastically changes the tone by including elements of humor and satire. For example, "'Gee I guess he really is dead,' grieved one of his enlisted men in a low, respectful voice" (343). The fact that someone is dealing with death and uses the word "gee" is enough to make the reader question how sad they really are, but then it furthers the satire by stating it is in a "low, respectful voice". That quote reflects the mood/tone of the whole novel.

10 Literary Elements:
1) Repetition
 "Help him, help him" (p.50)

2)Allusion
"John Milton is a sadist" (p.97)

3) Paradox
"If he flew planes he was crazy and didn't have to; but if he didn't want to he was sane and had to. " (p.46)

4) Irony
" Clevinger was a genius... a Harvard undergraduate... [going] far in the academic world... In short, he was a dope" (p. 68)

5) Dramatic Irony
"Yossarian was in the hospital with a pain in his liver that fell just short of being jaundice. The doctors were puzzled by the fact that it wasn't quite jaundice" (p. 7)

6) Symbolism
"He never sends anyone home, anyway. He just keeps them waiting around waiting for rotation orders until he doesn't haven enough men left for the crews, and then raises the number of missions and throws them all back on combat status. He's been doing that ever since he got here" (p.102)

7) Verbal Irony
"I don't have nightmares" (p. 54)

8) Alliteration
"If the colonel says we have to fly fifty-five missions, we have to fly them" (p. 65)

9)Motif
"I don't want to fly milk runs" (p.103)

10) Foreshadowing
"Do you remember... that time in Rome when that girl who can't stand you kept hitting me over and over the head with the heel of her shoe? Do you want to know why she was hitting me?" (p. 25)

Characterization:
Direct characterization:
"The soldier in white was encased from head to toe in plaster and gauze."

Indirect Characterization:
Heller uses words like "suspiciously" and "guardedly" to describe the way Yossarian speaks. This reflects Yossarian's paranoid state of mind. He believes everyone is out to get him; he is very cautious all the time.

"He had decided to live forever or die in the attempt, and his only mission each time he went up was to come down alive." Yossarian is set on coming done a live no mater what, he's going to do anything he can.


Syntax:
Heller's syntax/diction does not dramatically change at any time in the novel, but it does change slightly throughout the book. When there is lighter comedic moments his sentences are not as long and are straight to the point, but when he tries to be serious his sentences tend to be a little longer and less straight to the point, these sentences make the reader think.

Static, Flat, or Round?
Yossarian is a static character his goals stay the same throughout the whole novel, and he never changes his morals for any reason. He is set on leaving the war alive or die trying.

Meet them or read about them?
In a way I felt like I met Yossarian and was as eager as him to leave the base. I really wanted him to find a way to escape. I could feel how hopeless he felt at times.“Just because you're paranoid doesn't mean they aren't after you”, the feeling of paranoia went way beyond just reading the words in the book.

Lit Terms #4

Interior Monologue: a form of writing which represents the inner thoughts of a character; the recording of the internal, emotional experience(s) of an individual; generally the reader is given the impression of overhearing the interior monologue.

Inversion: words out of order for emphasis.

Juxtaposition: the intentional placement of a word, phrase, sentences of paragraph to contrast with another nearby.

Lyric: a poem having musical form and quality; a short outburst of the author’s innermost thoughts and feelings.

Magical Realism:  a genre developed in Latin America which juxtaposes the everyday  with the marvelous or magical.

Metaphor(extended, controlling, and mixed): an analogy that compare two different things imaginatively.
Extended: a metaphor that is extended or developed as far as the writer wants to take it.

Controlling: a metaphor that runs throughout the piece of work.

Mixed: a metaphor that ineffectively blends two or more analogies.

Metonymy:  literally “name changing” a device of figurative language in which the name of an attribute or associated thing is substituted for the usual name of a thing.

Mode of Discourse:  argument (persuasion), narration, description, and exposition.

Modernism:  literary movement characterized by stylistic experimentation, rejection of tradition, interest in symbolism and psychology

Monologue:  an extended speech by a character in a play, short story, novel, or narrative poem.

Mood:  the predominating atmosphere evoked by a literary piece.

Motif:  a recurring feature (name, image, or phrase) in a piece of literature.

Myth:  a story, often about immortals, and sometimes connected with religious rituals, that attempts to give meaning to the mysteries of the world.

Narrative:  a story or description of events.

Narrator:  one who narrates, or tells, a story.

Naturalism: extreme form of realism.

Novelette/Novella: short story; short prose narrative, often satirical.

Omniscient Point of View:  knowing all things, usually the third person.

Onomatopoeia: use of a word whose sound in some degree imitates or suggests its meaning.

Oxymoron: a figure of speech in which two contradicting words or phrases are combined to produce a rhetorical effect by means of a concise paradox.

Pacing:  rate of movement; tempo.

Parable:  a story designed to convey some religious principle, moral lesson, or general truth. ex. Many parable are in the Bible

Paradox:  a statement apparently self-contradictory or absurd but really containing a possible truth; an opinion contrary to generally accepted ideas.

Lit Terms #3

exposition: beginning of a story that sets forth facts, ideas, and/or characters, in a detailed explanation.

expressionism: movement in art, literature, and music consisting of unrealistic   representation of an inner idea or feeling(s).

fable: a short, simple story, usually with animals as characters, designed to teach a moral truth.

fallacy: from Latin word “to deceive”, a false or misleading notion, belief, or argument; any kind of erroneous reasoning that makes arguments unsound.

falling action: part of the narrative or drama after the climax.

farce: a boisterous comedy involving ludicrous action and dialogue.

figurative language: apt and imaginative language characterized by figures of speech (such as metaphor and simile).

flashback: a narrative device that flashes back to prior events.

foil: a person or thing that, by contrast, makes another seem better or more prominent.

folk tale: story passed on by word of mouth.

foreshadowing: in fiction and drama, a device to prepare the reader for the outcome of the action; “planning” to make the outcome convincing, though not to give it away.

free verse: verse without conventional metrical pattern, with irregular pattern or no rhyme.

genre: a category or class of artistic endeavor having a particular form, technique, or content.

gothic tale: a style in literature characterized by gloomy settings, violent or grotesque action, and a mood of decay, degeneration, and decadence.

hyperbole: an exaggerated statement often used as a figure of speech or to prove a point.

imagery: figures of speech or vivid description, conveying images through any of the senses.

implication: a meaning or understanding that is to be arrive at by the reader but that is not fully and explicitly stated by the author.

incongruity: the deliberate joining of opposites or of elements that are not appropriate to each other.

inference: a judgement or conclusion based on evidence presented; the forming of an opinion which possesses some degree of probability according to facts already available.

irony: a contrast or incongruity between what is said and what is meant, or what is expected to happen and what actually happens, or what is thought to be happening and what is actually happening.

Lit Terms #2

circumlocution: a roundabout or evasive speech or writing, in which many words are used but a few would have served

classicism: art, literature, and music reflecting the principles of ancient Greece and Rome: tradition, reason, clarity, order, and balance

cliche: a phrase or situation overused within society

climax: the decisive point in a narrative or drama; the pint of greatest intensity or interest at which plot question is answered or resolved

colloquialism: folksy speech, slang words or phrases usually used in informal conversation.

comedy: originally a nondramatic literary piece of work that was marked by a happy ending; now a term to describe a ludicrous, farcical, or amusing event designed provide enjoyment or produce smiles and laughter

conflict: struggle or problem in a story causing tension

connotation: implicit meaning, going beyond dictionary definition

contrast: a rhetorical device by which one element (idea or object) is thrown into opposition to another for the sake of emphasis or clarity

denotation: plain dictionary definition

denouement: loose ends tied up in a story after the climax, closure, conclusion

dialect: the language of a particular district, class or group of persons; the sounds, grammar, and diction employed by people distinguished from others.

dialectics: formal debates usually over the nature of truth.

dichotomy: split or break between two opposing things.

diction: the style of speaking or writing as reflected in the choice and use of words.

didactic: having to do with the transmission of information; education.

dogmatic: rigid in beliefs and principles.

elegy: a mournful, melancholy poem, especially a funeral song or lament for the dead, sometimes contains general reflections on death, often with a rural or pastoral setting.

epic: a long narrative poem unified by a hero who reflects the customs, mores, and aspirations of his nation of race as he makes his way through legendary and historic exploits, usually over a long period of time (definition bordering on circumlocution).

epigram: witty aphorism.

epitaph: any brief inscription in prose or verse on a tombstone; a short formal poem of commemoration often a credo written by the person who wishes it to be on his tombstone.

epithet: a short, descriptive name or phrase that  may insult someone’s character, characteristics

euphemism: the use of an indirect, mild or vague word or expression for one thought to be coarse, offensive, or blunt.

evocative: a calling forth of memories and sensations; the suggestion or production through artistry and imagination of a sense of reality.

Lit Terms

allegory (noun): A symbolical narrative
-Throughout high school, we have read many meaningful allegories.
 alliteration (noun): The commencement of two or more words of a word group with the same letter
- The alliteration wasn't correct but it made me laugh.
 allusion (noun): A metaphor or parable
- The Bible is used as an allusion in many novels.
 ambiguity (noun): An negative word applied to an equivocal expression
- When something is not clear, others factors can be used to resolve the ambiguity.
 anachronism (noun): Placing an event, person, item or verbal expression in the wrong historical period.
- Her grandmother was proud to be considered an anachronism when she walked down the street in a poodle skirt.
 analogy (noun): A similarity between like features of two things
- The teacher told the class to create an analogy between the two books they have read.
 analysis (noun): the separating of any material into its constituent elements
- Dr. Preston requires us to complete three literature analysis per semester.
 anaphora (noun): A rhetorical term for the repetition of a word at the beginning of a sentence
- The poem included an anaphora by having three "ifs" at the beginning.
 anecdote (noun): A brief narrative of a particular incident
- We were told to share a personal anecdote with the class.
 antagonist (noun): A character in the story who works against the main character
- The antagonist in the novel kept creating uproar for Julie.
 antithesis (noun): Opposition or contrast
- The antithesis of right is wrong.
 aphorism (noun): A terse saying involving a general truth
- "Looks to good to be true."
 apologia (noun): An apology, as in defense or justification of a belief or idea
- She wrote an apologia when she realized she was wrong.
 apostrophe (noun): A digression in the form of an address to someone not present
- There was an apostrophe in the title of the novel.
 argument (noun): A discussion involving different points of view
- The two kids got into an argument over which game was better.
 assumption (noun): Something taken for granted
- She made the assumption that he would show up.
 audience (noun): The group of spectators
- The audience was pleased with the actor's performance.
 characterization (noun): The description of a character
- The person characterized the antagonist as evil.
 chiasmus (noun): A reversal in the order of words in two otherwise parallel phrases
- "He went to the country, to the town she went."

AP Prep Post 1: Siddhartha

1. The main purpose of the first-person point of view in the passage, “I am no longer what I was, I am no longer an ascetic, no longer a priest, no longer a Brahmin” is to make what clear?a. The change in Siddhartha’s physical lifestyle, in order to follow his spiritual oneb. Show Siddhartha’s anger at the corruption present in his father’s positionc. Reveal the frustration in Siddhartha’s journey toward enlightenmentd. The views and beliefs of his family and his religion
e. Draw attention toward the excitement that Siddhartha feels now that he has less responsibility
2.  Which figure of speech used in paragraph 1 helps to illustrate Siddhartha’s sudden standstill?
a. Metaphor
b. Simile
c. Alliteration
d. Personification
e. Irony

3.  Which of the following best describes the author’s purpose at the end of paragraph 3?
a. Show Siddhartha giving up on his search
b. Further explain Siddhartha’s worries about Govinda
c. To show Siddhartha’s confusion within himself
d. Show Siddhartha’s inability to communicate with those whom he meets
e. Reveal the resolute path that Siddhartha now seeks

4.  The quotation “Immediately he moved on again and began to walk quickly and impatiently, no longer homewards, no longer to his father, no longer looking backwards”, shows a shift from…
a. Anger and resentment, toward acceptance
b. A resolute journey, onto a more free-flowing and spontaneous path
c. Fear of his parentage, toward a fear of loneliness
d. Looking to the past for enlightenment, toward looking to the future and within himself
e. Fear of failure, toward an acceptance of possibility of error.

5.  In paragraph 2, the word “asceticism” is referring to Siddhartha’s
a. Failed undertakings.
b. Hedonism.
c. Repeated achievement of inner peace.
d. Prior religious experience.
e. Pious detachment from the physical world.


Answers:1. (A) He is very religious
2. (B) "he, who was in fact like one who had awakened or was newly born, must begin his life completely afresh."
3. (E) He is deciding that he doesn't want to go back to his father and that he is going to continue on alone.
4. (D) He had a moment of realization, but turned from it and continued on.
5. (E) He detached himself from the world around him and is now alone.


Sites Used:
http://snobles.grads.digitalodu.com/blog/groups/ap-english-2012-2013/forum/topic/siddhartha-multiple-choice-questions/