WorksheetsT3C: Postmodernism, War Writing, Syntax
Total questions: 16
Worksheet time: 10mins
"The radiators put out lots of heat, too much, in fact, and old-fashioned sounds and smells came with it, exhalations of the matter that composes our own mortality, and reminiscent of the intimate gases we all diffuse. "(Saul Bellow, More Die of Heartbreak) This sentence is an example of...
Loose sentence
Balanced sentence
Periodic sentence
Telegraphic sentence
"In the almost incredibly brief time which it took the small but sturdy porter to roll a milk-can across the platform and bump it, with a clang, against other milk-cans similarly treated a moment before, Ashe fell in love."(P.G. Wodehouse, Something Fresh) This sentence is an example of...
Loose sentence
Balanced sentence
Periodic sentence
Antithesis
"If you don't care for obscenity, you don't care for the truth" (67).
Loose sentence
Balanced sentence
Periodic sentence
Telegraphic sentence
"They used a hard vocabulary to contain the terrible softness" (19).
Loose sentence
Balanced sentence
Periodic sentence
Antithesis
Postmodern element: Metafiction
The mixing of actual historical events with fictional events without clearly defining what is factual and what is fictional.
The act of writing about writing or making readers aware of the fictional nature of the very fiction they're reading.
The introduction of impossible or unrealistic events into a narrative that is otherwise realistic.
The use of non-linear timelines and narrative techniques in a story.
Postmodern element: Verisimilitude (aka faction)
The mixing of actual historical events with fictional events without clearly defining what is factual and what is fictional.
The act of writing about writing or making readers aware of the fictional nature of the very fiction they're reading.
The introduction of impossible or unrealistic events into a narrative that is otherwise realistic.
The use of non-linear timelines and narrative techniques in a story.
Postmodern element: Magic realism
The mixing of actual historical events with fictional events without clearly defining what is factual and what is fictional.
The act of writing about writing or making readers aware of the fictional nature of the very fiction they're reading.
The introduction of impossible or unrealistic events into a narrative that is otherwise realistic.
The use of non-linear timelines and narrative techniques in a story.
Postmodern element: Temporal distortion
The mixing of actual historical events with fictional events without clearly defining what is factual and what is fictional.
The act of writing about writing or making readers aware of the fictional nature of the very fiction they're reading.
The introduction of impossible or unrealistic events into a narrative that is otherwise realistic.
The use of non-linear timelines and narrative techniques in a story.
Postmodern element: Reader involvement
The mixing of actual historical events with fictional events without clearly defining what is factual and what is fictional.
Often through direct address to the reader and the open acknowledgment of the fictional nature of the events being described.
Disorganized, lengthy, highly detailed writing.
The use of non-linear timelines and narrative techniques in a story.
Postmodern element: Maximalism
The mixing of actual historical events with fictional events without clearly defining what is factual and what is fictional.
Often through direct address to the reader and the open acknowledgment of the fictional nature of the events being described.
Disorganized, lengthy, highly detailed writing.
The use of non-linear timelines and narrative techniques in a story.
Which of these best describes the effect of this loose sentence? "Driving up Main Street, past the courthouse and the Ben Franklin store, I sometimes felt the fear spreading inside me like weeds."
Emphasizes the narrator's emotional anxiety by contrasting it with the mundane scene of small town America.
Provides detailed description of setting to help the reader imagine the scene.
Develops the theme of courage.
Creates psychological realism through imitating the way in which we think.
Which of these best describes the effect of this loose sentence? "Run, I'd think. Then I'd think, Impossible. Then a second later I'd think, Run. "
Emphasizes the narrator's emotional anxiety by contrasting it with the mundane scene of small town America.
Provides detailed description of setting to help the reader imagine the scene.
Develops the theme of courage.
Creates psychological realism through imitating the way in which we think.
Which of these best describes the effect of these rhetorical questions? "What would you do? Would you jump? [...] Would you cry, as I did? "
Emphasizes the narrator's emotional anxiety by contrasting it with the mundane scene of small town America.
Forces the reader to empathize with the narrator and reflect on their own values.
Develops the theme of courage.
Creates psychological realism through imitating the way in which we think.
Which of these best describes the effect of these telegraphic sentences? "Run, I'd think. Then I'd think, Impossible. Then a second later I'd think, Run. "
Emphasizes the narrator's emotional anxiety by contrasting it with the mundane scene of small town America.
Provides detailed description of setting to help the reader imagine the scene.
Develops the theme of courage.
Creates psychological realism through imitating the way in which we think.
Which of these best describes the effect of this descriptive sentence? "I remember staring at the old man, then at my hands, then at Canada. The shoreline was dense with brush and timber. I could see tiny red berries on the bushes. I could see a squirrel up in one of the birch trees, a big crow looking at me from a boulder along the river. That close—twenty yards”
Emphasizes the narrator's emotional anxiety by contrasting it with the mundane scene of small town America.
Provides detailed description of setting to help the reader imagine the scene.
Creates tension for the reader by emphasizing through detail just how close O'Brien is to fleeing to Canada.
Creates psychological realism through imitating the way in which we think.
Which of these IS NOT a convention of war writing?
Character: There are clear protagonists (“good guys”) and antagonists (“bad guys”). The characters are primarily, if not entirely, soldiers. There are also clear codes concerning honor and dishonor.
Setting: Set primarily, if not entirely, in a war zone where characters deal with the hardships of the landscape (person v. nature) and the enemy (person v. person).
Common themes: bravery, honor, camaraderie, survival. War stories are sometimes didactic, meant to teach or comment on the nature of war and humanity.
Narration: The narrator is often critical of the government and the politics of war. The morality or purpose of the war is called into question.
