The Giver

Literary Terms

Allusions

• A hint or reference to something

from history, film, literature, etc. – In the episode of The Simpsons we watched

before winter break, there were several allusions to A Christmas Carol. There were also allusions to How the Grinch Stole Christmas.

– Family Guy– PLEASE NOTE: the reference has to be

about something else.

Symbol

• A thing that represents or stands for something else– The flag is a symbol of freedom

– A hear is a symbol of love

– The color green is a symbol of greed

Simile and MetaphorComparison: Finding the similarities and differences

• A simile is a comparison between two unlike things using “like” or “as”

• A metaphor is a comparison between two unlike things that does not use “like” or “as”

Personification

• Giving human traits to non-human things– The weekend is calling my name– The stars danced in the night sky

Dramatic Irony

• When the reader or one character knows something that the others don’t– We know that the hippo,

elephant, and bear are real animals, and the characters in The Giver do not.

– In scary movies, we know the killer is hiding right behind the door, but the main character doesn’t.

Conflict

Character

VS

Character

Character VS. NATURE

Character VS. SELF

Characte

r VS. S

OCIETY

Eupehmism

• A substitution for a crass, unpleasant, or offensive term.– Cut the cheese = fart– Kick the bucket = die– Between jobs = unemployed– Vertically challenged = short– Nature calls = I have to use the bathroom

Paradox

• A statement that contradicts itself, but still makes sense– The silence hurt my ears– The paradox of freedom: to be free we have

to have laws– I’m a liar – how do you know I’m telling you

the truth?