Hey everyone, I'm really trying to get a better grip on literature, especially since I've gotta impress on these college app essays. What elements would you say are crucial to understand in literature? I could use some tips!
Understanding literature can go a long way in helping you craft meaningful and engaging essays. Here are some key elements that are crucial in literature:
1. Theme: It's the central idea or message woven through the entire story. Examples might include "love conquers all" or the struggle between good and evil. Grasping the theme of a piece of literature can help you better understand its overall message.
2. Characterization: This concerns how authors create their characters. By observing a character's actions, words, thoughts, and how other characters react to them, you'll better understand their traits and motivations.
3. Setting: The backdrop against which the story unfolds. It includes not just physical location, but also time period and cultural context. Understanding setting can help you see how it influences the characters and the plot.
4. Plot: This is the actual sequence of events in the story, starting from the introduction and ending with the conclusion. It usually includes an exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.
5. Symbolism: Some objects, characters, or events in a story are used symbolically to represent something else, often abstract ideas or concepts. Being able to recognize symbolism can deepen your understanding of underlying meanings.
6. Conflict: This refers to challenges or obstacles the characters must navigate. It can be internal (within a character's mind) or external (between characters or between a character and external forces/conditions).
7. Point of View: Defined as the perspective from which the story is told. It could be first person (I, we), second person (you), or third person (he, she, they, it). Identifying the point of view can greatly influence how readers perceive the characters and events in the story.
Improving your ability to analyse these elements can drastically increase your understanding and appreciation of literature, and by extension, enhance your writing skills for your college essays! Good luck.
CollegeVine’s Q&A seeks to offer informed perspectives on commonly asked admissions questions. Every answer is refined and validated by our team of admissions experts to ensure it resonates with trusted knowledge in the field.