Sarcasm and Short Story Elements

• Sarcasm employs irony to mock or express contempt.
• In literature, sarcasm can create humor, show cynicism, or diversify a text.
• Sarcasm has been used by authors for centuries, with Shakespeare as a forefather to Oscar Wilde and Mark Twain.
• Authors use sarcasm to create memorable literary characters.

Short Story Elements

• A short story has a fully developed theme, parts, and components, but is shorter than a novel.
• Short story elements include: setting, plot, characters, conflict, and theme.
• Setting refers to when and where the story happens, typically in one place due to the story's length.
• Plot consists of all story events.
• Characters are the people or animals that the story focuses on, without in-depth development due to story length.
• Conflict refers to problems or things that go wrong in a story.
• External conflict involves the main character and others, society, or nature.
• Internal conflict involves only the main character.
• Theme is the central idea of the story.

"The Cask of Amontillado"

• In Edgar Allan Poe's "The Cask of Amontillado," Montresor narrates his murder of Fortunato over an insult.
• Montresor lures Fortunato to his cellar with the pretense of authenticating a cask of amontillado wine.
• Montresor chains Fortunato to a wall and seals him in, burying him alive in the catacombs.
• The story exemplifies dark romanticism through themes of pure evil and darkness.
• This story employs dramatic irony.
• Fortunato's refers to his good fortune, but he ends up being murdered.
• Fortunato dresses as a jester but meets a tragic end.
• Montresor identifies as a mason and shows a trowel, foreshadowing entombment.
• Montresor toasts to Fortunato's long life while planning his death.
• Fortunato claims a cough won't kill him, but he's bricked up.
• Montresor pretends to care for Fortunato's health to deceive him.

"The Most Dangerous Game"

• Richard Connell's "The Most Dangerous Game" (1924) links humans and animals through survival instincts and strategy.
• Rainsford and Whitney's conversation foreshadows Rainsford becoming the hunted.
• Rainsford meets General Zaroff on Ship Trap Island and is hunted for three days.
• Rainsford uses instinctual fear and sets deadly traps.
• Rainsford kills Zaroff, accepting his role as the hunted.
• It highlights the idea that those in power set the rules.

"The Scarlet Ibis"

• James Hurst's "The Scarlet Ibis" details the lives of two brothers, Brother and Doodle.
• It is rich with literary elements such as imagery, symbolism, and foreshadowing.
• Major themes are pride, death, nature, guilt, and family.
• The story looks back on the narrator's life with his little brother, Doodle.
• Pride is explored in both its glory and pitfalls.
• Doodle's death is foreshadowed by the death of the scarlet ibis.

Epic Poetry

• Epic poetry is narrative literature chronicling extraordinary feats and adventures.
• Epic poems have a third-person, omniscient narrator.
• They feature a brave, resolved, and/or intelligent hero.
• They commonly involve a journey. .
• Many take place in the far past.
• They sometimes use divine inspiration.
• Divine or supernatural deities often play a major role.
• Significant epic poems include: The Epic of Gilgamesh, The Iliad, The Odyssey, the Mahabharata, The Aeneid, The Divine Comedy, and Paradise Lost.
• Epic poems often convey specific messages, like wise rule in The Epic of Gilgamesh or caution in love and warfare in The Iliad.

The Odyssey

• Homer's Odyssey recounts Odysseus' journey home after the Trojan War.
• "The Odyssey" helped popularize the dactylic hexameter.
• The story begins in medias res, ten years after the Trojan War, with Odysseus trapped on Ogygia.
• Gods assist Odysseus's escape, but Poseidon shipwrecks him on Scheria.
• Odysseus recounts escaping Polyphemus's lair.
• He describes traveling to the Underworld, inspired by The Epic of Gilgamesh.
• He meets Agamemnon, reflecting Greek views on centralized authority.
• Odysseus' wife, Penelope, deals with suitors.
• Odysseus returns home and defeats the suitors.

Odysseus's Heroism

• Odysseus's heroic status is complex compared to other Greek figures.
• Greek heroes embody loyalty, honor, strength, intelligence, and respect.
• Odysseus possesses admirable traits, divine blood (from Hermes), and superhuman abilities..
• Athena recognizes Odysseus's cleverness.
• Odysseus's journey home defines him as a hero.
• Odysseus's conniving character and partial failures challenge his heroism.
• He strives but fails to save all his men.
• Odysseus's tricks achieve great feats.

Themes of The Odyssey

• Homer's Odyssey follows Odysseus's journey home after the Trojan War.
• The Odyssey takes place after Homer's Iliad, and its themes reflect those in the Iliad.
• Central themes include Hospitality, Loyalty, and Vengeance.
• Hospitality is related to xenia (guest-friendship); violating it could invoke divine punishment.
• Odysseus receives hospitality from the Phaecians, servants, and Circe.
• He receives poor hospitality from Polyphemus, Circe (initially), and Penelope's suitors.
• Penelope's loyalty is central; she remains loyal to Odysseus for twenty years.
• Vengeance drives the plot due to Poseidon's anger over Odysseus blinding Polyphemus.
• Odysseus seeks vengeance on the suitors upon his return.

Fate and Justice in The Odyssey

• The Odyssey emphasizes fate or destiny and justice.
• Balancing free will and fate is essential when considering Odysseus' trials.
• Humans are responsible for their actions.
• Justice prevails when Telemachus asks Themis for help.
• The gods punish the suitors, serving justice.

Myths

• Myths are ancient stories explaining cultural origins and world operations.
• Myths address weather, psychological perceptions, and more.
• Mythology features deities, heroes, explanations of occurrences, and oral tradition.
• Myth types include: Creation, Hero's journey, Nature, Historical, and Psychological.
• Mythology exists in almost every civilization and is retold in various media.

Perseus

• Perseus's story is a classic hero myth, known for slaying Medusa.
• Perseus, son of Zeus and Danae, was a demigod.
• Perseus succeeded in adventures, like rescuing and marrying Andromeda.
• His story highlights fate; he fulfilled the prophecy of killing his grandfather Acrisius.

Night

• Elie Wiesel's Night is a memoir exploring the Holocaust experience, faith, and hope amid despair.
• Eliezer Wiesel, age 15, lives in Hungary before the Nazi occupation.
• Sighet Jews ignore warnings as restrictions and ghettoization increase.
• Upon witnessing the burning of humans, Eliezer questions God.
• Despite atrocities, Eliezer focuses on his father's survival, sharing resources.
• After a death march, his father dies.
• Eliezer is liberated by Allied forces.

Settings of Night

• Elie Wiesel's Night explores survival and faith during the Holocaust.
• Ghettos were walled neighborhoods meant to segregate Jews.
• Concentration camps held undesirables such as Romas, Communists, LGBTQ+ people, & Jews.
• Types of camps: concentration, labor, POW, and killing centers.
• Early camps were political prisons, while labor camps provided slaves for German firms.
• POW camps were near concentration camps, exposing Allied personnel to atrocities.
• Killing centers, like Auschwitz-Birkenau, were built for extermination.
• Victims arriving at Auschwitz-Birkenau were sorted for immediate death or labor.
• Nazis evacuated camps when losing territory, resulting in death marches.
• The conditions in camps, marches, and transport led to loss of faith and humanity.

Themes of Night

• Night is a semi-autobiographical novel by Elie Wiesel blending experiences with fiction.
• The story questions God's existence during the Holocaust's horrors.
• Themes include silence, identity, suffering, and night/darkness.
• Eliezer and his father struggle to survive, losing themselves to despair.
• Eliezer tries to maintain his Jewish identity.
• Silence is striking when Eliezer doesn't help his dying father.
• Eliezer is left broken, questioning how God allowed the camps to exist.

Sarcasm employs irony to mock or express contempt and has been used by authors for centuries. A short story has a fully developed theme, parts, and components, but is shorter than a novel. Short story elements include: setting, plot, characters, conflict, and theme.