Tutorials 29/09/2010

Roger Mais's Biography

 Born on 11 August 1905 was a Jamaican novelist, painter, poet and playwright by the name of Roger Mias. He belonged to a well-to-do middle class but had a lively social conscience that had a lifelong interest on the poorer class of his fellow  black countrymen. 

 His first novel,' The Hills Were Joyful Together' (1953), was written from personal experiences he faced.

 In 1978, he was posthumously awarded the Order of Jamaica for his integral role in the development of politics and cultural nationalism.

 He published two collections of stories and competed two unpublished novels.

 In addition, he published hundred of short stories.

 He won ten first prizes  in West Indian literary competitions by 1951.

 Some of his book include:

• ' The Hills Were Joyful Together' (1953)
• ' Brother Man' (1954)
• ' Black Lightening' (1955)

Literature Tutorials

Literary Terms

Forms of Prose Fiction

• Novels- a long work of prose fiction especially one that is relatively realistic.
• Novella- a work of prose fiction longer than a short story but shorter than a novel. (about 40-80 pages).
• Short Story- a fictional narrative, usually a prose, rarely longer than 30 pages and often much briefer.

Elements of Prose Fiction

• Narrative Techniques- the presentation of speech; the presentation of thought.
• Point of view- this refers to the method of narrating a short story, novel, narrative poem or work of nonfiction.
• Characterization- the presentation of a character whether by direct description, by showing the character in action, or by the presentation of other characters who halos to define each other.
• Setting- the time and place of a story, play, or poem.
• Theme- the main idea, or message, of an essay, paragraph, movie or book. The message may be about life, society or human nature.
• Plot- the episodes in a narrative or dramatic work- that is what happens.
• Style- the manner of expression, evident not only in the choice of certain words but also in the choice of certain kinds of sentence structures, characters, settings and themes.

Literary Devices

• Imagery- words and phrases that create vivid, sensory experiences for the reader.
• Symbol- a person, place, object or activity that stands for something beyond itself.
• Irony- the contrast between what is said and what is meant.
• Satire- this is a literary technique in which ideas, customs, behaviours or institutions are reticule for the purpose of improving society.
• Allusion- this refers to a historical or fictional person, place, or event with which the reader is assumed to be familiar.

Structural Devices

• Stream of consciousness- a style of fiction that takes as its subject, the flow of thought, the responses and sensation of one or more character.
• Interior Monologue- this refers to when the character speaks his/her thoughts aloud.
• Flashback- an account of conversation. an episode or event that happened before the beginning of a story.
• Foreshadowing- a writers use of hints or clues that suggest what events will occur later in a narrative.
• Time frame- the time in which a story, play or poem takes place, whether past, present or future.
• Motif- a recurring word, phrase, image, object, idea or action in a work of literature.
• Juxtaposition- the act or an instance of placing two or more things side by side.

8 Types of Fiction

1. Science fiction
2. Realistic fiction
3. Mystery
4. Animal fiction
5. Autobiography
6. Humorous
7. Fantasy
8. Folktale

Literary Context

• Social- this refers to the circumstances surrounding the story, situation; what happens in society of which the story takes place. 
• Political- this reflects the environment in which something is produced indicating its purpose and agenda.
• Historical- this reflects the time in which something takes place or was created and how that influences how you interpret it.
• Cultural- this consists of the worlds of the texts or the circumstances which surface the plot and characters of the texts.