1. The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Unit Vocabulary for
The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn

2. Language of Humor Terms
Local Color: a type of writing that shows the speech, dress, customs, behaviors and geography of a particular region
Dialect: an unusual variety of language spoken which varies depending upon the region of the country you’re from
Colloquialism: an expression used in informal conversation, but not accepted as good usage in formal language or writing
Y’all, gonna, wanna

4. Irony: the opposite happens of what you expect
Verbal: saying the opposite of what you mean for effect
TV over homework
Dramatic: when the audience knows something the characters don’t know
Horror movies
Situational: the exact opposite of what is expected to takes place (a twist at the end of the story; a surprise ending)
A fire station burns to the ground.

5. Pun: a play on words based on their double meaning
“I used to be a baker, but I didn’t make enough dough.”
Satire: a method of criticizing human failures or society's weaknesses by poking fun at them (the purpose is bring about change)
Juvenalian: biting, bitter, angry
Horatian: gentle and humorous

6. Malapropism: substituting one word for another because they sound similar
“California has a lot of electrical votes.”
Idiom: a phrase that you don’t take literally or at its face value (regionally agreed upon)
“It’s raining cats and dogs.”

7. Hyperbole: to exaggerate for effect
Understatement: when something is intentionally represented as less than it is
Making something serious seem inconsequential
Hyperbole: to exaggerate for effect
Overstatement: to make a minor problem seem critical
Melodrama: dramatic piece with exaggerated characters and exciting events to appeal to the emotions
Stereotype: popular belief about specific social groups or types of individuals

8. Picaresque Novel Prose Fiction
Satirical depiction of real-life occurrences through a roguish hero of low social class who lives by wit in a corrupt society.

9. Bildungsroman
Novel that focuses on psychological and moral growth of a protagonist from youth to adulthood. (Coming of Age)
Character change is extremely important

10. Protagonist Antagonist Main character, trying to accomplish a goal
Protagonist’s opposition

11. Foil
A character who contrasts with another character to highlight various features of that other character's personality, throwing these characteristics into sharper focus.
Physical, mental, emotional

12. Realism
≈ 1860 – 1890
Depictions of contemporary life and society "as they were.“
Everyday experiences vs. romanticized events

13. Quest
literature based on a journey, a road of trials in which a hero hears a call and leaves his home—alone or in the company of others—to search out a treasure.
Along the way he undergoes trials, receives aid, fights enemies and may even die, and, if he succeeds in attaining the treasure sought, may change who and what he is.

14. Finish the rest of the vocabulary on your own.
Note: for characterization, make sure you can differentiate between direct and indirect!