AP English Literature Unit 3 Cheatsheet: Intro to Longer Fiction & Drama

Initial Description Creates Baseline

• What a character is described as doing or being sets reader expectations
• Character meets, defies, or complicates those expectations
• Reader's interpretation shifts based on whether character behaves as described

Details Reveal Complexity

• Physical descriptions, actions, speech, and choices all contribute to interpretation
• Accumulation of details builds nuanced understanding
• Single details can contradict initial impression, deepening complexity

Narrator Shapes What We Know

• Narrator's perspective filters character information
• Unreliable or biased narrators distort character perception
• Reader must distinguish between narrator's view and character's reality

Perspective Shifts Over Time

• Characters may change how they view themselves, others, or situations
• Shift in perspective often signals character development
• Track what character believes at different narrative moments

Comparisons Reveal Perspective

• When narrator or character compares someone to something else, it shows the speaker's judgment
• Comparison can characterize the person being compared while also revealing the speaker’s perspective and values, but it does not by itself establish innate qualities.
• Metaphorical language about characters exposes values and biases

Inferring Motives from Action

• What a character does or fails to do reveals why they act
• Inaction can be as revealing as action
• Motive may be conscious or unconscious; reader must infer from evidence