Study Guide for 8

th
Grade: Test II on Short Stories
What is foreshadowing?
Foreshadowing is when an author hints at events before they occur in a literary work.
Foreshadowing lets readers know beforehand something about what is going to
happen later.

What is a motif?
o A motif is a distinctive symbol or dominant idea in a piece of literature.
o A motif is also a reoccurring symbol or dominant idea throughout many
different pieces of literature.
Setting
Why are the four types of setting?
o Physical Setting: what are the physical surroundings? Are they outside/inside? Is
it night/day? Is it raining or sunny? And so forth
o Historical Setting: When in the timeline of the world is this story taking place? Is
it during the Ice Age? During World War II? About 1800? In the future?
o Geographical Setting: Where in the world does the story take place? Australia?
England?
o Cultural Setting: What are the cultural elements that are apparent in the setting?
What is the religion of the characters? What do they eat? What type of clothing
are they wearing?

The Monkeys Paw by W.W. Jacobs
o main characters :

o example of motifs:

The Landlady by Roald Dahl
o main characters:

o examples of foreshadowing: