• Hyperbole: A huge exaggeration
  Your eyes are as brilliant as diamonds!
  Simpson, in his blue suit, surrounded by his army of lawyers (157).
• Metaphor:  A comparison between two objects:
  Your eyes are diamonds!
  The curtain has just come down on childhood (page 3).
• Simile:  A comparison using "Like" or "as"
  Your eyes are like diamonds
  ALS is like a lit candle. (page 9).

Idiom - A word or phrase that is used habitually with special meaning. It is peculiar to a language and cannot be translated to another language.
Keep an eye on -
Make up your mind
To carry out  (a command)

Irony-     We understand the opposite of what the speaker says
i.e., if someone drops a handful of papers, he may say, "Oh Great!"

Plot: The arrangement of ideas that make up a story. According to the RSCC Writing Lab it is as follows:

• Causality: One event occurs because of another event
• Conflict: struggle between opposing forces
• Exposition: Background information regarding the setting, characters, plot
• Complication: Intensification of conflict
• Crisis: Turning point - moment of great tension that fixes the action
• Resolution/Denouement: The way the story turns out

Point of View:
Who is telling the story?
First person - the author is involved
Third person:  The narrator  is unnamed and unidentified

Setting: Location of the story

Theme: The idea or point of a story formulated as a generalization

Questions to ask yourself when reading literature:

• THEME (The idea or point of a story formulated as a generalization)
• Theme:  What is the main point of the story?
  • Is there more than one point?
• Title: What is the title of the story?
  • How does the title relate to the theme?
• What does the story have to say about life and people in general?

• CHARACTER
• Who is the main character ?
  • What is he/she like?
  • Does he/she change or grow throughout the story?
  • What causes him to change?
  • What is his major problem,/concern/conflict?
  • How is this resolved?
  • Did the main character take the right action?
• Who are the minor characters?
  • Do they change too?
  • Why were they included in the story?

Thesis/Topic Sentence:
A shocking plot, memorable characters, and lessons on love combine to create a memorable story.

Certainly X  should be included in the curriculum as it teaches memorable lessons on education, forgiveness, and openness.