Source: Old Testament of the Bible

Nationality: Hebrew

Genre: biblical short story

Characters

1. Esther: beautiful, queen, Jew, courageous, wise

2. Mordecai: Esther's guardian, Jew, will not bow to Haman, rewarded by King

3. King Ahasuerus or Xerxes: quick tempered, trusts Haman, loves Esther, helps save Jews

4. Haman: arrogant, loves himself, looks down on others including Jews, tries to kill Jews, hangs in the end

Setting: Kingdom of Persia, long ago, in biblical times

Literary Terms

1. Themes: a) poetic justice: the bad guy gets what he deserves b) actions always have consequences

2. Hero: Esther risks her own life to save her people, the Jews

3. External conflict: a) Mordecai vs. Haman b) Haman vs. Jews

4. Internal conflict: Esther must decide if she will risk her life to save the Jews or watch as they are killed

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