GENRE FORM DECISION TREE

(Note: At each level, the “yes” response leads to the next level in; the “no” response to the next level down.)

(Note: Both before and after using the Genre Form decision tree to arrive at a coding, the reader may want to reconsider main categories I-IV to test whether a good argument could be made for another decision path leading to an alternative coding of the Genre Form. Depending on the strength of the argument, the reader should consider the option of making a note to that effect on the coding sheet.)

Main categories (choose one of the four following and then proceed to the dyadic tree below):
I. The genre form is dominated by a challenge to the reader's intellect

II The form is dominated by the relation of the main characters to the larger physical or social environment

III The form is dominated by the relation of the main characters to other individual characters

IV Bildungsroman (“novel [or story] of education”)

---

I. The genre form is dominated more by a challenge or stimulation to the reader's intellect than by the relationships or development of the main characters.

A. The reader’s intellectual processes are concerned with an abstract issue

1. Philosophical Tale

B. The reader’s intellectual processes are concerned with solving a specific problem

1. The intellectual processes are aimed at discovering what has already happened

a) Detective

b) Puzzle

C. The intellectual processes are dominated by reflection on a known phenomenon

1. The phenomenon is literary

a) Parody

b) Satire

II. The form is dominated by the relation of the main characters to the larger physical or social environment

A. The characters are primarily concerned with uncovering information about the environment

1. Exploration

B. The characters are primarily concerned with accomplishing a set goal within the environment

1. The characters have a choice of the circumstances of their actions

a) Adventure

b) Crisis Escape

III. The form is dominated by the relation of the main characters to other individual characters

A. The other characters are fundamentally alien to at least one of the main characters

1. Alien Contact

B. The form is dominated by the relation of the individual characters to each other

1. The dramatic situation is dominated by the possibility of establishing and/or disestablishing a romantic relationship

a) Romance

b) Domestic

C. The form is dominated by the relation of the main characters to their specific social situation

1. The current situation is dominated by violence and/or by the threat of violence.

a) War

b) Political

IV. Bildungsroman (“novel [or story] of education”)