Defamiliarisation
A literary technique in which familiar things are presented in unfamiliar ways, disrupting habitual perception and encouraging fresh reflection. Also called 'making strange'.
Real World
In 'The Road', Cormac McCarthy strips punctuation and conventional sentence structure to make the act of surviving a single day feel alien and exhausting — readers experience survival as strange rather than routine.
Exam Focus
Name the technique, then explain what habitual perception it disrupts and what fresh insight the reader gains — examiners want the 'so what'.
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