Literary Analysis Paper ENG 1302

ThePurposeofaLiterary Analysis:

Aliteraryanalysisisnotmerelyasummaryofaliterarywork.Instead,itisanargumentabouttheworkthatexpressesawriter’spersonalperspective,interpretation,judgment,orcriticalevaluationofthework.Thisisaccomplishedbyexaminingtheliterarydevices,wordchoices,or writingstructurestheauthoruseswithinthework.Thepurposeofaliteraryanalysisistodemonstratewhytheauthorusedspecificideas,wordchoices,orwritingstructurestoconveyhisor hermessage.

How to Create a Literary Analysis:

1. Readthetextcloselyseveraltimes.Focusontheideasthatarebeingpresented.Think aboutthecharacters’developmentandtheauthor’swritingtechnique.Whatmightbeconsideredinteresting,unusual,orimportant?

• Brainstormalistofpotentialtopics.Highlightimportantpassagesinthetextandtakenotesonthesepassages.Later,whenwritingthepaper,thesenotesshouldhelpawritertorememberwhichaspectsofthestorycaughthis/herattention.Thetopicchosenshould alwaysbebasedonawriter’sinterpretationoftheauthor’smessage.Herearesomethingsa writermaywanttoconsiderwhenbrainstormingforaliteraryanalysis.

• Character:Whatobservationsmightawritermakeaboutthecharacters?Aretherediscrepanciesinwhattheythink,say,ordo?Aretheobservationsawritermakesdifferentfromwhatothercharacterssay?Howdoestheauthordescribethecharacters?Arethecharacters“dynamic”(adynamiccharacterisacharacterthatundergoesimportantchangesthroughoutthework)?Arethecharacters“static”characters(astaticcharacterisacharacterthatstaysthesamethroughoutthework)?Arethecharacters“flat”characters(aflatcharacterisacharacterthatdoesnothavevividcharactertraits)or“round”characters(aroundcharacterisacharacterthathas vividcharactertraits)?Arethecharacterssymbolicorrepresentativeofsomeuniversalquality?Isitpossiblethattwocharactersinthetextmightbecomparedor contrasted?
  • Setting:Istherearelationshipbetweenthework’ssettinganditsmood?Doesthe

settingreflectthework’stheme?Howdoesthesettingimpactthecharacters?Doesa changeinthesettingaffectthemood,characters,orconflict?

• Plot:Howmightthebeginningoftheworkbeinterpreted?Howdoestheplotbuild

suspense?Doestheauthorusetechniquessuchasforeshadowingorflashback?Are therepatternsofcause-effectrelationships?Doeventsoccurinalogicalorder? Examinetheeventsthatleadtotheclimaxanddeterminehowtheworkends?

• Theme:Whatisthemajorideaorthemeofthework?Howdoestheauthorrelaythistheme?Isthereagreatermeaningtothedetailsgiven?Howdothecharacters’moodsaffectthetheme?Whatallusionsaremadethroughoutthework?Arethererepeatingpatternsorsymbols?Whatdoesthetitlesayaboutthetheme?
  • Dialogue:Whatisthepurposeofthedialogue?Isthedialogueappropriateinterms

ofwordchoiceorsentencelength?Howdoesthedialogueimpactthecharacterization?Howdoestheauthorusethedialoguetoshowthemoodofthecharacters?Howdoesthisaidtheauthor’smessage?Howdoesthedialogueimpacttheplot?

• Imagery:Inwhatwaymightaspecificimageorseriesofimagesbeanalyzed?How

mightthedevelopmentofimagesthroughouttheworkbeexplained?Aretheimagesimportanttothemeaningofthework?Howareimagesinterrelatedwithother literaryelements?

• Figuresofspeech:Howarefiguresofspeechsuchassimiles,metaphors,and

hyperbolesusedthroughoutthetext?Howarethesefiguresofspeechimportantin relationtothemeaningofthetext?Arefiguresofspeechinterrelatedbetweenother literaryelements?

• Tone:Howmightdescribetheattitudeoftheauthororthetoneoftheworkbe

described?Isthetoneserious,playful,casual,formal,orsomber?Howdoestheauthorachievethistone?Howdoesthetoneimpacttheauthor’smessage?Doestheauthorsayonethingbutmeananother?Doestheauthortakethesubjectseriouslyor treatitlightly?

• Rhyme/Rhythm: Dotheauthor’swords,sentences,orparagraphsseemtosharea

similarrhymepattern?Whattypeofrhythmdoestheauthorseemtobecreating?Howisthisrhyme/rhythmimpactingtheauthor’smessage?Doestheauthorusethedifferentrhymes/rhythmsasasounddevicefortheliterarywork?Howdoestheauthordothis?

• PointofView:Whatpointofviewdothecharactersdisplay?First,second,orthird?

Howdoesthispointofviewaffectthetheme,plot,orconflictofthework?How mighttheauthor’spointofviewimpactawriter’sanalysis?Mightthecharacter’sfirstpersonpointofviewdrawawriterto feelasthoughhe/sheishearingapersonal accountandcausehim/hertofeelanintimateconnectionwiththecharacter?Might theauthor’sthirdpersonaccountcauseawritertofeelasiftheauthorisactingasthenarratorofthestory?Ormightitcauseawritertobelievethatthenarratorisan omniscientbeingwhoisdistantbutknowsthecharacter’sthoughtsandfeelings?

• Thinkaboutwhattheauthoristryingtosay.Whyisthisimportant?Whenviewingthisworkasapieceofart,whatmightawriter’sresponsebe?Whatmightawriter’sreactionsbetotheideaspresentedinthework?Aretheseideastruthfulorrelevanttotodayandhow?Ifawriterwereaskedwhattheythoughtofthisworkhowmighttheyrespond?Whatpoints mightawritermake?”

• Selectatopicthathassufficientsupportingevidence.Awritershouldmakesuretoincludespecificdetailstosupportthetopic.Usehighlightedsectionsofthebookasevidencetosupportthetopicthathasbeenchosen.

• Writeaworkingthesis.Theanalysiswillneedastrongthesisthatstatesawriter’sperspectivebutalsoallowsittobedebated.Thethesisshouldstateawriter’sopinion,butitshouldalsoallowreaderstoarriveattheirownconclusions.

• Exampleofadebatablethesis:

PrideandPrejudiceisaboutElizabethBennet’sefforttoovercomeherownproud behavioranddiscriminationtowardsMr.Darcy,aswellashowherfamilyisaffectedbythehaughtinessandpreconceptionsofthesocietyaroundthem.

(Thisisadebatablethesisbecauseitasksthereader,“DoesElizabethactuallyexhibithaughtinessandpreconceptions?Isthiswhyshedoesn’tgetalongwithMr.Darcy?HowisElizabeth’sfamily affectedbythehaughtinessandpreconceptionsofthesocietyaroundthem?”)

• Avoidanon-debatablethesis:

PrideandPrejudiceisaboutfivesistersandtheirjourneytofindlove.

(Thisthesisisnon-debatablebecause itisundisputable.The paperisframedasasummaryratherthanasaliteraryanalysis.)

• Makeanextendedlistofevidence.Findmoreevidencefromthetexttosupporttheworkingthesis.Thenselecttheevidencethatwillbeusedinthepaper.

• Refinethethesis.Makesurethethesisfitswiththeevidencethathasbeenpresented.

• Organizetheevidence.Matchtheevidencetotheorderofthethesis.Deleteanyoftheoriginaltextualsupportsthatmaynolongerfollowthethesis,andgathernewevidenceifneeded.

• Interprettheevidence.Whenwritingaliteraryanalysis,itisveryimportantforwriterstomakesuretheyexpresstheirownpersonalinterpretationofthework.Becarefulthattheliteraryanalysisisnotasummary.

1. Createaroughdraft.Whenwritingaroughdraft,thereareseveralmethodsthatmayaida writerincreatingastrongfinaldraft.Hereareafewmethods:

• Outline:Anoutlinewillhelpawritertoorganizehis/herthoughtsandideas.Itwillremindawriteroftheorderofthethesis,aswellasthesupportingpointshe/shewouldlikeeachtopicsentencetohave.
  • Free-write:Ashort,tenminutefree-writewillhelptogetallofawriter’sthoughts

onpaper.Itwillallowawritertofocusonthecontent,ratherthanthepunctuationandspelling.Oncethefree-writeiscomplete,awritercanreadthroughitandcirclethepointsthatarestrong,aswellasomittheonesthatarenot.

• BubbleMap:Abubblemapwillallowawritertodrawconnectionsfromoneideatothenext.Itwillgiveawriteravisualideaofthedirectionoftheliteraryanalysis,aswellashelpawritertoseetheconnectionsbetweenthetopics.Thiscanhelpa writertransitionfromonetopictoanothermorefluidly.

1. RevisetheAnalysis.Aftercompletingthefirstdraft,revisetheanalysisbyconsideringthefollowingquestions:

• Isthethesisclearlystatedinthefirstparagraph?
  • Isthesentencestructurevaried?
  • Doesthestructureoftheanalysisemphasizethemainideas?
  • Isthethird-personpointofviewusedthroughouttheentireessay?
  • Hasthepresenttensebeenusedtodiscusstheworkandpasttensetodescribethe

author’sbackground?

• Havequotationmarksbeenusedarounddirectquotations?
  • HavethesourcesbeencitedcorrectlyaccordingtoMLAstyle?
  • Hasextraneousinformationthatdoesnotsupportthethesisbeeneliminated?
  • Havecleartransitionsbeenusedbetweensentencesandparagraphs?

1. Proofread.Oncethecontentoftheessayiswell-developed,itshouldbeproofreadfor grammar,punctuation,andspelling.Itisoftenhelpfultoreadthepaperslowlyandclearlyoutloud.Ifpossible,anotherpersonshouldlistenandreadalongasthepaperisbeingread. Thepapershouldbeprintedandproofreadseveraltimesuntilanaccuratefinalcopyiscreated.Bealerttocommongrammaticalerrorssuchassentencefragments,commasplices,orrun-onsentences.Remembertoconsultastylemanualforgrammaticalorcitationquestions,andiffurtherassistanceisdesired,groupworkshopsandindividualappointmentsareavailablefreeofchargethroughTutoringServices.

ASSIGNMENT:

Analyze Of Mice and Men.

Length: 4-6 pages (Not including Works Cited) in MLA format, 12-point font, double- spaced. You must include a “Works Cited” page and use correct MLA format for in-text (parenthetical) citations

Students are asked to write literary analysis essays because this type of assignment encourages you to think about how and why a poem, short story, novel, or play was written. To successfully analyze literature, you’ll need to remember that authors make specific choices for particular reasons. Your essay should point out the author’s choices and attempt to explain their significance.

Another way to look at a literary analysis is to consider a piece of literature from your own perspective. Rather than thinking about the author’s intentions, you can develop an argument based on any single term (or combination of terms) listed. You’ll just need to use the original text to defend and explain your argument to the reader.