LITERARY ANALYSIS

What is Not vs. What is Expected

Basic Parameters of the Assignment:

It should be about two to three pages (plus the "Works Cited" page)  

I'm looking for between 600 to 1000 words.It should be typed with a double spaced text, and

I prefer Time Roman.Follow standard MLA header and do the Works

Cited (MLA) or References (APA) section according to your training.

Here is how it should look:

Except of course there will be two pagesMLA Guidlines

Guidelines for writing:

Use evidence from text to support your thesis.

Organize points logically.Use present tense.If use quotations, make them few, short, no

longer than necessary to prove your point.

It is Not a “Book Report”In years past a book report was for

many of you the norm in literary assignments.

It requires large amounts of summaries and a series of opinions on the overall text.

The purpose of a book report is to show the instructor that the student has read and understood the work.

It is NOT expected in most College classes.

Think How You Would Talk if You Enjoyed a Movie. . .You would say. . what was specifically

interesting in the film.You would not re-tell

the story!

Literary Analysis

Purpose:you are to share a

specific insight about a literary work in one particular area.

Rationale: Increases reader’s

(& writer’s) understanding, appreciation of work

Develops ability to think critically and independently

Strengthens writing ability

Aids in learning more about self, others, life

Choose one of these possiblities:

Plot, Setting, Character, Point of View, Symbols

The Basic Questions of Plot

What happens?To whom?Why?

Analysis of Plot: 4 key elements of plot

Exposition

Climax

Denouement* * Pronounced as “day-noo-MAWN”, (It’s French) noun: 1. The final resolution of the main complication of a literary or dramatic work.

Complication

a.k.a. “Resolution”

Conflicts

Man vs. ManMan vs. SelfMan vs. EnvironmentMan vs. God

The essence of plot is the existence of conflict.

Conflict Makes PlotWhat are the

conflicts?Why do they occur?What does the plot

reveal? Is the problem left

unsolved? Why?

Analysis of Setting

Natural Setting Hostile Force Friendly Force

Man-made Setting Reveals character of

those who inhabit it

Setting

Time of dayAmount of lightFlora and faunaSoundsWeatherClothingSmellsDescriptions

More overt in Sci Fi but the scholar should remember that every setting is an artificial creation, an artifice, formed by an artist

Questions to ask about Setting

What is it?What contribution is

made by using this setting?

How is it effective in commenting on theme, characters, tone?

Character: Indicated in four ways

By what the character says

By what the character does

By what other characters say about him/her

By what the author says about him/her

Think of how Dickens reveals to us Pip’s nature and Miss Havisham’s.

Questions to ask about Character

Why do the characters act as they do?

Are the characters consistent in behavior?

Is there a change in behavior? Why?

Analysis of Point of ViewAsk “Who tells the story?”Ask “Who tells the story?”

First person narratorObjective (Dramatic

narrator)Limited omniscient

narratorOmniscient narrator

Although it seems the most natural thing in the world,keep in mind that Dickens chose to have Great Expectations told from inside Pip’s own head.

Questions to ask about Point of View

What are the advantages?What are its limitations?How does the narrator’s

mind and personality affect the interpretation?

Why has author chosen this point of view?

Is selected point of view used fairly and consistently?

Analysis of Theme (Controlling Idea)

What is it?What does it mean?How is it

developed?Is there unity?

Analysis of Symbolism

Symbolism - the use of one object to represent or suggest another

Symbolism

Any symbolic interpretation must grow directly out of the tones and connotations found in a close literal reading of the story.

GUIDELINES OF SOUND CRITICISM

SOUND CRITICISM

Interpret a passage in its context, noting such matters as the character, the time, and the author’s purpose.

SOUND CRITICISM

Be humble and open-minded, never assuming that yours is the only correct interpretation.

SOUND CRITICISM

Accept the theological, political, and social premises the work is founded on.

SOUND CRITICISM

Have perspective and see both the forest and the tree.

SOUND CRITICISM

Don’t assume that there is a message or hidden meaning everywhere.

SOUND CRITICISM

Don’t be so creative that you lose sight of the text and talk about yourself.

SOUND CRITICISM

DON’T RETELL THE STORY.

Guidelines for writing:

Read work carefully.Assume audience is

familiar with story; don’t rehash plot.

Use third person.Research outside

sources.Have a clear thesis.

Faigley notes that a literary analysis paper can. . .Review the repetition of particular images

(motifs) and even works which contribute to the meaning of the work (its themes).

Examine a problem—why does the narrator in The Hobbit chat so much?

Compare and contrast to provide an analysis of two characters or two works—any pairs that help the reader gain an insight about the work.

Use a critical strategy.

Some critical strategies:

Feminist criticismHistorical (biographical) criticismJungian (Archetypal) criticismFreudian (Psychological) criticism

Look at Some Specifics

The following concrete examples are based on trying to write a literary analysis paper on “Everyday Use” by Alice Walker which was featured in

Sparknotes refers to this information as context but it is biographicalBorn in rural Eatonton, Georgia, in 1944, Alice

Walker was the youngest of eight children. When she was eight years old, she was blinded in

one eye by a BB shot by one of her brothers. Although she eventually had surgery on her scar

and became valedictorian of her high school, she endured teasing and low self-esteem throughout her childhood.

More biographicalShe received a scholarship to Spelman College,

a traditionally black college in Georgia, and left home with three things given to her by her mother,

Minnie: a sewing machine to encourage self-sufficiency, a suitcase to nudge her curious spirit, and a typewriter to nurture her budding writing talents.

Walker eventually left Spelman to attend Sarah Lawrence College in New York, from which she graduated in 1965.

Some Points about “Everyday Use”

by Alice Walker

The Meaning of HeritageThe Divisive Power of

Education Modern Culture vs.

Traditional Culture

Themes: the big ideas found within a work.

Motifs: Are any recurring element that has symbolic significance in a story. Through its repetition, a motif can help produce other narrative (or literary) aspects such as theme or mood.

Eye Contact and EyesightNaming and Renaming

Symbols: a concrete something in a story which represents an abstract idea The Quilt

The Yard

Citations (MLA and APA)MLA

“SparkNote on Everyday Use.” SparkNotes.com. SparkNotes LLC. 2007. Web. 17 Oct. 2012.

APA

SparkNote on Everyday Use. (2007). Retrieved October 17, 2012, from http://www.sparknotes.com/short-stories/everyday-use/