slides & 50 questions in analyzing lit · 2017-08-30 · analyzing the novel. who-the...
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3.Prose
EverythingisconnectedWelookatproseafterpoetry
andbeforedrama,butplease
keepinmindthateventhough
thesearethreeseparate
sections,muchwhatwe
coveredinpoetrywillbe
importantinproseanddrama,
justlikemuchofwhatwewill
covernowinprosecanbe
appliedtotheothergenres.
Forexample…Whatwestudiedabout
rhetoricaltechniques inpoetrywillbeimportantin
theproseanddrama
sections,andwhatwewill
studyaboutliterary
movementsinprosewillbe
importanttounderstand
poetryanddrama.
3.1.Prose:whatisit?
Whatisprose?It’snotpoetry:thereis
noversificationor
rhymeinitsform;
however,thereare
manysimilarfactorsto
consider,suchas
diction,syntaxand
literarydevices.
Proseismost
everythingelsewe
readdaytoday:
magazinearticles,
commentaries,essays,
novels,shortstories,
memoirs,biographies,
textbooks…
Wecanseparateproseinto
fiction andnon-fiction.Ingeneralterms,fiction iswhatisinventedandnon-fictioniswhatisrecorded.Novelsandshort
storiesareexamplesoffiction;
biographiesandmostessaysare
examplesofnon-fiction.There
canbe,nevertheless,
overlappingelementsoffiction
andnon-fiction(withhistorical
fiction,forexample).
3.2.Prose:why?
Whydopeoplewriteprose?
Basically,formanyofthe
samereasonswhy
peoplewritepoetry:
• Tomovethesenses
• Toprovokeemotions
• Tofindorder
• Toshowsomething
Butpeoplewrite prosealsobecause:
• Theypreferonegenreover
another
• Itismorefamiliartothem
• Itismoreubiquitousand
thusperhapsmore
approachable
• Theybelievethatnarrative
flowsbetterinprosethanin
verse
Butpeoplewrite prosealsobecause:
• Theyhaveastorytotell(shortstoryornovel)andnotasongtosing (poetry)
• Itisseenasmoredirectand
less“beataroundthebush”
• Whattheywanttosayisbest
doneinprose(criticism,
exposition,argument,etc.).
Afterall,newspapers,journals,
websites,textbooksandthe
likeareallwritteninprose.
Sowhydopeopleread prose?• Becausetheyhaveto?(not
agoodreason– unlessyou
hatepoetry!)
• Becauseit’severywhere?–
alsonoagoodreason!
• Tobecomeinformed?Yes!
Likeyouarereadingthisto
getreadyfortheCLEPexam
• Butalsoforpleasure,
distractionandescape
3.3.1.Prose:thenovel–origins
ThenovelSolet’sstartwith
discussingthenovel.It
isalong,fictional
narrativeinprosethat
portraysdifferent
charactersinacomplex
seriesofsequential
events.
Thenovel- originsEventhoughprosedatesbackto
theGreekera(Pherecydes of
Syros),rootsofthenovelare
foundinthe14th centurywith,
forexample,Bocaccio’s
Decamerone inItaly,DonJuan
Manuel’sElconde Lucanor in
Spain,andChaucer’sThe
CanterburyTalesinEngland.
Thenovel– originsThesetextsarebasedona
seriesofshorttales,ornovelle,
strungtogetherbyanexternal
narrativeframe(therefore,a
novella islongthanashortstorybutshorterthananovel).
Thenovel– originsTheoriginofthenovelalsostems
fromtheFrenchtalesofchivalry
thatwereoriginallyinverse
(ChrétiendeTroyes)inthe12th
century.ThemajorityofArthurian
legendsdevelopedfromthisand
wereputinproseafewcenturies
later(Amadís deGaula),precursorstoCervantes’sDonQuixote,whichiscalledthefirstmodernnovelby
some,andthebestnovelofall
timesbyothers.
Thenovel– originsFromtheseearlytalesof
Arthurianromanceemerged
theromancegenre:long,
fictitiousstories(inverse)of
oftenfantasticaleventsinfar
offplaces.Fromthistheword
roman emerged,theFrench
andbase-rootwordfornovel
inmanylanguages(Albanian,
Danish,Dutch,Norwegian,
Romanian,Slovak,etc.).
Thenovel– originsDonQuixote isarealistnovel,andtheArthurian
traditionisbasedon
fantasy.Thenovelhassince
beeninconstantdebate
betweentheseopposing
poles:somenovelsare
realistwhilstothershaveto
dowithimaginaryfaraway
placesandscenarios.
3.3.3.Prose:thenovel–typesandmovements
Typesofnovels(partiallist):• Fantasy
• Historicalfiction
• Romance
• Thrillers
• Sciencefiction
• Satirical
Typesofnovels(partiallist):• Tragedy
• Mystery
• Picaresque
• Gothic
• Psychological
• Best-seller
Literarymovements(notcomprehensive,butas
specificallyappliedtothe
novel):
• Renaissance
• Baroque
• TheEnlightenment
• Romanticism
• Transcendentalism
Literarymovements(notcomprehensive,butas
specificallyappliedtothe
novel):
• VictorianLiterature
• Realism
• Modernism
• Existentialism
• BeatGeneration
3.3.4.Prose:thenovel–analysis
Analyzingthenovel.
Simplistically,it’s
lookingatthewho,what,where,when,howandwhy ofanovel,butlet’smake
moresenseofthat.
Analyzingthenovel.Who- thecharacters
What – theplot inthenovel
Where – space inthenovel(setting)
When – time inthenovel
(setting)
How – language andnarration
Why – thetheme(s) ofthe
novel
3.3.4.1.Prose:thenovel–analysisofcharacters
Thecharacters inthenovelareprimordialpartofthis
literarygenre.Welookfor
onesthatchange(dynamic)throughtheonesthatdon’t
(static),andwefollowtheactionsoftheprotagonist,whodevelopsinacertain
way,againsttheopposing
forcesoftheantagonist.
Weshouldn’tnecessarily
calltheprotagonistthe
“goodguy”andthe
antagonistthe“badguy”
becauseoftenthewriter
givesusadifferent
perspectiveonwhat’s
“good”and“bad”.
Whenthecharactersserveto
contrastoneanotherto
highlighttheircharacteristics,
theyserveasfoils.Some
charactersmaybecommon
conceptionsormisconceptions
onpurpose,stereotypes thattheauthorusesareplotdevices
thathe/shemaywanttowork
withorredefine.
Manytimesthesestereotypical
characters,orstockcharacters,reoccurinspecificliterary
movementsandareeasily
recognizable:thedamselin
distress,themadscientist,the
farmer’sdaughter,theabsent-
mindedprofessor,thevirgo
bellatrix (womanwarrior).
Othertimes,charactersmay
serveasallegories byrepresentingabstract
concepts.Oneofthemost
salientexamplesisAnimalFarmbyGeorgeOrwell.Theanimalsonthefarmarea
representationofthe1917
Russianrevolutiononintothe
Stalinistera.Theanimals
showthecorruptionand
avariceoftherevolution.
3.3.4.2.Prose:thenovel–analysisoftheplot
Theplotcanbebrokendownintodifferentstages
ofdevelopment:
• Exposition
• Development
• Climax
• Denouement
(resolution)
Somerefertothe plotas:• Introduction
• Complication
• Risingaction
• Climax
• Fallingaction
• Conclusion
Theremayalsobe
subplots inthemain
plot,smallerstories
withtheirown
developmentand
resolution,butthereis
justusuallyonemain
setofevents.
3.3.4.3.Prose:thenovel–analysisofsetting
Whenwetalkaboutthespace ofanovelthereareafewthingsto
consider.Thespacecanbe
physical andmetaphorical:the
foodstoreon27BartonStreet
wheretheactiontakesplace,as
opposedtothesignificanceof
thestruggling,mom-and-pop,
neighborhoodgrocerystorewith
historicalandsocialsignificance
runningagainstthechokeholdof
thegrowingsupermarketchain
conglomerates.
Thesameistruewhenwewe
talkabouttimeinthenovel.Thetimeiswhenthenovel
takesplaceinhistory,butit
alsoreferstothechronologyof
eventsinthenovel:arethey
sequential?Arethere
flashbacks?Isitfragmented?Is
itspeculative?Isitimmediate?
Inadditiontospaceandtime,
otherconsiderationsfor
settingistolookatmood and
atmosphere.Isitpositiveor
negative?Isitcontrolledor
disordered?IsitGothicor
Realist?(thismayoverlapwith
itsliterarygenre).
3.3.4.4.Prose:thenovel–analysisoflanguage
Inregardtolanguage,wehavetoconsiderallthatanauthor
putsintoher/hisexpression:
diction (wordchoice),tone,syntax (grammarandsentence
structures),useofdialogue,narrator’s voice,etc.NathanielHawthorne,forexample,inTheScarletLetterusesaformal
stylewhichisverydifferent
fromtheinformalstylesof,for
example,JohnSteinbeckor
MarkTwain.
Language:formalstyleFromp.1ofNathaniel
Hawthorne’sTheScarlet
Letter.Notetheuseof
thepassivevoice,the
formalwordchoice,the
syntax,thediction,the
distancedtone,etc.:
Language:formalstyleInaccordancewiththisruleitmaysafelybeassumedthattheforefathersofBostonhadbuiltthefirstprison–housesomewhereintheVicinityofCornhill,almostasseasonablyastheymarkedoutthefirstburial–ground,onIsaacJohnson’slot,androundabouthisgrave,whichsubsequentlybecamethenucleusofallthecongregatedsepulchres intheoldchurchyardofKing’sChapel.
Language:informalstyleFromchapter2ofMarkTwain’s
HuckFinn:
“Say,whoisyou?Whar isyou?Dogmycatsef Ididn’hearsumf’n.
Well,IknowwhatI’sgwyne todo:I’sgwyne tosetdownhere
andlistentellIhearsitagin.”
Notethecolloquiallanguage,the
reproductionoforalspeech,the
useofdialogue(muchmore
personal),thediction,etc.
LanguageInregardtosyntax,
punctuation,sentence
lengthandsentence
structureallinfluence
one’swritingstyle.Here
aresomeexamples.Note
thedifferencebetween
them.
Asegmentfromchapter18ofUlysses
byJamesJoyce:
andhersoulgreatestmisereverwas
actuallyafraidtolayout4dforher
methylatedspirittellingmeallher
ailmentsshehadtoomucholdchatin
heraboutpoliticsandearthquakes
andtheendoftheworldletushavea
bitoffunfirstGodhelptheworldifall
thewomenwerehersortdownon
bathing-suitsandlownecks ofcourse
nobodywantedhertowear
Here,JamesJoycehasa“streamof
consciousness”style.Inthe40plus
pagesofthislastchapter,ifIamnot
mistaken,thereareonlytwo
periodsandonecomma.Thisnovel
isconsideredoneofthebestnovels
everwritten,butitisalsooneofthe
hardesttounderstand.
Hereisanexampleoftheopposite:
theuseofshortsentences.Thisis
ErnestHemmingway’s AFarewelltoArms:
Hewasdressed,worehisblack
boots,andhishairshone.
“Splendid,”hesaidwhenhesaw
me.“Youwillcomewithmeto
seeMissBarkley.”“No.“Yes.You
willpleasecomeandmakemea
goodimpressiononher.”“All
right.WaittillIgetcleanedup.”
“Washupandcomeasyouare.”
Iwashed,brushedmyhairand
westarted.
3.3.4.5.Prose:thenovel–analysisofnarration
Inregardtonarration,thereisfirst,secondandthirdperson.
FirstpersonisI,we,my,etc.andismoresubjectivethanthird
person.Weonlyseethingsfrom
thatperson’sperspective,which
isgoodbecausewecan
understandhis/herinner
thoughts,buttherecanbelimits
toaone-personperspective,and
wedon’tknowifthatpersonis
reliableornot.
Secondpersonisrare,
butgivesasenseof
immediacytothetext.
Itisuniquebutcanbe
unnaturalandstrange
ifusedtoomuch,
alwayssaying“you”
dothisand“you”do
that.
Thirdpersonisusuallymore
objective.Thirdpersonisshe,he,
they,it,etc.,andisgenerally
moreobjectivebecausethere
aredifferentviewpoints.This
pointofviewcanbeomniscient
orpartiallyomniscient.
Sometimesthesestylesare
mixedinthesamenovel/short
story.
Narration• Anexampleoffirstperson
narration isToKillaMockingbirdbyHarperLee.
• Anexampleofsecond
personnarration isAura byCarlosFuentes.
• Anexampleofthirdperson
narration isJaneAusten’s
PrideandPrejudice.
3.3.4.6.Prose:thenovel–analysisoftheme
Anotherstepin
deconstructinganovelisto
consideritsthemes.Thesearethemajoroverarchingideas
likecomingofage,justice
versusfamilyloyalty,change
versustradition,etc.
Themotifsinanovel,detailsthatrepeatthemselves
(subject,idea,etc.),canhave
symboliceffectandaddtothe
depthofthetheme.Motifs
canbesounds,ideas,actions,
words,etc.,likeamoon,the
creakofadoor,asigh,etc.
3.4.1.Prose:shortstories–origins
Shortstories– origins
Theliterarygenreoftheshortstory
developedfromancientstorytelling
traditions(epic,romance)intoframed
stories(Bocaccio andChaucer)ofthe
15th century.Fromthere,through
popularfairyandfolktales,likethose
compiled/createdbyCharlesPerrault
(“SleepingBeauty”,“Cinderella”,“Little
RedRidingHood”),andthoseof
ArabianNightscompiledfromMiddle
EasternstoriesbyAntoineGalland,for
example,thegenregainedpopularity.
Shortstories– origins
Itwasn’tuntilthe19th centurywhen
theshortstorywasarecognizedand
commonliterarygenre.Washington
Irvingstartedthecenturywith“Rip
VanWinkle”and“TheLegendof
SleepyHollow”.Inthemiddleofthe
19th century,EdgarAllenPoemade
thegenrepopularwith,forexample,
“TheCaskofAmontillado”and“The
PitandthePendulum”.
Shortstories– originsExamplesofotherearly,
internationalauthorsare
Maupassant,Turgenev,Chekovand
ArthurConanDoyle.These19th
centuryshortstoriesareprimarily
realist,especiallybecausethey
coincidedwiththeliterary
movementofRealism,buttoday,
thegenreissodiverse,it’shardput
allshortstoriesintoonecategory.
Thereare,however,some
characteristicswhichmostshort
storiesshare.
3.4.2.Prose:shortstories–characteristics
Shortstories– characteristicsLikethenovel,westillneedto
consider:characters,plot,setting
(timeandspace),narration,
language,andthemes.Thereisnot
enoughtimetodevelopthesetoa
greatextentinashortstorylike
thereisinanovel,soweread
fragmentsofcharacteror
condensed, intensifiedevents.The
storymightevenstartinmediasres,rightinthemiddleofthe
action.
Shortstories– characteristicsOneofthemostimportant
characteristicsforashortstoryis
thenarration.Allthecharacteristicsdiscussedinthe
novelonnarrationarealso
importantintheshortstory,but
withitsuniqueintensityoffocus
andbrevityofdevelopment,the
shortstory’spointofview,beit
objectiveorsubjective,firstperson
orthird.affectsthereaders’overall
understandingoftheother
elementsinplay(theme,plot,etc.)
Shortstories– characteristicsSomeofthesemayberepetitionfrom
previoussections,butreviewalways
helps.Ashortstory:
• Prosefictionthatcanbereadin
onesitting
• Theplotismuchlesscomplexthan
anovel,butcontainsmanyofthe
sameelements
• Thereislittlecharacter
development,sometimeslittle
action
• Isoftenrealistandgivesusa
snapshotoflife
Shortstories– characteristics• Thesetting takesintime,spaceand
mood
• Theplot isnormallysetupas
exposition,development,climax,
anddenouement
• Theconflict canbeinternalor
external
• Thecharacters areprotagonists
andantagonists,static
(stereotyped)ordeveloping.
Shortstories– characteristicsThepointofviewcanbeomniscient,
ashavingaccesstothethoughtsand
understandingofcharacters.
• Omniscientlimited:Inthirdperson,
butweknowonlywhataparticular
characterknows
• Omniscientobjective:Inthird
person,goingfrompersonto
person,recordingwhatisseenand
heard,butnotenteringinthe
thoughtsofanyone.
Shortstories– characteristicsThepointofviewcanalsobe• Firstperson:thestoryistoldfrom
theperspectiveoftheprotagonistor
fromanothercharacter.Itisinfirst
personandweknowonlywhatthat
personknowsandthinks.
• Streamofconsciousness: likeweare
intheheadofthecharacterwithno
syntacticalrestraints(likewesaw
withUlysses).
• Innocenteye:thestoryistoldfrom
theperspectiveofachild,likein
Montana1948byLarryWatson.
3.5.Prose:essays
EssaysLet’stakealookat
differenttypesof
essays.Afterall,you
mighthavetowrite
oneattheendofthis
exam.
TypesofessaysSpeculativeessay – itlooks
atideasratherthan
explainsthem.Itmaynot
haveanexplicitthesislike
theothertypesofessays
do.Itmeditatesonideas–
itismeditative.An
interchangeofnarration
andresponsemayoccur.
TypesofessaysExpositoryessay– an
explanationorclarification
ofanideaortheme.
Studentsmaybemost
familiarwiththistypeof
essay.Theremaybean
elementofnarrationtoit,
butdefinitelyanelementof
argumentation.
TypesofessaysPersuasiveessay–
wherethewriter
triestoconvincethe
readerofher/his
pointofview.
TypesofessaysAnalyticalessay–
whereaworkofart,
aplay,abook,etc.is
analyzed.
TypesofessaysArgumentativeessay–
wherethewriterargues
thather/hisopinionor
theoryaboutanissueis
correct,abovetheopinionsofothersonthesameissue(itissimilar,butdifferent
formthepersuasiveessay
inthisway).
Characteristicsofessays• Unlikenovelsand
shortstories,essays
arenon-fiction,thus
theform isdifferent.
Thewriteris
presentinganidea
(non-fiction) andnot
tellingastory(fiction)
Characteristicsofessays• Thevoice isnotthatofa
narrator,buttheauthorherselfwhospeakstothereader.
• Thestructure issuchthatifchanged,theessaywouldloseitsmeaning.Theflowoflogicandpresentationofideasfollowasequencebestfittoitstype.