PREPARING AND WRITING A LITERARY ANALYSIS
1. Before you start to draft, note the following precautions:
A) Avoid giving the impression that there is only one valid interpretation of a work. Shun such phrases “obviously” and “it is evident that.” Use tentative words that leave the interpretation open to other possibilities.
B) Analyze work objectively. Veto any inclination to give harsh criticisms or sweet adoration.
C) Don’t speculate about an author’s intent. Avoid giving the impression of mind reading. Instead, discuss the total effect. Describe the impression that is created. Supply reasons and examples.
2. POINT OF VIEW
Point of view is revealed through the narrator’s voice. An author selects either a first-person or third-person point of view for the narrator. This means that the narrator’s voice is not the voice of the author. The narrator may be one of the characters or someone outside the work. When the story is presented through the eyes of a character, you gain an inside view. You have access to one person’s thoughts and observations. When writing about point of view, consider the following questions:
A) Who is telling the story?
B) Is the voice of the narrator consistent or does it change? If it changes, how?
C) How reliable is the narrator?
D) Should the narrator be taken literally? Or is the piece a satire, a tall tale, legend, myth, fable, or parable?
E) What is the effect of the narrator’s voice?
F) Where is the narrator? Inside or outside the action? How does this perspective influence the plot, character, or theme?
EXAMPLE: (Taken from F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby opens with the narrator reminiscing:
In my younger and more vulnerable years my father gave me some advice that I’ve been turning over in my mind ever since.
“Whenever you feel like criticizing any one,” he told me, just remember that all the people in this world haven’t had the advantages that you’ve had.
He didn’t say any more, but we’ve always been unusually communicative in a reserved way, and I understood that he meant a great deal more than that. In consequence, I’m inclined to reserve all judgments, a habit that has opened up many curious natures to mea and also made me the victim of not a few veteran bores.”
3.SETTING
When writing about setting, consider the following questions:
A) What in the setting is significant” Features of the landscape” Time of Year? Weather? What?
B) Do any parts of the setting seem to be symbolic”?
C) How does setting contribute to the tone or mood?
D) Does the setting change? How does this influence the plot and the characters?
E) Is there any foreshadowing (hints of what is to come)?
EXAMPLE OF A QUICK DRAFT:
Hemingway’s
The Old Man and the Sea begins in a
poor fishing village off the
Alone on the skiff, the old man sits with his tattered flag and patched sail, ehich seem to be symbols-the sail “looked like a flag of permanent defeat.” Two similarities between the boat and the old man stand out: both are old and both appear dysfunctional. Yet these appearances are deceiving. Despite the isolation and hardships imposed by weather, sea, and sharks, both endure. The old man continues his quest for a huge fish. Determined to succeed at any cost, he will not accept defeat.
NOTES TAKEN B STUDENT WRITER OF ABOVE COMPOSITION:
1) Need to discuss changes in setting at sea and effects on old man and the skiff.
2) Are sharks part of the setting? Not character; must be setting.
3. Describe condition of skiff, big fish, and old man when he returns to the harbor.
4) Is irony a significant element here?
5) What else should be mentioned?
4. PLOT
The series of actions or events that occur in a narrative is called the plot. Broadly defined, plot includes not only the physical action, but also words and thoughts. The action arises not only from circumstances, but also from human motivation. The characters face a problem or conflict. How they respond depends on the circumstances, their emotional makeup, and their values. Thus plot and character are intertwined.
An analysis of plot is usually combined with one or more of the other elements of literature. Read carefully the following examples, an analysis of a nove. The title alludes to a nursery rhyme character, as explained in the opening sentence. The ending also hints at the analogy.
INTRODUCTION
Willie
Shark, the main character of All the
Kings Men, by Robert Penn Warren, is the Humpty Dumpty
who sits on top of the wall, the governorship of
Willie is a
farm boy with little education, but who works hard and long to become a lawyer
and achieve admittance to the bar. He believes in
God, in honor, and in goodness. And at first he believes what people tell him.
But Sadie Burke wises him up. He forsakes orange soda pop and a wholesome view
of the world to embrace Scotch whiskey a realistic view, and Sadie (as well as
other mistresses).
{A major section of this paper, which appears later, emphasizes character, although plot is mentioned throughout the paper in the conclusion the student writer reacts to the novel, giving her response to plot and character.}
CONCLUSION
All the King’s Men, like a mighty river, snatches up the reader and thunders to the inexorable finish. When released, the reader is purged and saddened by the tragic mess which some characters have made of their lives, yet gladdened by the few who retain integrity and develop responsibility.
Rereading your notes and prewriting will help you trace the development of the plot. Think about events that are examples of cause and effect. Consider character flaws, impulses, values, goals, isssures, or coincidences that influence the outcome of the plot. The checklist below will assisgt you.
1) What s the major conflict, dilemma, or problem?
2) What aspects of the plot create tension? How is it developed?
3) Who is involved and why?
4) Must the chief character make a difficult decision? What is it?
5) Does the chief character lose or triumph? Why or why not?
6, WRITING ABOUT SYMBOLS
Uncovering
symbols can lead the reader to look beneath the surface meaning for a deeper
abstract meaning. The names of characters and places are often symbolic: they
represent some aspect of plot, characterization, or theme. In Jane Eyre, the
1) What features, objects, or persons might be symbols?
2) Where and how do they appear?
3) Do any of the symbols change? How?
4) Are there any connections between the symbols? Is so, how?
5) Are the symbols universal or individual? How are they related to the theme of the work?
7. WRITING ABOUT IRONY
Usually, an analysis of irony is combined with other elements, unless irony is dominant in a work. If irony is a significant part of a story, you may want ot analyze and categorize the types of irony embedded in the work. In Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice, for example, verbal ironu and situational irony appear throughout the novel. Verbal irony is habitual for the narrator as well as for Elizabeth Bennett and her father.
If you should decide to write about irony, the prewriting checklist below will help you begin.
1) Are there any inconsistencies between expectations and outcomes in the plot that create situational irony?
2) Do any of the characters know something that another does not?
3) Do any of the characters say the opposite of what they mean?
4) Does fate or cosmic irony play a role in the plot?
5) How does irony influence the work?
8. WRITING ABOUT THEME
Theme is a continuing thread, the central meaning that winds through a work. A theme contains an observation about human life or the conditions that prevail. Usually the theme is implicit and unstated, but you may find a theme directly stated, perhaps tucked into an obscure turn of the plot. In All the King’s Men, an implicit statement of the theme reposes in a journal entry of a man long deceased.
…the world is like an enormous spider weave and if you touch it, however lightly, …the vibration ripples to the remotest perimeter and the drowsy spider feels the tingle…springs out to fling the gossamer coils about you…then injects the black, numbing poison under your hide. It does not matter whether you meant ot brush the web or things…what happens always happens. (188)
Briefly summarized, the theme is that even small unintentional acts and events can have consequences that reverberate, setting up a chain of cause and effect in our lives and the lives of others.
To write about theme, consider that it results from other elements. Look for a series of events and ideas that seem to be connected. Are there sets of circumstances that seem significant? What do they say about human life or values? Also keep in mind that there is not just one way to set forth a theme; readers’ statements of theme from the same work will vary. Although theme is sometimes difficult to state, you can start your prewriting notes by answering the questions in the following checklist.
1) Does a set of related events, decisions, or symbols seem noteworthy? What might they mean?
2) What do characters feel strongly about? What is important to them?
3) What values are revealed by their responses?
4) What happens that strengthens or weakens human character? Could a universal statement be made about this?
5) What other aspects of plot and character challenge, entertain, or disgust readers? What do all these seem to day about human life?
9. REVISING
Accuracy, reasonableness, and fairness are key qualities to aim for in revising the draft of an analytical paper. Scrutinize your draft and add tentative words, qualifying phrases, and textual evidence to support claims and inferences. The following checklist will help you to avoid going out on the proverbial limb.
1) Is the thesis of m analysis clear? What elements will be discussed in the paper?
2) Is there enough evidence to support my thesis?
3) Are my main points clearly related to the thesis?
4) Is the discussion organized in a clear, logical order?
5) How familiar will the audience e with the work? How much do I need to explain?
6) How does the tone of the analysis sound? Is it serious? Is it overly critical or overly favorable?
7) Do I include at least one significant example, (preferably more) to support each inference?
8) Are examples labeled correctly?
9) Has each inference been identified by a qualifier such as indicates, suggests, or another tentative term?
10) Do I explain how elements contribute to meaning?
11) Might I have overlooked any symbols or irony?
12) Have I identified the theme of the work?
10. WRITING ABOUT CHARACTER
Analyzing character takes tie and thought. Consider whether or not the character seems true to life. Start with the external aspects and go to the internal qualities. To discover personality traits, notice how the character treats other people. How does he or she speak and act? Modestly or arrogantly? Kindly or rudely? Thoughtfully or impulsively? What motivates the character? Motivation is a strong determinant of behavior. What does he or she seek? For example, Wilie Stark thirsts for political power, but attaining that power has a hidden price, an undesirable consequence:
Willie stark is a complex character, a curious blend of good and evil, with Nietzsche-like overtones. As Stark gains power, he becomes a superman whose reign is based on argumentum ad hominem, a blackmail, and the premise that all men have erred. Yet Stark has a curious code of honor; he never frames anybody. He believes framing is unnecessary; all he does is dig deeply until he finds something.
Although Stark manipulates people and abuses power, he finds something good of the people as he conceives it. He provides social services and allocates funds for a lavish hospital, which will be free to the poor.
Stark has
an unusual philosophy; “Goodness…You got to make it…And you got to make it out
of badness…Because there isn’t anything else to make it out of” (257). Although
this idea is reminiscent of Romans
To discuss a character, make an assertion or claim about the character’s role or personality. Then support this thesis with adequate examples and proof. You might examine how the character functions in the story. Is he the hero? Is she the heroine? Or does the character act as a foil or contrast for a major character? The questions in the following will help you to continue your analysis and start prewriting.
1) How and where does the character live?
2) What is significant about his or her appearance? Attire?
3) What does the character say that makes an impression?
4) What motivates the main character?
5) How does the character achieve desires and goals? What values are revealed here?
6) What do you notice about the characters and their relationships with each other? Do they change?
7) What similarities and differences do you see in the characters? What do these things imply?
8) Do the characters seem convincing and realistic? Why or why not?
9) What else do you notice?