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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 pages
 MLA 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
Climax
Complication
Exposition
Denouement*
* Pronounced as “day-noo-MAWN”, (It’s French)
noun: 1. The final resolution of the main
complication of a literary or dramatic work.
a.k.a. “Resolution”
Conflicts


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
Man vs. Man
Man vs. Self
Man vs. Environment
Man vs. God
The essence of plot is the existence of
conflict.
Conflict Makes Plot
 What 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

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





Time of day
Amount of light
Flora and fauna
Sounds
Weather
Clothing
Smells
Descriptions
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 View
Ask “Who tells the story?”
 First person narrator
 Objective (Dramatic
narrator)
 Limited omniscient
narrator
 Omniscient 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:



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Feminist criticism
Historical (biographical) criticism
Jungian (Archetypal) criticism
Freudian (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 biographical
 Born 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 selfesteem throughout her childhood.
More biographical
 She 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 selfsufficiency, 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
Themes: the big ideas found within
a work.
 The Meaning of Heritage
 The Divisive Power of
Education
 Modern Culture vs.
Traditional Culture
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 Eyesight
 Naming 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/shortstories/everyday-use/