Transcript Title
Writing a Literary Analysis
What is Literary Analysis?
• It’s literary • It’s an analysis • It’s- • An Argument!
• It may also involve research on and analysis of secondary sources
How is It “Literary”?
• Usually, a literary analysis will involve a discussion of a text with letters”
as writing
, thus the term literary, which means “having to do • This will involve the use of certain concepts that are very specifically associated with literature
Important Literary Concepts
•
The Basics
– Plot – Setting – Narration/point of view – Characterization – Symbol – Metaphor – Genre – Irony/ambiguity •
Other key concepts
– Historical context – Social, political, economic contexts – Ideology – Multiple voices – Various critical orientations – Literary theory
What is an Analysis?
• An analysis of a literary work may discuss: • How the various components of an individual work relate to each other • How two separate literary works deal with similar concepts or forms • How concepts and forms in literary works relate to larger aesthetic, political, social, economic, or religious contexts
How is Literary Analysis an Argument?
• When writing a literary analysis, you will focus on specific attribute(s) of the text(s). • When discussing these attributes, you will want to make sure that you are making a specific, arguable point (thesis) about these attributes.
• You will defend this point with reasons and evidence drawn from the text. (Much like a lawyer!)
Overview of Literary Analysis
• When writing a literary analysis: – Be familiar with literary terms – Analyze specific items – Make an a argument – Consult teacher or classmates for help when needed
THE INTRODUCTION
Two main purposes…
• attract the reader's attention • give an idea of the essay's focus (by way of the THESIS statement)
How to begin…
• Your first sentence should GRAB the reader • Some techniques include: – Providing background information – An intriguing example/fact – A provocative question (typically rhetorical) – A quotation
Grabbing the Reader
• • • • • • • • • • •
Quotation
: One that sums up the essay would be nice
Definition
: Use sparingly. Too many amateur writers use this method.
Question
: Ask a question in the introduction...and answer it in the body.
Problem
: Pose a problem in the introduction...and solve it in the body.
Statistics
: Make sure they're actual statistics and not something you made up on the way to the library.
Comparison
: Take something the reader is unfamiliar with and relate it to something they are familiar with.
Metaphor/Simile
: An even more effective comparison for making the complex seem simple.
Shocker
: Everybody likes surprises. Unfortunately, it's getting harder to shock people.
Summary
: A brief summary piques reader interest.
Anecdote
: A short humorous story relevant to the topic eases the reader into the material.
Expert opinion
Topeka : An expert gives you instant credibility with the reader. Make sure the expert is an actual expert and not your Uncle Fred from
What’s next?
• Provide a preview of what you’ll be discussing in your essay • This prepares the reader for the development of your ideas
The THESIS Statement
• Your thesis statement may come anywhere after the first sentence of your introduction, but it is often found toward the end • Your thesis is a concise statement that tells the reader the purpose of your essay • Should be CLEAR and OBVIOUS!
Attributes of a good thesis:
• It should propose an arguable point with which people could reasonably disagree • The statement takes a stand and justifies the discussion you will present • It is specific and focused. • It clearly asserts your own conclusion based on evidence.
• It provides the reader with a map to guide him/her through your work. • It
avoids
vague language (like "it seems").
• It
avoids
the first person. ("I believe," "In my opinion")
How Do I Support a Thesis Statement?
• Examples from the text: – Direct quotations – Summaries of scenes – Paraphrase • Other critics’ opinions • Historical and social context • Always remember to read carefully and highlight useful passages and quotes
Which is the Best Thesis Statement?
•
Moby-Dick
is about the problem of evil.
•
Moby-Dick
is boring and pointless.
•
Moby-Dick
is about a big, white whale.
• The use of “whiteness” in
Moby-Dick
illustrates the uncertainty about the meaning of life that Ishmael expresses throughout the novel.
• Now you try it… • Consider your essay choice for the novel
.
Start to formulate your thesis statement.
• It is okay to use words from the essay topic in your thesis.
Which type of Introduction?
“The Yellow Wallpaper,” written by Charlotte Perkins Gilman, is a story of a young depressed woman, traveling to the country with her husband, so that she can be away from writing, which seems to have a bad impact on her psychological condition. Sandra Gilbert and Susan Gubar call it ”a striking story of female confinement and escape, a paradigmatic tale which (like Jane Eyre) seems to tell the story that all literary women would tell if they could speak their ‘speechless woe’” (874). In this story theme and point of view interlace and work together to create an intense description of an almost prison-like prescription for overcoming depression. She struggles with male oppression, because she is told by her husband and her brother many things about her own health that she disagrees with. She strives for independence, and she wants to break free from the bondages of that oppression. The story is written from the character’s point of view in a form resembling journal entries, which describe her stay in the house. The house itself is an old mansion, and the yellow wallpaper in the character’s bedroom seems to be really disturbing. She believes that there is a woman locked behind bars living in the pattern of that wallpaper. She spends a lot of time trying to figure it out, and in the end she completely breaks away even from her own mind.
Which type of Introduction?
To be in conflict with traditional society’s beliefs is difficult for many to do; however, author Kate Chopin fights that battle to bring readers some of the most thought provoking literature that a person can get their hands on. Using to her advantage conventions of narrative stories such as character development, plot control, and irony, she is able to bring the reader into a world of emotions that society would scoff at. Kate Chopin demonstrates her incredible literary talent in “The Story of an Hour” by interconnecting the plot and character development, with her use of thought-provoking vocabulary and narrative irony.
Which type of Introduction?
One of the sweet comforts in life is curling up in a favorite chair with a short story that will carry us away from our everyday lives for an hour or two. On rare occasions, we find a tale that mirrors real life in such a way that we are strangely comforted by the normalcy reflected in the words. A perfect example of a story about ordinary life that will soothe the soul in search for some insight on understanding human behavior is Anton Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Little Dog.” This piece is definitive of the literary period of realism during the late nineteenth century that was influenced by this brilliant writer and others such as Guy de Maupassant and Kate Chopin. This style of writing has such a mass appeal because the “characters in [these] novels (and in short stories) wear recognizable social masks and reflect an everyday reality” (Charters 997). In his simple anecdote of a chance meeting between a middle-aged, chauvinistic, repeat offender adulterer, unhappily married man, and a young, naïve, in search-of-something-new, married woman, Chekhov paints a picture that gives a startling representation of how these two characters are influenced by the settings in which their chronicle takes place, especially with the budding of their relationship.