Transcript Examples of Quotes for Reading Project Ind Reading - Quotes Analysis.pptx

KEY QUOTATIONS & ANALYSIS
Key Quotations and Analysis of the Quotes:
-This is an opportunity to practice your analysis
of textual evidence. Choose five quotations
that stand out to you from the book. For each
quotation, you must:
KEY QUOTATIONS & ANALYSIS
-Fully introduce the quote, providing any relevant context
and explaining its place in the story
- Write the full quote, including author and page number
in MLA format
- Analyze the quote and its importance to the novel. Why
did you choose it? What deeper meaning does it
have? What connections does this quote have to
major themes of the novel? This aspect of the
assignment should be at least three sentences long,
and probably more to fully analyze the quote.
NO SUMMARIES!
DO NOT MERELY SUMMARIZE WHAT THE
QUOTE SAYS. YOU MUST ANALYZE THE
QUOTE AND EXPLAIN ITS IMPORTANCE,
RELEVANCE, AND CONNECTION TO OTHER
IDEAS
EXAMPLE 1
From To Kill a Mockingbird:
After Tom Robinson is found guilty at his trial, Jem is upset about the verdict
and the racism he witnessed. Atticus and Aunt Alexandra are discussing
this racism, which Atticus says is “just as much Maycomb County as
missionary teas” (Lee 212). By comparing racism to missionary teas,
which are a regular institution among the ladies in town, he is saying
that prejudice is simply ingrained in the lives of the townspeople. Lee is
commenting about how racism is a disease that pollutes the heart and
mind, and much like a disease, most of the people in town didn’t “catch”
it on purpose. Atticus realizes that the only way to reverse this is
continue to take “baby steps,” such as honorably defend an African
American in a court of law.
EXAMPLE 2
From Things Fall Apart:
In chapter 2, Achebe is describing Okonkwo, the protagonist of the novel. He explains
that “…his whole life was dominated by fear, the fear of failure and of weakness....
Okonkwo’s fear was greater than these. It was not external, but lay deep within
himself. It was the fear of himself, lest he should be found to resemble his father.
Even as a little boy he had resented his father’s failure and weakness, and even
now he still remembered how he had suffered when a playmate had told him that
his father was agbala. That was how Okonkwo first came to know that agbala was
not only another name for a woman, it could also mean a man who had taken no
title” (Achebe 13). This quote follows extensive description of Okonkwo’s
manliness and prominence in the village, and shows that despite this, he has a
strong fear of being perceived as weak and feminine. This is a result of his
father’s failure, and now the only thing Okonkwo fears is himself. This fear is
manifested later in the novel, when he kills his adopted son, Ikemefuna, out of
fear of being seen as weak. Fear is a powerful motivator in the novel; Okonkwo
fears this, Ekwefi fears losing her daughter, Nwoye fears Okonkwo, and this fear
motivates each character to take extreme actions.
EXAMPLE 3
From Antigone
While making his decision about what to do with Antigone now that she’s
caught, Creon says, “no woman’s going to govern me – no, no – not
while I’m still alive” (line 601-602). This stands out to me because it’s
not the first time Creon has indicated a prejudice against women. As I
was reading the story, I was conflicted about whether Creon is so
stubborn about his edict because he wants to appear strong as a king,
or because it was a woman who defied it. If Antigone were Polyneices’
brother, would Creon have been so spiteful? I don’t think so –
Sophocles purposefully made Antigone the title character and one who
broke the rule, and I think it’s partially to examine women’s role in Greek
society. Not only does the play examine the importance of “man’s” law
vs. the law of the gods, it is also looking at the power and place of men
vs. women in Greek culture.