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Literary Analysis

What Is Literary Analysis?

It’s literary.It’s an analysis.It’s----an argument that analyzes literature!

“Literary”?

Usually, a literary analysis will involve a discussion of a text as writing, thus the term literary, which means “having to do with letters.”

This will involve the use of certain concepts that are very specifically associated with literature.

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.

Overview of Literary Analysis

When writing a literary analysis:Be familiar with literary

terms.Analyze specific items.Make an a argument.Consult instructors and

tutors for help when needed.

Important Literary Concepts

Literary Theory?

There are different “lenses” someone can use to look at a piece of art, literature, or even culture.

Each school of theory, or “school of criticism,” has certain assumptions that can impact meaning.

Examples of Schools of Literary Criticism

Feminist criticismMarxist criticismPsychoanalytic criticismNew criticism/structuralismPostcolonialismModernismPostmodernismGender/queer criticism

What Goes Into a Literary Analysis?

Introduction Author’s name, title of piece Thesis

Analysis of specific literary tools (typically three) Text evidence Commentary that explains how the quotes

are used/what makes them valuableConclusion

Restatement of thesis Summary of evidence Ending statement

Introduction

Author’s name and title of the textOne or two sentences paraphrasing the

story and leading up to the thesisThesisThree literary tools you’ll be using to

support your argument

Thesis Statement

Can also be known as “claim” or “argument”This is the driving force behind your paperYour thesis statement should be:

Debatable A fresh idea/opinion supported by evidence from

the text Not immediately obvious Suggesting a particular way of looking at the text

Your thesis statement should not be: A statement of fact Unsupportable An overfamiliar cliché

Which is the Best Thesis Statement?

Moby-Dick is about the problem of evil.

Moby-Dick is boring and pointless.

The use of “whiteness” in Moby-Dick illustrates the uncertainty about the meaning of life that Ishmael expresses throughout the novel.

Moby-Dick is about a big, white whale.

Example Introduction 1

The first paragraph of Alberto Alvaro Rios’ short story “The Secret Lion” presents a twelve-year-old boy’s view of growing up –everything changes. As the narrator informs the reader, when the magician pulls a tablecloth out from under a pile of dishes, children are amazed at the “stay-the-same part,” while adults focus only on the tablecloth itself (42). Adults have the benefit of experience and know the trick will work as long as the technique is correct. When people “grow up,” they gain this experience and knowledge but lose their innocence and sense of wonder. In other words, the price paid for growing up is a permanent state of loss. This tradeoff is central to “The Secret Lion.” The key symbols in the story reinforce its main theme: change is inevitable and always accompanied by a sense of loss.

Example Introduction 2

The setting of John Updike’s story “A & P” is crucial to the reader’s understanding of Sammy’s decision to quit his job. Even though Sammy knows that his quitting will make life more difficult for him, he instinctively insists upon rejecting what the A & P represents in the story. When he rings up a “No Sale” and “saunter(s)” out of the store, Sammy leaves behind not only a job but the rigid state of mind associated with the A & P. Although Sammy is the central character in the story, Updike seems to invest as much effort in describing the setting as he does Sammy. The title, after all, is not “Youthful Rebellion” or “Sammy Quits,” but “A & P.” The setting is the antagonist of the story and plays a role that is as important as Sammy’s.

How Do I Support a Thesis Statement?

Examples from the text: Direct quotations Summaries of scenes Paraphrased pieces of the text

Historical and social context/schools of literary criticism

Schaffer It!

The Jane Schaffer paragraph is a specific structure used to write paragraphs

Ratio of 1:2 – for every piece of evidence, you should have two sentences of commentary

The Schaffer Paragraph

Topic Sentence Detail (evidence) Commentary Commentary Detail (evidence) Commentary Commentary Concluding sentence

Example

Green: CommentaryRed: Evidence

The narrator shows how cruel and unfeeling he is when he meets Sonny’s friend on the street. Adopting a sarcastic tone, the narrator questions the friend’s motives: “You come all the way down here to just tell me about Sonny?” We can see in this tone that the narrator doubts that the friend truly cares for Sonny. The narrator also swears at the friend, saying, “You’re pretty goddamn smart, I bet,” and offers him no sympathy for his “sad story,” declaring that he wishes the friend had a pistol so he could kill himself (49).

Example, cont.

These reactions to the friend show the narrator’s anger at the situation Sonny is in, but also convey a stark lack of compassion for those less fortunate than himself. In fact, the narrator’s anger seems to fuel his lack of compassion. In the flashback scene, we find out that the narrator has been angry with Sonny before, for when the narrator visits Sonny in his Greenwich Village apartment, he tells Sonny that he “might just as well be dead as live the way he was living” (62). These scenes depict the narrator’s warped personality; his anger and fear have made him cruel, almost sadistic.

How do I add commentary?

If focusing on diction, consider: what is the connotation? How does the word more accurately reflect the author’s message?

What is not stated in the quote, but implied?How might this connect to (foreshadow, reflect

on, etc.) another passage?Analyze the cause and effect relationshipsAnalyze how characters interact with one

another when speakingHow does it connect directly to the author’s

message?

In Conclusion

Synthesize, don’t summarize! Show your reader how everything you’ve used combines to prove your argument – don’t just restate everything you already did.

Don’t bring in new ideas.Make a graceful exit: don’t be

aggressive, or leave your reader hanging.

Explain why your argument is essential to looking at this specific text.