SKELLIG

Literary Analysis EssayAdvice

Your Introduction

Interest statement: School can sometimes do more harm than good.

Introduce author and title Skellig by David Almond

Summary

• Michael spends many days absent from school

• He makes friends with Mina who is homeschooled.

• He learns about beauty, creativity and healing in the world from his experiences.

• They discover a creature and learn how to help it.

• He learns how to help his baby sister.

Thesis The most important lessons in life are those learned outside the classroom.

Your Introduction

Sometimes school can do more harm than good. This is one of the important ideas that runs throughout David Almond’s Skellig. In the novel, the main character, Michael, misses many days of school because of his baby sister’s illness. While away from school, he becomes close friends with his neighbor, Mina, who shows him that beauty, creativity and healing are an integral part of life outside the confines of the school walls. Along the way, they discover a despondent creature and learn how to help it. Through the experience, Michael discovers how to save his baby sister. Skellig presents the theme that the most important lessons in life are those learned outside the classroom through a variety of symbols and characters.

Your Thesis

Do not say something like: The theme of the text is hope. The theme is love.

Tell us what you think the text is saying about hope or love or death or family or whatever.

EXAMPLE:One of the major themes of Skellig is that

hope can overcome the most dire of situations.

Skellig emphasizes that nurturing others can bring about major changes.

Body Paragraphs

Each Body Paragraph should support your thesis!

Body paragraphs should use the PEE structure

Example Body Paragraph

Thesis: Michael struggles emotionally in the novel.

When he speaks with adults, Michael is portrayed as a lonely and depressed young man. His isolation is so obvious that it is recognized by his teacher, Mrs. Dando, who tries, although in vain, to cheer him up when “. . .took a fruit gum out of her pocket and held it out to [him]. A fruit gum. It was what she gave the new kids when they were sad or something” (12). In this quotation, David Almond introduces the minor character of Mrs. Dando to demonstrate the visibility of Michael’s loneliness and unhappiness. The fact that she gives Michael a fruit gum shows us that she is a kind person who is worried about him. On the other hand, because this novel is narrated in first-person, through Michael’s character, we can clearly see that he finds this gesture shallow and meaningless. His repetition of “a fruit gum” seems to imply a mocking tone and his recognition that she gives fruit gums to “new kids” who are “sad or something” shows that he does not appreciate what she is doing, because it does not help him deal with his problems. What Michael is actually seeking is a close friend that he can talk to about the serious problems involving his sister and family.

Example Body Paragraph

Thesis: The diamond necklace, the centerpiece of the story, is shown by the author to symbolize the idea that ambition can lead to doom.

If you dive deeper into the story, however, the diamond necklace can also represent more ideas, such as if you are too greedy, vain or ambitious, it could lead to your doom. Madame Loisel is very vain, believing that she is “born for every delicacy and luxury” and feels that “she was made for” beautiful jewels and clothes. She has a greed for praise, wishing eagerly to charm and be sought after. Because of all those traits, she borrows the necklace from Madame Forestier for the party to satisfy her ambitions and greed. However, when she goes home, she loses the necklace and has to borrow massive amounts of cash to buy a replacement. That dooms her and her husband’s lives as they have to work hard and live in “abject poverty” for ten years to pay back the debt. Therefore, the diamond necklace can also indirectly symbolize the idea of ambition leading to doom because of what happened to Madame Loisel.