ETI 309Introduction to Contemporary Western Literature

Writing a Literary Analysis

What is Literary Analysis?

• Literary analysis is an argument about a literary work; it involves writing persuasively about a clear, debatable thesis.

• An analysis explains what a work of literature means, and how it means it; it is an articulation and a defense of an interpretation which shows how the resources of literature are used to create the meaningfulness of the text.

What is Literary 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

Main Reasons for Analyzing Literature • a deeper understanding and a fuller appreciation of the work

and literature in general

• a more keen and powerful use of the tools of meaning since literature uses language, images, and the essential processes of meaning-making

• an awareness of the cultural profile of a work and its ideological aspects

• through close reading and reflection, an understanding of the way ideas and feelings are talked about in different cultures or in different times

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

How is a literary analysis an argument?

• When writing a literary analysis, focus on specific attribute(s) of the text(s).

• When discussing these attributes, make sure that you are making a specific, arguable point (thesis) about these attributes.

• Defend this point with reasons and evidence drawn from the text. (Much like a lawyer!)

The Thesis Statement • The thesis statement controls the entire composition; a focused and

concise thesis statement will give you a greater chance of producing writing that clearly communicates your argument.

• A formula for the most basic analysis thesis may be as follows:

• In (title of short story/poem/novel/play), (author's name) uses (1st literary device), (2nd literary device), and (3rd literary device) to (show/criticize/explain/etc.) (some aspect of human nature).

– In "If you Were Coming in the Fall," Emily Dickinson uses simile, diction, and syntax to describe how people wait, hoping to fall in love.

– In The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Mark Twain uses the river journey to illustrate Huck's increasing awareness of the moral hypocrisy in the "civilized" South.

The Thesis Statement• Your thesis statement should be specific, detailed (to reveals your

perspective), and debatable. Decide if the following thesis statements are good: – 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 Herman Melville’s Moby-Dick illustrates the

uncertainty about the meaning of life that Ishmael expresses throughout the novel.

– Shakespeare's Hamlet is a play about a young man who seeks revenge. – Hamlet experiences internal conflict because he is in love with his

mother.– Stephen King updates the age-old story of Scheherazade to further his

plot in Misery.

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!

What is a secondary source?

• A book or article that discusses the text you are discussing

• A book or article that discusses a theory related to the argument you are making

• A book or article that discusses the social and historical context of the text you are discussing

Integrating secondary sources

• When you use secondary sources, be sure to show how they relate to your thesis

• Don’t overuse any one secondary source, or for that matter, secondary sources in general

• Remember that this is your paper, your argument—the secondary sources are just helping you out

• Never, never, never plagiarize!

Overview of Literary Analysis

• When writing a literary analysis:

– Be familiar with literary terms

– Analyze specific items

– Make an argument

– Make appropriate use of secondary sources

Basic OutlineI. Introduction

– Give the name of the author and work you will be discussing in this opening sentence, along with relevant background information,

– State your thesis (exactly what you intend to prove) in one sentence; express your theoretical framework and mention all the proofs you will be using in the body of the essay to support your central idea.

II. Body– Provide a brief plot summary, and discuss the other elements of fiction– Write at least one paragraph for each of the proofs mentioned in the

thesis. – Deal with each in the order in which they are mentioned in the thesis

statement. – You may write as many paragraphs as you wish on each point.

III. Conclusion– Restate your thesis– Summarize your main arguments– Finish with a general statement

Critical Analysis of PoetryWhile different poems call on different aspects of poetry and different ways of reading, a general process might be as follows:

1. Examine the title 2. Read the poem for the major indicators of its meaning -- what aspects of setting, of topic, of voice (speaker) seem to dominate/direct your reading? 3. Read the ending of the poem -- decide where it 'gets to' 4. Divide the poem into parts: try to understand its organization (is there a reversal, a climax, a sequence of some kind, sets of oppositions?) 5. Pay attention to the tone of the poem. 6. Note how the various elements of the poetry work to create its meaning.

Critical Analysis of Fiction• Genre/tradition• Plot (arrangement/structuring of the action)• Theme (the central idea on which the story is

based)• Point of view (the source and scope of the

narrative voice)• Characters• Setting• The use of figurative language and literary

techniques

Representation of reality • Any narrative is presented through the symbols and

codes of human meaning and communication systems so – fiction cannot represent reality directly, – different forms of narrative represent different aspects of

reality, and represent reality in different ways.

• A narrative might be very concrete and adhere closely to time and place, representing every-day events

• On the other hand, it may represent psychological or moral or spiritual aspects through symbols, characters used representatively or symbolically, improbable events, and other devices.

Representation of reality • Remember that all narrative requires selection (and

exclusion!) • And it requires devices to put the selected elements of

experience in meaningful relation to each other (key elements such as coincidence, parallels and opposites, repetitions).

World-view • A narrative represents experience in some way and uses

cultural codes and language to do so; therefore, it inevitably should be read for its structure of values, for its understanding of the world, or world-view, and for its ideological assumptions, what is assumed to be natural and proper.

• Every narrative communication makes claims, often implicitly, about the nature of the world as the narrator and his or her cultural traditions understand it to be.

• A careful reader of fiction will be aware of the shape of the world that the fiction projects, the structure of values that underlie the fiction and the significances of the selections and exclusions of the narrative in representing human experience.

Sources

• The Purdue University Writing Labhttp://owl.english.purdue.edu

• Brock University, Department of English Language and Literaturehttp://www.brocku.ca/english/

ETI 309—Introduction to Contemporary Western

Literature

Writing Literary Analysis II: Documenting Sources

in APA Format

Basic Conventions• Using the ideas of others for support or clarification of your own

ideas is a legitimate practice in academic writing. You can do this through paraphrasing, summarizing, and quoting from sources.

– Paraphrasing means rewriting parts of the original text in your own words in order to make them fit better with your own writing. A good paraphrase should be an accurate, thorough restatement of the original text in your own words.

– You can paraphrase by changing the grammatical structures of sentences (changing the voice, sentence structure, etc.) and/or by replacing some words with others that have similar meanings (using synonyms, alternative word forms, etc.)

Basic ConventionsOriginal:

“Although the artist encountered many difficulties in his life, he became extremely well known and successful.”

• Possible paraphrases:*The painter was a popular success despite experiencing many problems during his lifetime.*The artist had many problems during his lifetime; nonetheless, he experienced considerable recognition and success.*Although he had experienced many hardships, the artist had a successful and distinguished career.

*The painter achieved fame and success, his many problems notwithstanding.

Basic Conventions• Summarizing: A summary is a general restatement of the main idea of

a passage in your own words. It highlights the major points and tries to give the essence of a source in as few words as possible.

• In other words, summarizing gives the “gist” of a chosen passage, using your own words and not the author’s.

• A summary is similar to a paraphrase except that a summary is shorter. – When you summarize, you compress or condense large amounts

of information into the fewest possible sentences.– In order to do this, you include only the main points and main

supporting points, leaving out the details. – However, just as when you paraphrase, you must not change the

meaning of the original.

Original text“Since the time of Descartes, it is estimated that no fewer than five hundred attempts have been made to create artificial languages for international use. The most successful by far has been Esperanto, a language constructed around the end of the nineteenth century by Dr. Zamenhof of Poland. Esperanto is a language that is extremely easy to learn and speak, with its words drawn mainly from English, German, the Romance languages, Latin and Greek.”

Paraphrased textSince the era of Descartes, approximately five hundred artificial languages have been created for international communication. Esperanto, a language invented around the end of the nineteenth century in Poland by a man named Dr. Zamenhof, has been the most successful. Esperanto is very easy to learn and speak. Its vocabulary comes mainly from English, German, the Romance languages, Latin and Greek.

Summarized textRoughly five hundred attempts have been made to create artificial languages since Descartes. Esperanto, the most successful, was devised by Dr. Zamenhof of Poland; which is very easy to learn and speak.

Basic Conventions– Quoting: If you use more than three contiguous words from another

author, you need to use quotation marks. – Quoted material should be used sparingly (max. of 10% of your paper

should be devoted to quotations). They should be used to support a point you are making, not to fill up space!

– Don't simply drop quotations into your paper and leave it to the reader to make connections. Let the reader know why you’re offerening the quotation (spend as much space setting up a quotation as the length of the quotation itself). Integrating a quotation into your text usually involves two elements:

• A signal that a quotation is coming—generally the author's name and/or a reference to the work.

• An assertion that indicates the relationship of the quotation to your text.

Basic Conventions

• Incorporate short direct prose quotations into the text of your paper and enclose them in double quotation marks: – According to Jonathan Clarke, "Professional diplomats

often say that trying to think diplomatically about foreign policy is a waste of time."

• Begin longer quotations (in the APA format, 40 words/five lines or more) on a new line and indent the entire quotation (i.e. put in block form), with no quotation marks at beginning or end.

Basic Conventions• When you are quoting only a portion of the whole, use ellipsis

points (. . .) to indicate an omission within a quotation.

• When you are adding clarification, comment, or correction within quotations, use square brackets [ ] to add your own clarification, comment, or correction.

• Quotations must be exactly as the authors produced them. Any author misspellings should be followed by [sic] (meaning "so" or "thus") to indicate that a mistake is in the source you’re quoting and is not your own.

• When you paraphrase, summarize, and quote, you must be careful to provide proper credit in order to avoid plagiarism.

Basic Conventions• Plagiarism: When ideas from others are used, the source of these

ideas should cited in your writing. If you present others’ ideas as your own, you plagiarize, which is a serious academic offense.

• All of the following are considered plagiarism:– turning in someone else’s work as your own,– copying words or ideas from someone else without giving

credit,– failing to put a quotation in quotation marks,– giving incorrect information about the source of a quotation,– changing words but copying the sentence structure of a source

without giving credit,– copying so many words or ideas from a source that it makes

up the majority of your work, whether you give credit or not.

Synthesizing• Synthesis: Seeing the differences and similarities among sources,

forging relationships for your own purpose.

• When you synthesize, you infer connections between one writer’s ideas and another’s. You then use these connections to support your own ideas. Once you finish, you create something different from what you started with: you create new knowledge

• Your ability to write syntheses depends on your ability to infer relationships among sources—essays, articles, fiction, and also non-written sources such as lectures, interviews, observations.

• In an academic synthesis, you need to display the relationships that you have inferred among separate sources and incorporate these sources into your documented essays.

Documenting Sources• In writing a research paper, you use information and ideas from other

sources. Whenever you directly quote, summarize, or paraphrase another person's thoughts and ideas, or use facts and statistics that are not commonly known or believed, you must properly acknowledge your source.

• There are different documentation styles such as MLA (Modern Language Association), APA (American Psychological Association) to cite your sources.

• The APA style is the one commonly used in social sciences.

• In the APA documentation style, parenthetical citations within the text refer the reader to a list of sources at the end of the text (References).

In-text Citations1. Author not named in your text

One critic of Milgram’s experiments insisted that the subjects “should have been fully informed of the possible effects on them” (Baumrind, 1988, p.34).

2. Author named in your textGive the year of publication in parentheses immediately after the author's name.

Milstein (1990) believes that such animals as the grizzly bear, Dall sheep and golden eagle are in danger if measures are not taken to prevent poaching in our national parks (p. 49).

In-text Citations3. A work with two authors

When given in the text, two authors' names connected by and. In a parenthetical citation, they are connected by an ampersand (&).

According to Blumberg and Gottlieb (1989), the resurgence of recycling in the 1980’s can be traced to the confrontations between incineration and landfill projects.

The resurgence of recycling in the 1980’s can be traced to the confrontations between incineration and landfill projects (Blumberg & Gottlieb, 1989).

In-text Citations4. A work with three to five authors Give all authors' last names in a signal phrase or parentheses in your first citation only; use an ampersand (&) instead of and in the parenthetical citation. Clark, Escholz, and Rosa (1994) claim that liberation begins with the awareness that we all are to some degree prisoners of our language.

Liberation begins with the awareness that we all are to some degree prisoners of our language (Clark, Escholz, & Rosa, 1994).

In subsequent citations, use only the first author's name-and et al. (Latin for “and others”).

Clark et al. (1994) maintain that language is one of humankind's greatest achievements and most important resources.

In-text Citations5. Electronic sourcesIf possible, cite an electronic document the same as any other document by using the author-date style.Kenneth (2000) explained...

Unknown Author and Unknown Date: If no author or date is given, use the title in your signal phrase or the first word or two of the title in the parentheses and use the abbreviation "n.d." (for "no date").Another study of students and research decisions discovered that students succeeded with tutoring ("Tutoring Success," n.d.).

References1. A book with one author

Katznelson, I. (1992). Marxism and the city. New York: Oxford University Press.  

2. A book with two or more authorsDavison, J., & Davison, L. (1994). To make a house a home: Four generations of American women and the houses they lived in. New York: Random House.

3. A book with an editorCohen, C. B. (Ed.). (1988). Casebook on the termination of life sustaining treatment and care of the dying. Bloomington, IN: Indiana University Press.

4. A book with an edition other than firstPolsby, N. W., & Wildavsky, A. (1991). Presidential elections: Contemporary strategies of American electoral politics (2nd ed.). New York: Free Press.

References5. Two or more works by the same author

When listing two or more works by the same author, arrange them chronologically by year of publication, starting with the one published earliest. Repeat the author's name including any initials for all entries. If two or more works by the same author were published in the same year, use lowercase letters to differentiate them: (1992a), (1992b), and (1992c).

Sheely, G. (1988). Character: America's search for leadership. New York: William Morrow. Sheely, G. (1992a). The silent passage: Menopause. New York: Random House. Sheely, G. (1992b). Passages 2000: The revolution of second adulthood. New York: Random House.

References6. Article in a magazine

Como, J. (1995, April 17). Hero storyteller. National Review, 47-53.

7. An article in a newspaperHaveman, J. (1995, April 20). Indian tribes resist idea of state grants. The Washington Post, pp. B1, B6

• In listing electronic sources in references, your goal is to both credit the author and enable a reader to retrieve the source, which means you need to include a complete retrieval path.

• 8. An article in an online journalWissink, J. A. (2004). Techniques of smoking cessation among teens and adults. Adolescent Medicine, 2. Retrieved August 16, 2005, from http://www.easu.edu/AdolescentMedicine/2-Wissink.html

References9. A journal article retrieved from an electronic database

Wilkins, J. M. (1999). The myths of the only child. Psychology Update, 11(1), 16-23. Retrieved December 20, 2005, from ProQuest Direct Database.

10. An independent document on the WebAnderson, D. (2005, May 1). Social construction. Retrieved August 6, 2005, from http://www.sites.unc.edu/~daniel/social_construction

Revising your draftFirst, read your paper for any content errors.

Checklist for content1. Is my thesis statement concise and clear?2. Did I follow my outline? Did I miss anything?3. Are my arguments presented in a logical sequence?4. Are all sources properly cited to ensure that I am not plagiarizing?5. Have I proved my thesis with strong supporting arguments?6. Have I made my intentions and points clear in the essay?7. Did I leave a sense of completion for my reader(s) at the end of the paper?

Revising your draftChecklist for mechanics1. Did I begin each paragraph with a proper topic sentence?2. Have I supported my arguments with documented proof or examples?3. Any run-on or unfinished sentences?4. Any unnecessary or repetitious words?5. Varying lengths of sentences?6. Does one paragraph or idea flow smoothly into the next?7. Any spelling or grammatical errors?8. Quotes accurate in source, spelling, and punctuation? 9. Are all my citations accurate and in correct format?10. Did I avoid using contractions? Use "cannot" instead of "can't", "do not" instead of "don't"?11. Did I avoid using phrases such as "I think", "I guess", "I suppose"