Writing Essays About Literature
Just a few reminders…
First of all…
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Get used to the idea that an essay is a
communication device with a very
specific goal
Without a clear and unshakeable
foundation, you risk the total,
catastrophic collapse of your argument
Structure and organization are therefore
key components of any essay
This is why
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We are going to eliminate the issue of structure and
organization entirely by using the dreaded 5
paragraph method
I know, I am destroying your ability to express
yourself creatively
I am also preventing you from using your own mental
powers to build an organic argument
I expect you to compromise your identity in
submitting to my jackbooted, Fascist tactics
I have destroyed your free, wild, creative soul
oh well
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At least you will write an essay that allows you to create and
support a clear, precise, and powerful argument because the
infrastructure to support it is already in place
In other words, I am removing the concern for form from the
equation so that we can focus on content
I do this after many, many years of reading essays that fail
utterly in the realm of form
Believe me, we are all better off
Obviously an elegantly crafted, beautifully written essay is the
goal, but let us resolve to be proficient before we worry about
being fabulous.
Expend your creative indignation on a more worthy cause
Think of it this way
The goal is this…
But the journey is this…
And while we are on the subject…
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Let’s get rid of the idea right now that there is no
“one right way” to write an essay
Of course there is
The right way to write an essay is the way that
communicates an idea clearly
Anything else is the wrong way. If your creativity, or
your personal voice, or your identity as a writer gets
in the way of that, then it needs to go.
Writing isn’t for the faint of heart.
You and Your Thesis Statement
Your thesis statement should be simple, clear, and direct.
You are not making your argument in your thesis, you are
stating it.
Cats make the best pets because they are funny,
smart, and adventurous.
Your topic sentences should refer directly to the language of your thesis in
order to maintain the structure and focus of the argument.
Topic sentence #1:
Cats make the best pets because they are funny.
Topic sentence #2:
Cats make the best pets because they are smart.
Topic sentence #3:
Cats make the best pets because they are adventurous.
Good clear topic sentences will keep you on track and allow you to provide specific
details and explanations that support your topic sentence, thereby supporting your
thesis.
Cats make the best pets because they are funny. My cat has hosted Saturday
Night Live 3 times. She is often asked to write jokes for major political
speeches and at every party you can find the guests crowded around her
laughing, even when she is in the litter box.
Cats make the best pets because they are smart. My cat got a 2400 on the
SATs. She was accepted into Harvard Medical School but didn’t go
because she thought it “wasn’t intellectual enough.” Although she doesn’t
have much occasion to use them, she can speak wolverine and zebra, as
well as dog and parakeet.
Cats make the best pets because they are adventurous. My cat has
summited Mt. Everest 4 times, twice without oxygen. She is always trying
to get me to swim with the sharks in the Great Barrier Reef, and whenever
there is a flash flood warning, she stands at the window watching the rain.
Submitting to the discipline of a strong thesis
statement and topic sentences will ensure
that your argument stays on track and makes
the point you want to make.
This is also the best way to avoid the tar pit of
PLOT SUMMARY, in which you tell me what
happened without telling me why you are
telling me what happened.
Examples of using the language of the
thesis in the topic sentences
In The Kite Runner by Khaled Hosseini, the character of Amir proves that you have
to acknowledge the mistakes of the past, confront them, and refuse to allow
them to define the future in order to find a “way to be good again.”
Topic Sentence#1:
The character of Amir proves that you have to acknowledge the mistakes of the
past in order to find “a way to be good again.”
Topic Sentence#2:
The character of Amir proves that you have to confront the mistakes of the past in
order to find “a way to be good again.”
Topic Sentence#3:
The character of Amir shows that you have to refuse to allow the mistakes of the
past to define the future in order to “find a way to be good again.”
Providing Support for a Topic Sentence:
Amir’s inability to face the truth of his childhood betrayal of Hassan has consequences that
persist until he finally finds a way to confront his failing and “to be good again.”
Supporting Detail #1
For example, Amir harbors a great deal of guilt for the way he denigrated and mistreated
Hassan as a child, and he would rather forget about Hassan than acknowledge what he did.
Commentary
This shows that Amir’s past is a defining force in his adult life. He has tried quietly to atone for his childhood self
by serving his father faithfully in their new life in America, but he can never really recover until he deals openly
and honestly with the choices that he made.
Supporting Detail #2
In addition. Amir clearly carries with him the memory of the horrific failure to intervene in or
report the brutal rape of Hassan, and he feels unworthy of love as a result of the moral
weakness he displayed.
Commentary
This shows that his ability to grow and develop as a man is stunted by the shame and guilt he
feels from his past. Until he faces his behavior and acknowledges his moral failing, instead of
hiding it from himself and others, he will remain emotionally weak and damaged, as will his
relationship with Soraya.
Supporting Detail #3
Finally, through the realization that Rahim Khan knows what he did and loves him any way, Amir finds the
strength to take responsibility and to move towards restitution by caring for Sohrab.
Commentary
This explains how the novel’s theme of reconciliation, or finding “a way to be good again” is an interior process
that begins with self forgiveness. Amir must learn to forgive himself for his own weaknesses as an insecure
child in order to become the strong, caring man he is capable of being for himself and for others. He can not
reach out to rescue Sohrab until he has first rescued himself from the past.
Providing Support for a Topic Sentence:
In order to atone for the guilt caused by his passivity in the past, Amir
proactively performs acts of intentional kindness designed to improve his selfconcept.
Supporting Detail #1
For example, he deliberately leaves money for the family of the taxi driver without any expectation of being
thanked for it.
Commentary
This proves that he is trying to actively re-gain the self-respect he lost when he sabotaged Hassan by both
passively failing to protect him and by actively injuring him. It is a small gesture, but a highly symbolic one that
reflects the way in which he banished Hassan from the love of his own father by framing him for theft. As an
adult Amir knows he cannot take back what he did, but he can take small steps to try to make up for it.
Supporting Detail #2
In addition, Amir agrees to travel back to Pakistan, and eventually Afghanistan, to rescue Sohrab.
Commentary
This shows that he is trying to atone for his abandonment of Hassan by rescuing his son. By replacing
cowardice with courage in the narrative, Amir is hopeful that he will replace self-disgust with self-respect in his
own understanding of himself.
Supporting Detail #3
Finally and most significantly, Amir finally fights Assef in order to protect Sohrab.
Commentary
This explains how he has gained the strength to finally take the action he should have taken many years ago.
Although he cannot ever make right what was done to Hassan, and he can not ever really hope to win the fight
with Assef, he can feel the triumph of taking the moral course and the proper action. This is why his bruises
feel better to him than the winning kite did so many years ago.
Examples of PLOT SUMMARY instead
of Analysis
Thesis Statement (that ends up limiting your ability to do much beyond summarizing the
plot):
Amir consistently mocked Hassan and failed to protect him, which bothered him later in
life and caused him to seek redemption by caring for Sohrab.
Topic Sentence #1
When they were children, Amir was never a good friend to Hassan.
Detail:
Amir didn’t think Hassan was equal to him.
Commentary:
Hassan was a lower social class and he had a cleft lip. Amir never believed that he should have to treat him
like a brother and he couldn’t understand why his father cared for him so much. He couldn’t believe it when his
father got him plastic surgery. Amir was very jealous of Baba’s affection for Hassan.
Detail:
Amir made fun of Hassan for not being as educated as he was.
Commentary:
Amir would deliberately try to confuse Hassan when he read stories to him. He would use words
he knew Hassan couldn’t understand. He also threw pomegranates at him and framed him for stealing. Hassan
never got to fly the kite. He always had to be the kite runner.
Detail:
Amir did not stop Assef and his friends from raping Hassan.
Commentary:
Amir was too scared to get involved so he did not step in to protect Hassan or even to get
someone else to stop the attack. He didn’t even tell anyone after to try to help him recover. Instead he started
to be even meaner than he had been before.
Topic Sentence ( that limits scope of analysis by being so concrete):
After Assef rapes Hassan, Amir feels so guilty that he begins
to behave badly.
Detail
Amir refuses to do anything with Hassan anymore.
Commentary
The two end up growing distant because of Amir’s guilty conscience. He doesn’t want to do any of the things
they used to do together even though Hassan tries to get him to.
Detail
Amir provokes a fight with Hassan where he tries to get Hassan to throw pomegranates at him.
Commentary
Amir is hoping he can get Hassan to behave badly so that he can be the victim and won’t have to feel guilty any
more about his role in the rape. It doesn’t work because Hassan won’t throw anything and instead just
smashes a pomegranate on his own head.
Detail
Amir finally hides his watch and some cash in Hassan’s room.
Commentary
Amir knows he can’t live with his guilt any more if he has to see Hassan any more, especially after the birthday
party where he had to watch Hassan serving Assef. He frames Hassan and Ali so that Baba will fire them and
it works.
Keep your purpose in mind:
to communicate an argument CLEARLY,
EFFICIENTLY, and POWERFULLY.