What is the Literary Analysis requirement?
•
Understanding the techniques that make a
literary work effective
•
Identifying them in the story/stories you read
•
Writing an essay explaining what you’ve
identified.
You may be asked to identify
• Theme
• How the author approaches a subject
• Characters
• Setting
• Plot (conflict) elements
• Figurative Language
Universal Themes in Literature
• Man verses nature
• Man verses man
• The reward of freedom at any cost
• Good wins over evil
• Honesty pays in the end
• Doing the right thing is always right
• Hard work pays off
Author’s approach
•
•
Point of view
o
First person
o
Third person
o
Third person omniscient
Genre
•
Poem
•
Story
•
Play
•
Factual
Characters
• Protagonist
• Antagonist
Character Qualities
• Direct characterization
• Indirect characterization
• Inferences
Setting
• Where – place
• When – time
How does the setting affect the plot?
Why did the author choose this setting?
How would the story change if the setting
were different?
Plot (conflict) elements
• Event 1
• Event 2
• Climax
• Resolution
Figurative Language
Similes are as sweet as sugar.
Metaphors are a breeze.
Hyperboles are a million times better.
Personification makes your pencil soar!
Irony twists the plot or character
PUNS! at the theatre was a play on words.
Literary Analysis might also
include vocabulary:
• Context clues
• Connotation
• Prefixes, suffixes
• Greek and Latin Roots
Thesis: What are
you going to say?
The purpose of this essay is to identify
a similar theme between Boy’s Life
and “Emancipation: A Life Fable,” and
to determine the approach each
author used to develop this theme.
Intro: How are
you going to
develop it?
A similar theme in Boy’s Life and “Emancipation: A Life
Fable” is, “Happiness can be found in having liberty.” In
the Boy’s Life text, Cory is anxious to gain his freedom and
get out of school on the last day. When Mrs. Neville
finally released him, Cory stated that he “ran out along
the corridor, my arms unencumbered by books, my mind
unencumbered by facts and figures, quotations and
dates.” In the same way, the animal in “Emancipation: A
Life Fable” discovers its freedom “So does he live,
seeking, finding, joying and suffering.”
Support with:
•
•
•
•
•
facts
examples
stories
details
quotes
The comparison of each author’s approach between
the two texts is alike because both authors use a story
(narrative) approach to the theme, and both authors
build suspense by delaying the freedom. For example,
Cory must wait on his teacher to dismiss him, and then
she calls him up to her desk to delay him even longer.
In the same way, the animal must make the decision
whether or not to leave the cage.
However there are several contrasts in the two
authors’ approach to the theme. First, is point of view.
The first author chose to write the story from a first
person perspective while the second author wrote in
third person. Second, the genres are different. The first
story is realistic fiction or perhaps biography while the
second story is written as a fable. Third, the plot is
developed differently with Cory excited about the
summer and freedom to come while the animal is
fearful of what may be out there.
Conclude:
“In conclusion,”
(summarize your thesis)
In conclusion, both stories approach
the theme of freedom in a narrative,
but the authors’ approaches are
somewhat different.