Literary Analysis: A Study in Short Bursts – Week 34
1
5/6 - Syntax
When I woke up it was light. It was awfully quiet. Too quiet. I mean, our house just isn’t naturally quiet. The radio’s usually going
full blast and the TV is turned up loud and people are wrestling and knocking over lamps and tripping over the coffee table and yelling
at each other. Something was wrong, but I couldn’t quite figure it out. Something had happened . . . I couldn’t remember what.
S. E. Hinton, The Outsiders
Consider:
1.
Hinton starts the passage with two short sentences, a sentence fragment, and another short sentence. Then she writes two
longer sentences. Look at these sentences carefully, and contrast the purpose of the short sentences and fragment and the
purpose of the longer sentences. Use the following chart to jot down your ideas.
Purpose of the short sentences and
sentence fragment
2.
Purpose of the longer
sentence
How does sentence length reinforce the meaning?
Hinton uses ellipses in the last sentence to show that something has been left out. What has been left out? How do you
know?
5/5 - Imagery
Now you try it: Think about a time when you got a present you knew you wouldn’t like – you knew it even before you opened it. Now
write a sentence about this experience. Create tension by using ellipses to show that some important words have been left out.
When I walk into a restaurant and order the trout almandine,
I have to trust that it is trout, and not dogfish or mudpuppy –
That my cream of mushroom appetizer won’t be creamy
With earwax; my café au lait, not laced with phlegm.
- Charles Harper Webb, “Trust,” Liver
Consider:
1.
Underline the important images in the passage. What kind of imagery is most vivid in this passage?
2.
These lines are from a poem called “Trust.” What does Webb believe about trust? How does the use of imagery help you
understand the meaning?
Now you try it: Write four lines of poetry that use imagery to help the reader understand what something tastes like. Your images
can be figurative or not.
5/4 - Symbol
Flowers and other things have been laid against the wall. There are little flags, an old teddy bear, and letters, weighted with stones so
they won’t blow away. Someone has left a rose with a droopy head.
Eve Bunting, The Wall
Consider:
1.
This passage is from a book about the Vietnam War Memorial in Washington, D.C. There are several symbols in the passage.
Identify the symbols and explain what they mean.
Symbol
What symbol stands for
2.
Look at the last sentence about the rose. Remember that it is a rose, but it’s also something else. What does the rose
usually symbolize? Why does it have a droopy head here? What does the droopy head add to our understanding of the
symbol and the feeling of the passage?
5/3 – Figurative
Language
Now you try it: Fill in the chart with as many traditional symbols as you can think of.
The camp faced a wide cove of white sand and palm trees. The bay was so perfectly blue, it looked like it had been retouched for a
tourist brochure. Across the bay stood protective mountains, shoulder to shoulder, across the Concepcion peninsula.
Ann Brashares, The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Consider:
1.
Underline the example of personification in the 3rd sentence. What are the literal and figurative terms?
2.
How would the meaning of the 3rd sentence change if it were written like this?
There were mountains across the Concepcion peninsula.
Now you try it: Describe a place you like to go to in the summer. In your description, use at least one example of personification.
Then, identify your literal and figurative term.
5/2 - Diction
There was a scurrying around and then eight of them snatched up their guns, formed up into twos, and marched out behind the office.
He wheeled his horse about and trotted toward me. I jumped back and plunged for the tavern doorway.
James Lincoln Collier and Christopher Collier, My Brother Sam is Dead
Consider:
1.
Look at the boldfaced word (snatched) in the first sentence. Notice how clearly you can “see” the action because of that
strong verb. How would it change the meaning of the sentence if it read …eight of them picked up their guns?
2.
What does the use of the plunged in the third sentence tell you about the narrator’s attitude toward the other characters in
this passage?
Now you try it: Use the word plunged in a sentence, but instead of having the word express fear and desperation, have it express
excitement and happiness. Remember that in many cases the context of the word determines its deeper meaning.