Close Reading Write-up for “Hunters in the Snow”
Due Friday, September 28; Paper copy in class (stapled!) and to turnitin.com
before class
PURPOSE: to give us practice in analyzing texts, developing ideas by citing evidence and
expressing them in writing
1. Start by chosing a paragraph in “Hunters in the Snow” that interests you. Copy that
passage out, word for word- handwritten, as the first section of your paper.
2. Then, in 300-400 words of your own (1 - 2 typed pages; 12 point, Times New Roman
font), discuss what you think the passage means. Be specific about the details of your
passage -- the diction- both detnotatively and connotatively, imagery, tone, themes, etc.,
you see as most significant, and be as clear as you can about what you think those details
say or suggest about a larger theme or issue the story is concerned with.
3. You might need to begin by briefly identifying the context of the passage, how it fits into
the story as a whole, but your analysis should keep its focus on the specific passage. In
your discussion, support your ideas with evidence -- i.e. quote the exact words and
phrases you're discussing as you interpret them.
4. When you've finished your analysis, give it a creative title that will let me know what the
main emphasis of your interpretation is.
5. Submit to Turnitin.com and bring a paper copy to the next class.
An incomplete list of things to look for (and write about):

Diction. Diction means word choice. In English, we usually have a choice of several ways
of saying more or less the same thing: see and observe and notice and spot; overweight and
portly and fat. Notice that they're never perfectly interchangeable: some are formal, some
are euphemistic, some are clinical, some are vulgar. Pay attention to words Walker might
have used, and try to figure out why she chose as she did. Look particularly for patterns
in diction or for standout words that scream for attention.

Word Order. Most declarative sentences and clauses in Modern English (since about
1500) follow the word order subject — verb — object. Adjectives tend to come before
nouns, adverbs usually come before verbs or adjectives. You know all that. If a writer
departs from standard English word order, consider whether it's important. (It's not
always, but usually.)

Point of View. Narratives have to be told from some point of view. Narrators might also be
reliable — readers are expected to take their word for everything — or unreliable —
readers have reasons to doubt the narrator is telling the story “straight.” Try to stay
conscious of these things. Often there's nothing to say about them, but sometimes they
really pay off. Look especially for changes in the point of view. Option: Examine the shifts
in the third paragraph. Why do you think Walker did that and how does it contribute
to the story?

Metaphors. Metaphors — the likening of one thing to another — are much more
common than most casual readers realize. There are several patterns of figurative
language in “Everyday Use” which are worth exploring. Option: Look at the language
Mama uses to describe herself. Why do you think she always winds up comparing
herself to a man?

Here's a possibility: take an important sentence or two in the work you're analyzing, and
look up every word in the Oxford English Dictionary. (Okay, if you're in a hurry, you have
my permisison to skip the and is.) Paradise Lost uses the word individual: what did it mean
when Milton wrote? Is the name of the prodigiously endowed “Dick” in the pornographic
novel Fanny Hill (1759) a dirty joke, or just a coincidence? The OED will let you
knowLearning to read closely, with attention to the history of words and the meanings
lurking in their etymologies and connotations, will go a long way toward making your
paper solid. For starters, it helps you avoid the awful problem of generalization. And
individual words aren't the only thing to study carefully. Unusual word-order, for
instance, is almost always significant. Shifts in person, number, or tense may be loaded
with meaning.