Literary Analysis

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Literary Analysis

• British Literature

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Select a Topic Some topics to consider

• Presence of evil
• Heroism in A-S vs. Medieval Lit
• The corrupting influence of money
• Portrayal of women
• Portrayal of male/female relationships

• The quest
• Elements of oral tradition
• Use of supernatural elements
• Humor, satire, parody
• Temptation, succumbing, and redemption
• Poetic justice

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Brainstorming

• Identify your topic.
• You should be able to think of their topic as a
  question and of their thesis and essay as a
  definitive argument that answers the question.
• Example
• Beginner Beowulf as an epic hero
• Advanced Beowulf He is an exemplary epic hero,
  but is he a hero by todays standards? No.

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Brainstorming

• Divide your topic into two BROAD examples.

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Brainstorming

• Provide specific examples from the text to
  support each broad example.

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Thesis Development

• A good thesis statement is
• clearly arguable
• specific to the text
• clearly supportable

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Thesis Development

• A strong thesis statement takes some sort of
  stand.
• Weak There are some negative and positive
  aspects to the Banana Herb Tea Supplement.
• Strong Because Banana Herb Tea Supplement
  promotes rapid weight loss that results in the
  loss of muscle and lean body mass, it poses a
  potential danger to customers.

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Thesis Development

• A strong thesis statement justifies discussion
• Weak My family is an extended family.
• Strong While most American families would view
  consanguineal marriage as a threat to the nuclear
  family structure, many Iranian families, like my
  own, believe that these marriages reinforce
  kinship ties in an extended family.

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Thesis Development

• A strong thesis statement expresses one main
  idea.
• Weak Companies need to exploit the marketing
  potential of the Internet, and Web pages can
  provide both advertising and customer support.
• Strong Because the Internet is filled with
  tremendous marketing potential, companies should
  exploit this potential by using Web pages that
  offer both advertising and customer support.

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Thesis Development

• A strong thesis statement is specific.
• Weak World hunger has many causes and effects.
• Strong Hunger persists in Glandelinia because
  jobs are scarce and farming in the infertile soil
  is rarely profitable.

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Thesis Development

• How to write a thesis
• Brainstorm the topic
• Narrow the topic
• Take a position on the topic
• Use specific language
• Make an assertion based on clearly stated support

Specific topic Argument Thesis
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Thesis Stems

• Rank with justification
• Contrasts
• Perception versus reality
• Good versus bad reasons
• Cause and effect
• Challenge

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• Brainstorm the topic
• Religion in Beowulf
• Narrow the topic
• Spiritual (Christian) vs. Bestial (Pagan)
• Take a position on the topic
• In the end, Beowulfs bestial nature prevails
• Use specific language
• Make an assertion based on clearly stated support
• Despite a profusion of Christian influences,
  Beowulf is predominately pagan.

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How do you know if your thesis is strong?

• Does the thesis  inspire a reasonable reader to
  ask, "How?" or Why?"
• Would a reasonable reader NOT respond with "Duh!"
  or "So what?" or "Gee, no kidding!" or "Who
  cares?"
• Does the thesis  avoid general phrasing and/or
  sweeping words such as "all" or "none" or
  "every"?
• Does the thesis lead the reader toward the topic
  sentences (the subtopics needed to prove the
  thesis)?
• Can the thesis be adequately developed in the
  required length of the paper or project?
• If you cannot answer "YES" to these questions,
  what changes must you make in order for your
  thesis to pass these tests?

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Creating an Outline

• The expanded outline is a version of your rough
  draft. You do not need to write in complete
  sentences, though the quotes you include from the
  text DO need to be complete.
• To support your argument you must provide direct
  quotations from the text you are analyzing
  (concrete detail).

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Outline

1. Thesis
2. Introduction
3. Topic Sentence
4. Concrete Detail 1
5. Commentary 1
6. Commentary 2
7. Concrete Detail 2
8. Commentary 1
9. Commentary 2
10. Subsequent Topic Sentence
11. Concrete Detail 1
12. Commentary 1
13. Commentary 2
14. Concrete Detail 2
15. Commentary 1
16. Commentary 2
17. Conclusion

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Topic Sentences

• The topic sentence states the main idea of the
  paragraph in broad terms. When you write your
  topic sentence
• DO mention part of your thesis statement
• DO state the BIG main idea
• DO NOT get too specific
• Bad In Beowulf the epic hero battles the evil
  monster Grendel and tears his arm off with his
  bare hands.
• Better One way Beowulf demonstrates epic hero
  qualities is through his superhuman strength.
• Best As he demonstrates superhuman strength
  throughout his tale, Beowulf solidifies his
  standing as an epic hero.

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Subsequent Topic Sentences

• Subsequent topic sentences serve two functions
• They provide the reader with a transition from
  one idea to the next (you are essentially saying,
  okay, Im done with that topic, now Im moving
  on to another example).
• They state the main idea of the body paragraph.
• Example Not only does Beowulf demonstrate
  superhuman strength, but he also suggests the
  epic heros need for fame and glory.

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Concrete Detail Quote Analysis

• Finding primary source support for your thesis is
  not merely enough. YOUR thoughts and ideas are
  what make an analysis an analysis. Without them,
  your essay would simply be a list of quotations
  with citations and topic sentences. The purpose
  of an analysis is for the author to insert his or
  her explanation of the text. You will be telling
  your audience
• HOW the quote or example demonstrates the point
  you are making
• WHY the quote or example is significant
• This is the hardest part, but it is also the
  most important part in your essay.

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Quote Analysis

• That mighty protector of men/ Meant to hold the
  monster till its life/ Leaped out (366-68).
• Commentary 1 (HOW?) Beowulf is extremely
  courageous. For years Grendel has plagued
  Hrothgars kingdom, and Beowulf will not give up
  until he wins the fight.
• Commentary 2 (WHY?) Because attack was a
  constant threat in Anglo-Saxon society, the
  people celebrated courageous leaders like Beowulf
  who could provide safety and protection.

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MLA guidelines for quoting or citing lines from a
poem like Beowulf
That mighty protector of men/ Meant to hold the
monster till its life/ Leaped out (366-68).

• A slash indicates where each line in the poem
  ends
• The first word in each line is capitalized, just
  as it appears in text
• The line numbers are included in parenthesis at
  the end of the quote
• Punctuation follows the citation
• Reminder Use ellipses () ONLY in the middle of
  a quotenot at the beginning or the end.

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Quotation Integration

• Quotations should NEVER stand alone.
• For each quotation, you should have
• A lead-in
• A lead-out
• An analysis

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Types of Lead-ins

• Somebody Says
• leads up to the quotation with a verb that
  indicates someone is speaking (says, explains,
  notes, exclaims, questions, reiteraties, etc.)
• is punctuated with a comma
• Panna has a newfound freedom in America, and
  yet, this freedom brings limitations. She
  explains, Its the tyranny of the American dream
  that scares me. First, you dont exist. Then
  youre invisible. Then youre funny. Then youre
  disgusting. Insult, my American friends will tell
  me, is a kind of acceptance. No instant dignity
  here (Mukherjee 3063).

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Types of Lead-ins

• Blended Lead-In
• some of the quoted material is left out (usually
  from the beginning of the sentence or statement)
  and what is left blends in with your sentence
• has no punctuation between lead and quote
• Perhaps if she had worn a bright blue polyester
  Hawaiian shirt, like the man sitting next to
  her, the insults would not be so poignant
  (Mukherjee 3063).

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Types of Lead-ins

• Sentence Lead-In
• the lead is a complete sentence and is followed
  by a quotation that is a complete sentence
• is punctuated with a colon
• The pressure of finding a guise that is
  acceptable to all people, at all times, a mask
  that is both Indian and American, stirs up strong
  emotions in Panna Its hate I long for simple,
  brutish, partisan hate (Mukherjee 3063).

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Quotation Integration

• Make Quotations Natural
• Quotations should be blended smoothly into your
  writing (an irrelevant quote is worse than no
  quote at all).
• You need to surround your quotation with your
  own words to give it a home try to make the
  quotation fit in as if you had written it
  yourself as part of your paper.

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Quotation Integration

• Support Quotations
• Lead-in Introduce the quotation in your own
  words
• Quotation
• Lead-out Explain what the quotation means or
  implies
• Analysis Explain how it supports the idea being
  proven in that paragraph (which means you are
  connecting it back to your thesis!)

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Example . . . From a paper Dr. Macon wrote on
March 29, 2002 titled Some Secrets Are Best Not
Kept An Analysis of the Trope of Masks and
Masking

• Thesis Both Bharati Mukherjees A Wifes Story
  and Gish Jens In the American Society reveal
  the empowerment, ambivalence, and isolation that
  can be found within a literal or figurative mask.
• Chang continually shows complete ambivalence
  toward American symbols of success. Take, for
  instance, his refusal to wear nice clothes his
  family bursts into laughter at the mere
  suggestion of Change having to wear a dinner
  jacket We all laughed my father had no use for
  nice clothes, and would wear only ten-year-old
  shirts, with grease-spotted pants, to show how
  little he cared what anyone thought (Jen 2983).
  And although his business is successful and he is
  prosperous, Chang lives out his desire to portray
  an image he wears the mask, not of a man who is
  rich and prominent, but rather, of a man who is
  hard working and successful.

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Introduction

• Your introduction should
• Capture the readers attention and keep it,
  through the use or interesting, unique, or
  creative words and ideas
• Set a tone and communicate information that will
  help the reader understand the purpose of the
  paper
• Provide general background information the reader
  may need in order to understand the thesis
• Assert a thesis which provides focus and
  direction for readers
• Indicate what is to follow in the body of the
  essay

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Opening Sentences that hook the reader,
establish tone, and provide background
information about the topic. General
background information that may be needed to
understand the thesis A Thesis that
establishes a focus for the paper.
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Opening Sentence

• The opening sentence should
• hook the reader
• establish the tone
• provide background information to ensure a
  smooth, natural progression, or movement from the
  general topic to your thesis
• use interesting, unique, or creative ideas (NOT
  clichés or generalizations)

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Clichés and Generalizations are BORING!!!

• Throughout history, there have been many
  conflicts . . .
• Science helps us understand the world . . .
• According to Websters Dictionary . . .
• So, how do you make it interesting?

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Opening Sentence Techniques

• Anecdote
• Dialogue or Quotation Related to Topic
• Startling Information
• Opinion
• Controversial or Provocative Question
• Definition

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Example . . . From a paper Dr. Macon wrote on
March 29, 2002 titled Some Secrets Are Best Not
Kept An Analysis of the Trope of Masks and
Masking

• Ralph Ellison once observed that America is a
  land of masking jokers (89). In some literary
  works, masks or disguises both figurative and
  literal serve to illustrate both the
  awkwardness of estrangement that some characters
  strive to overcome and the regiments of society
  that restrict the characters progress.
  Specifically, in the following two stories about
  minorities attempting to assimilate, or in some
  cases to not assimilate, into the American
  culture, the guise proves an effective tool. Both
  Bharati Mukherjees A Wifes Story and Gish
  Jens In the American Society reveal the
  empowerment, ambivalence, and isolation that can
  be found within a literal or figurative mask.

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Developing a Conclusion

• Your conclusion should answer the question so
  what?
• Reinforce your point
• Help reader understand why your thesis matters
• The conclusion is your opportunity to say
  good-bye gracefully. It should include
• Summary
• Broader Background
• Intensified Insight

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Summary remind your reader of your thesis, but
dont just repeat it word for word Broader
Background relate your thesis to a broader
point with larger implications for you, the
reader or the world. Intensified Insight
reinforce the significance of your argument
leave the reader thinking about your point,
considering some action, or recognizing a
universal truth.
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Closing Sentence Techniques Leaving a Reader
Fulfilled

• A good conclusion wraps up an essay in a
  memorable and powerful way. Effective strategies
  for concluding an essay include
• Vivid Images
• Quotations
• Calls for Action
• The concluding paragraph provides the last
  opportunity for you to impress the message of an
  essay on your readers minds and to create
  effects you desire. As such, it is well worth
  your time and effort.

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Example . . . From a paper Dr. Macon wrote on
March 29, 2002 titled Some Secrets Are Best Not
Kept An Analysis of the Trope of Masks and
Masking

• Whether endeavoring to find empowerment in a
  societal unknown, refusing to accept a cultures
  success symbols, or struggling to exist between
  two conflicting lifestyles, the characters in
  Mukherjee and Jens texts illustrate the
  disadvantages and benefits of wearing a mask in
  America. Although it is difficult to find humor
  in the characters distress, Ralph Ellison
  observes, When American life is most American it
  is apt to be the most theatrical (89). Perhaps
  the only solution to the dilemma of the displaced
  person is to forgo cultural constructs and to
  embrace the humor found in the land of masking
  jokers (Ellison 89).

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Create a Title

• Make it interesting
• Be creative with word choice
• Use alliteration
• Avoid unnecessary articles prepositions
• Include the main idea or topic of your essay
• Be specific by including some or all of the
  following
• Character name
• Title of work (formatted correctly)
• Author name

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Titles

• Bad Good Versus Evil
• Better Superhuman Strength and Ceaseless
  Courage Anglo-Saxon Heroism in Beowulf
• Bad Light and Dark Imagery in Beowulf
• Better Sky Candles and Sleep Masks An Analysis
  of Light and Dark Imagery in Beowulf