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Assigned readings: “The Things They Carried,” “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love,” “A & P,” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”
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- Figure out aspects of 2 stories that you want to analyze.Perhaps you are interested in similar themes, similar characters, or comparing and contrasting commentaries on the human condition.
- Draft a thesis sentence that speaks specifically to the aspects of the stories that you will be discussing. Don’t just mention topic but make a comment so that your reader understands your stance.For example, don’t say this: I am writing about the themes discussed in short story A and short story B. Why? It just mentions your topic. This thesis sentence says nothing about the themes.
- Do mention the author and the story name in your thesis sentence. It helps your reader keep track. Do put the name if the short story in quotes, like “A & P,” and “A Good Man is Hard to Find.”
- Use direct quotes to support your claims about the short story. I can’t just take your word for it – supply proof for your claims! At the same time, don’t let the quotes take over the story. Remember that your writing voice needs to ‘drive’ the essay, not anyone else’s writing voice.
- Don’t plagiarize. Remember, if you can find an essay about your short story to copy from, I can find it too. And I will look for it if I suspect you are quoting directly from your source material.
A text analysis paper will focus upon areas of short stories that you find interesting, significant, or feel merits discussion. A text analysis paper should be fairly formal and should genuinely attempt to shed light on aspects of themes, characters, tone, or message. You may discuss the significance of character, plot, setting, symbols — whatever catches your fancy. Overall, I am looking for interesting and original insights about why these short stories help readers understand the issues of the societies they were born into.
Your paper will explore a problem or point of interest created by 2 works of literature which includes character motivation, themes, cultures, and symbols. Please upon specific examples to illustrate the idea or issue you are exploring. Your grade will be based on the quality and depth of your insights, and on the use of specific textual evidence as support. Avoid the obvious. Take risks and make it interesting!
Possible starting places for your text analysis include politics, the social context, similar perspectives on life, feelings evoked, cultural relevance, or the components of the text such as setting, narrative voice, imagery, or symbolism. Or, perhaps you will read a critical approach to the text and use it as a springboard for your own ideas.
The Dos and Don’ts of Text Analysis Papers:
DO NOT: Only summarize plot
DO: Analyze the thematic and symbolic significance of events in the story
DO NOT: Say you didn’t like a character
DO: Explain how a character was unlikable, how that effects the reading experience, and why that may or may not have been the author’s intent
DO NOT: Generalize and provide vague reasons behind your text analysis.
DO: Use specific examples from the text including quotes.
DO NOT: Make superficial, obvious insights
DO: Think deeply, and look closely into the work. Notice things that a casual reader would not.
DO NOT: Simply repeat ideas mentioned in discussion forums.
DO: Build off ideas mentioned in class, adding your own thoughts and insights to the discussion.
How to Do a Close Reading
The process of writing an essay usually begins with the close reading of a text. Of course, the writer’s personal experience may occasionally come into the essay, and all essays depend on the writer’s own observations and knowledge. But most essays, especially academic essays, begin with a close reading of some kind of text—a painting, a movie, an event—and usually with that of a written text. When you close read, you observe facts and details about the text. You may focus on a particular passage, or on the text as a whole. Your aim may be to notice all striking features of the text, including rhetorical features, structural elements, cultural references; or, your aim may be to notice only selected features of the text—for instance, oppositions and correspondences, or particular historical references. Either way, making these observations constitutes the first step in the process of close reading.
The second step is interpreting your observations. What we’re basically talking about here is inductive reasoning: moving from the observation of details to a conclusion, or interpretation. And, as with inductive reasoning, close reading requires careful observations, thinking about what these details add up to.
Read with a pencil in hand and mark up the text. Mark anything that strikes you as surprising or significant, or that raises questions—as well as making notes in the margins. When we respond to a text in this way, we force ourselves to pay attention. 🙂
